Complete breech presentation is characterized by which description?

Complete breech presentation is characterized by which description?

• A. buttocks presenting first with legs extended
• B. feet are over the cervix
• C. baby's buttocks are over the cervix with the legs crossed
• D. head presenting first

Answer: (C)

Understanding breech presentations and how the presenting part sits relative to the cervix helps you identify complete breech. In a complete breech, the buttocks are the presenting part and both hips and knees are flexed, so the legs are folded and typically crossed with the feet near the abdomen. The description “the baby’s buttocks are over the cervix with the legs crossed” fits that pattern, placing the buttocks first with folded legs at the delivery opening. For context, a frank breech has the buttocks presenting with the legs extended toward the head (feet near the face), a footling or incomplete breech has one or both feet presenting first, and head presenting first is a cephalic/vertex presentation, not breech.

Understanding breech presentations and how the presenting part sits relative to the cervix helps you identify complete breech. In a complete breech, the buttocks are the presenting part and both hips and knees are flexed, so the legs are folded and typically crossed with the feet near the abdomen. The description “the baby’s buttocks are over the cervix with the legs crossed” fits that pattern, placing the buttocks first with folded legs at the delivery opening.

For context, a frank breech has the buttocks presenting with the legs extended toward the head (feet near the face), a footling or incomplete breech has one or both feet presenting first, and head presenting first is a cephalic/vertex presentation, not breech.