Any size 6 ladies out there give almost problem-free natural birth?

[Snowi]

Hey ladies,
Been anxious all pregnancy about natural birth as I'm a small girl. But even more so of late, am 33 weeks & little tike seems to be growing at a rapid rate, so am a little frightened of giving birth to anything bigger than 7.5 pounds. What are your success/nightmare labour stories? Do tell...

[ShowOfHands]

Not a size 6 myself but my friend is and she has had 3 natural deliveries. The first one was a fairly long 17hrs (but the first 12hrs were more than bearable- she just got on with the day), the second was a short 2hrs and the third about 1hr 15mins. All happy and healthy, no intervention (did tear with the first though) and she snapped back into shape. They weighed 7lb7oz, 7lb10oz and 8lb6ox in that order...

[yesireallycan]

Hey Snowi

Sadly, I am not a size 6 myself but I have worked as a birth doula with a lot of Asian ladies who tended to be very small and slim through the hips. In my experience, women tend to grow babies that are just the right size for their bodies to give birth to. I have seen tiny women give birth to enormous babies and big women give birth to small babies. All shapes and sizes!

Obviously it doesn't always work perfectly, but remember that the actual weight of the baby is not really as important as other things like the size of the baby's head, and the position that the baby is in. Being active and upright during birth (rather than lying down) can help to make more room in your pelvis and help the baby get into a good position to be born - and remember too that baby's heads are soft, and designed to mould to fit through your pelvis.

Your doctor or midwife will tell you if they have serious concerns about the baby's size but remember that there is no accurate way to tell the baby's weight before birth -ultrasounds are very innacurate as a way of doing this. And even if a big baby is suspected there is nothing much you can do about it - for example, if you eat less, you might have a less healthy baby (and less healthy you) but you won't necessarily have a smaller baby. It's great that your baby is growing -it shows that he/she is healthy and doing well.

It sounds as if you have some fears/worries about the birth that perhaps are not specifically about your baby's weight but more general. If you have not done so already you might want to consider taking some childbirth preparation classes, or do some reading, to reassure yourself, and to give yourself some ideas for how to make sure the birth goes smoothly. The Birth Book, by Dr Sears is a good and well balanced book.

Good luck! There are lots of helpful people on this list so I am sure you will get some more good information.

[clayre]

i am a size 6 with 2 kids easy fast deliveries, had easy labours dd was 6 hours no pain relief, i did get an episeotamy (sp) but that was because she was coming out with her arm first and strangling herself, she weighed 7lb 1oz then with ds i had a one and a half hour labour with 3 pushes, cleaned up then out the hosp he was 7lb 7oz.

[BornToBeAPrincess]

Hi Snowi, I was a size 6 when I had dd1.
It was a fairly long labour, about 14 hours, but straight forward and no tears. She was 6lb 6.

[brimfull]

I have size 6 feet

[colditz]

I know a girl who was size 6-8, 5'2, and she pinged a 10lb baby girl out, at the age of 19!

[colditz]

Oh, and her stomach was flat so fast she practically ricoched

[kittywaitsfornumber6]

My fighting weight is 7 1/2 stone and size 6 I guess. I have had no probs delivering. My last was over 9lb.

[nappyaddict]

borntobeaprincess sorry to hijack but could you email me on tobys_mummy at btinternet dot com about the mn meet up please?

[mamama]

Am size 6 and had DS (6lb 11) with no pain relief at all and no problems other than tearing badly, but I think the fact that ended up lying on the bed for my entire labour caused that more than my size. Wish I had been able to be on hands and knees as planned.

[Brandyanddietcoke]

I wish... on all counts...

[berolina]

My ds was only 6lb 2 (I was a size 10 then) but I still had a difficult labour and episiotomy - he had quite a big head for his size/weight, which was part but only part of it. I'm certain I didn't move around enough and was pretty tense, which didn't help. Tbh I think unless we're talking extremes, weight of the baby won't necessarily spell a 'good' or 'bad' labour. Good luck

[Indith]

I'm an 8 who tends to sway towards a 6 most of the time, had ds in 4.5hrs on gas and air with just a small graze.

I'm sure you'll be fine!

[JodieG1]

I'm a size 8 and have had 3 natural deliveries. Dd was 5lb 14.5, ds1 7lb 14.5 and ds2 was 8lb 2 and I didn't tear with any of them I don't think your size has anything to do with abilty to have a natural birth.

[LadyMacbeth]

I'm a size 8 and have had two natural births. Dd1 was 8lb 6 and dd2 8lb 13. No tearing either. I am quite supple though. OK I'm not a 6 but I think even if my hips were a couple of inches narrower it would have been OK. Babies can get stuck whatever your size (sorry that's not much help is it!). Please don't worry about it - in fact I'd suggest you do some lovely relaxing yoga - can your MW recommend a local class for pregnant women? As well as being relaxing it can really help to open the hips plus help your breathing control - (v useful for prevention of tearing!).

Good luck.

[amidaiwish]

i'm a size 8 and have very narrow hips and a 6'3" tall broad dh. i was bricking it!

had 2 natural births
DD1 6lbs6, DD2 6lbs11 (both times the mw estimated birth weight to be well over 7lbs)
their heads were on the 50th and 55th percentile so average
no tearing
no stitches
no problem

[Rochwen]

Size six here. My baby ran out of space (that is my explantion and I am sticking to it) at week 35 and broke her waters and was born at five pounds and eight ounces by c/s. The mw said that had she gone full term she would have been about ten pounds, ouch. I guess dd did me a favour. She is beautiful and the birth experience was lovely. I have to say I am jolly pleased everything happened the way it did.

By saying this I don't mean that size six women can't have full term babies but I mean that nature will find a way of helping you out. You'll be fine !

[Snowi]

Thanks for all your comments ladies, they have helped tremendously - must get moving on that perineum massage & yoga!

[MellowMa]

Message withdrawn

[scorpio1]

im a size 6/8 and have had 2 babies,bith absolutely fine,no pain relief and no stitches.ds1 was 6lb 11oz and ds2 8lb 1oz. i am quite tall though (5 10) so i think it helped my baby to have the extra height iyswim.

HTH

[margo1974]

my mums neighbour is extremely petite - has size 2 feet,and she gave birth with no pain relief or intervention to an 8 lb baby.

makes me feel quite ashamed

[Jonze]

I'm a size 6 and had ds almost too easily...1.5 hours from first twinge to time he was out at 38 weeks. Had delivered the head by the time I reached A&E. 6 lb 11 oz, no tearing, was home 5 hours later.

[mum2george]

Am size 6, have been known to have a size 4. Gave birth with Gas & Air and a few stitches, baby was 6lb 8oz. Was examined at 2pm when I was found to be 7cm and the baby flew out at 5.40pm. Don't worry hon.

[Darciesmum]

I'm a size 6 had 10hr labour with pethidine at the end, but not grazing or tearing and my DD was 7.5lbs.