(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study suggests being born breech is inherited. The study finds a baby is twice as likely to be born bottom first if either or both the parents were themselves breech deliveries.

Most babies are delivered head first. Fewer than one in 20 babies is delivered bottom first, known as a breech delivery. Breech deliveries cause greater risks for the babies including an increased risk of death or suffer health problems.

Researchers from Norway conducted a study looking at data from all births between 1967 and 2004. They researched more than 387,500 parent and child units looking at breech births. They found that men and women who had been delivered full term in breech had more than twice the risk of having a child with a breech delivery. Study authors suggest genes predisposing to a breech delivery are transferred to the fetus, which then increases the risk of the mother having a breech delivery.
 

Premature birth and low birth weight are also considered risk factors for a breech delivery. However, study authors say they found breech delivered parents born prematurely had no increased risk of breech delivered offspring. They say this shows the connection is the result of the prematurity and not the genes in these cases.

Study authors say while the research suggests breech delivery is inherited, it could also be an environmental factor. They say more research is needed on this topic.

SOURCE: British Medical Journal, published online March 27, 2008