This procedure involves manually turning the baby around from a bottom or feet first position to a head first (cephalic) position. This makes caesarean section much less likely. It succeeds in about 50% of attempts, babies very seldom turn back and it is safe for the baby. It is recommended to perform the procedure at 36-37 weeks.
Mr Impey is an international authority on external cephalic version (ECV), having published important research papers in the field. He has co-authored the nationally-available guideline on ECV and has performed the procedure over 1500 times.