ABSTRACT
I (Hannah Dahlen) interviewed Sydney obstetrician and Associate Professor Andrew Bisits to understand how he presents risk and choice to women who have a baby with a breech presentation (i.e. presenting bottom down), where they are making the choice between a vaginal breech birth and a caesarean section. Andrew has now supported over 500 breech births in his career and is known around Australia and internationally for his unique and very woman-centred approach. As you will see in this interview, while Andrew prefers the birth stool for vaginal breech birth as he sees it making the most physiological sense, he is also very clear about being guided by what women want too. Andrew has been coined the ‘baby whisperer’ by our Australian media, but I like to call him the ‘breech whisperer’. I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Andrew for many years. Whenever I have a client with a breech presentation, we have talked with Andrew. Once one of my clients filmed the external cephalic version (ECV) he did on her and posted it online, it went viral. After a successful ECV, I love sending Andrew pictures (with the woman’s permission) of the woman holding her baby following the birth (mostly at home). He texts back lovely comments like ‘Woohaa Hannah! Delighted for her, pass on my congrats’. His hands have a gentle knowledge that is hypnotic to watch. Perhaps this also comes from a responsiveness he gained playing the violin. Yes, Andrew is an obstetrician who plays the violin, loves a good red wine and tends to get very loud when watching rugby matches (especially if Australia wins). What you read in the following interview is what makes Andrew the way he is and how he presents risk to women when they are deciding what to do with a breech pregnancy at term. If we had more Andrews in the world, we would probably have fewer women seeking to birth outside the system. Andrew not only keeps the proverbial canary in the coal mine singing, he accompanies their song with his violin!
