OptiBreech Training in Vaginal Breech Birth, East Falls, PA

LOCATION:

This workshop will take place on the Sunday after the Planned Vaginal Breech Birth Conference at Jefferson.

DESCRIPTION

This study day for clinical skills trainers, obstetricians and midwives will provide an engaging and interactive update on professional skills to facilitate physiological breech births, planned or unexpected, and how to teach these skills to others. The focus is on collaborative, multi-professional working to improve the safety of vaginal breech birth using the skills of all maternity care professionals.

For practical questions about the event or venue, please contact the Training Coordinator at events@breechbirth.org.uk

The full day study day will include:

* Hands-on simulation of complicated breech births and resolutions, using narratives and videos of real breech complications, to enable you to practice problem-solving in real time

* Case reviews of recent vaginal breech births, including decision-making in labour and reflection on future research priorities

* Models of breech care that work within modern maternity services

* One year's access to OptiBreech Online Academy.

Please ensure you create an account in the OptiBreech Online Academy and access the free OptiBreech Evidence Base 2025 online course prior to attending the training.

Facilitators:

Shawn Walker, RM, PhD is a Consultant Midwife for Public Health at The Royal London Hospital. She has researched how to improve competence, confidence and safety in vaginal breech birth for over 15 years. As a previous NIHR Advanced Fellow and Chief Investigator of the OptiBreech Trial, Dr Walker led the only UK-based multi-centre breech study, a feasibility study of a new care pathway for women pregnant with a breech-presenting baby at term (https://optibreech.uk). She has led the vaginal breech birth and external cephalic version training segment of the RCOG Management of Labour Ward course for the past four years.

Dr. Coggin-Carr is a UK/US dual-certified obstetrician, Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist and early career physician-scientist at the University of Vermont (UVM). He also serves as Medical Director of Labor & Delivery and the antepartum/postpartum unit at UVM Medical Center. He regularly supports vaginal breech births and is currently overseeing the development of a midwifery-led vaginal breech service in Vermont.

Additional hands-on practice facilitators:

Nicole Chaney

Katrina Lipinsky

Kim Martino

Tammy Witmer

Dominic Cammarano

Milo Chavira

References

Walker S, Das S, Stringer K et al. How safe is it to plan a vaginal breech birth with OptiBreech collaborative care?: analysis of cumulative data within the OptiBreech Multiple Trials Cohort . NIHR Open Res 2023, 3:61 (https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk//articles/3-61/v2)

Walker S, Spillane E, Stringer K, et al. OptiBreech collaborative care versus standard care for women with a breech-presenting fetus at term: A pilot parallel group randomised trial to evaluate the feasibility of a randomised trial nested within a cohort. PLoS One. 2023;18(11):e0294139. doi:10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0294139

Shetty SS, Walker S, Fox-Rushby J, Managing uncomplicated singleton breech pregnancy using ‘OptiBreech collaborative care’ pathway: early economic model and value of information analysis, Value in Health (2025).

Davies SM, Hodder A, Walker S, Bale N, Vincent H, Dasgupta T, et al. The OptiBreech Trial Feasibility Study: A Qualitative Inventory of the Roles and Responsibilities of Breech Specialist Midwives. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health. 2025 (online early view).

Vincent H, Walker S, Hodder A, et al. Barriers and facilitators for implementation of OptiBreech collaborative care: A qualitative study as part of an implementation process evaluation. Women and Birth. 2024;37(5):101656. doi:10.1016/J.WOMBI.2024.101656

Walker S, Spillane E, Stringer K, Meadowcroft A, Dasgupta T, Davies SM, Sandall J, Shennan A, Batish A, Davidson L, Das S, Magurova L, Haroun G, Meates C, Houghton G, Le Grys H, 2023. The feasibility of team care for women seeking to plan a vaginal breech birth (OptiBreech 1): an observational implementation feasibility study in preparation for a pilot trial. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 9, 80. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-023-01299-x

Dasgupta T, Hunter, S, Reid, S, et al. Breech specialist midwives and clinics in the OptiBreech Trial feasibility study: An implementation process evaluation. Birth. 2022; 00: 1- 10. doi: 10.1111/birt.12685 – The full study exploring the acceptability of proficient breech team care for women. Be sure to read the supplementary file containing quotes from women who participated in the research.

Walker S, Dasgupta T, Halliday A, & Reitter A (2021). Development of a core outcome set for effectiveness studies of breech birth at term (Breech-COS): a systematic review on variations in outcome reporting. European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology.