Big baby...possibly a c-section!!

[biglips]

Last week i had a scan to check if the placenta had moved which it had. (im 34 weeks pg) Also the sonographer told me that the baby is above average (Did expect that as my DD was a 9lb 1oz baby). i found in my notes later on the day that this baby is breech olique (it always had been head down since 2 weeks ago) which they never mentioned it to me (poss could its too early to worry about that).

i just seen my midwife today and she said that its looking that i could poss have a c-section and not a natural birth (i had a emergency c-section with my DD). i was hoping for a natural birth. i even asked if this baby does head down will i able have a natural birth?..she said 50/50 cos of being a big baby.



ive got myself a ball to bounce on - how long for?? and also im doing the position too....is it worth doing them???

[biglips]

bumpity bump

[dinny]

don't think a 9lb-er would require a C section because of the size alone, isn't that for huge babies, like over 11/12 lb or something?

[biglips]

even though i had a emergency c-section before?

[dinny]

was that due to position with your first? are you v petite?

[feedmenow]

Biglips, how big and tall are you?

I have been told on many occasions that women tend not to make babies that are too big for them to birth (although this is obviously not always the case!)

I don't think a previous section should make a whole lot of difference. If you really want a vaginal birth keep with the birthing ball the the optimal fetal positioning stuff - after all, it really can't hurt!

[mazzystar]

34 weeks? wow time flies - how are you feeling?

not sure about the size thing - do you know why you had the cs with L? i suppose it also depends on how big? lulu will know

re the position and ball - i think the jury's out on that - but psychologically it can't hurt.

hope you are doing ok - is L excited?

[marym]

[mrschop]

My first was 9lb10oz, em cs as he was 'too big' (24 hours labour and he still didn't come) - DD was forecast to be bigger and popped out in less than an hour at 8lb.

I had decided to give natural labour a go - but DP was primed and on hand to start demanding advice if things don't go smoothly (rather than risk being abandoned for hours - NHS maternity care!). We agreed that if labour stalled, or if it wasn't over in 6 hours, we'd have a CS (look at the NICE guidelines on VBAC too, they outline when dr's should draw the line and go for the CS).

[VictorianSqualor]

Women do not generally make babies they cannot birth. You need to get into a good position to open your pelvis, like the supported squat or on all fours.
An active, relaxed labour and the right positions you should be fine.

[lulumama]

i think your MW is hedging her bets rather a lot there..

a big baby per se is not a reason to have a c.section, she might be concerned that as you have not 'proved' your baby can pass through your pelvis previously, that it might be an issue

BUT BUT BUT

scans and palpation are not 100 % accurate, in fact there is a margin of error of up to 15 % IIRC

as others have said an active , upright labour where you can adopt the positions you need to will give you a good chance of VBAC anyway, regarldess of baby's size

[lulumama]

mazsy, how did you get on after all your tests the othe rweek?

[laura325630]

I was told dd was measuring on our 34 week scan. She was one day early and 7lb 1oz!!!!

[Gina80]

I second that - I was told that my baby would be very small as I had problems with the placenta - About 4lbs. I week later he weighed in at 6lbs 12oz nearly 3lbs heavier than they estimated from a scan. So they aren't always acurate. I also know several people that had VBAC's with 10lb'ers
All the best

[VictorianSqualor]

Gina, I had 'placental issues' and a 10lb 3oz baby

[biglips]

i am tall and a big boned girl. i had an emergency with DD cos of the position that she was in as her face was facing to my left and not straight on so it was causing a strain on her neck in my birth canal.

Midwife did say that this poss a 10lber one - eek!!

mazzy - yes L is very looking forward to it..lets hope she keeps it up!....how are your LO's? as not seen u for ages!

mrschop - thats interesting to know.

[biglips]

gosh my legs are knackered now after bouncing on the gym ball for 15 mins!

[pollyanna]

my 16 week ds was 10 2 at birth - I had a natural, [very] fast labour with no stitches - a very positive experience in fact!

I heard that cleaning skirting boards is the thing to do to get the baby into the right position - no idea if this is right! but can't harm (and you will have very clean skirting boards )

[biglips]

yes pollyanna that is true and wow 10lb 2oz.

[Tangle]

If your baby is breech (to a greater or lesser degree) you might want to investigate some of the more breech-specific methods of encouraging them to turn, like moxibustion and the Webster Technique (chiro). I think there's some homeopathic treatments as well (I've got pulsatilla in mind, but could be very wrong). The sooner you start them the more likely they are to work. "Breech Birth" by Benna Waites has a good chapter on complementary methods of encouraging breech babies to turn.

I'm pretty ambivalent about the whole "don't worry them by talking about position before 36 weeks" thing - its great if you're in the majority and your baby turns of its own accord but if, like mine, they don't then you suddenly have some big decisions to make and not much time to think about them.

[kiskidee]

biglips, sit as much as possible on the birthing ball. watching telly, playing with your toddler, MNing. I like doing circles, shifting my weight from leg to leg, back to front, sitting still and leaning forward. Legs open, feet flat on the floor at all times. All good movements for conditioning the pelvic region for childbirth too as well as opening the hips and flexing the joints.

[biglips]

thanks everyone for your advices

im really hoping for a natural birth.

[biglips]

oh another question???

how late in the pg can i decide to have a c-section? or is that depends on the hospital policy?...(as im off to see the consultant on the 15th which ill be 36 weeks).

[VictorianSqualor]

I decided at 39 weeks

I said I wanted a VBAC all along and they said that we'd see what happened on the day. 39Wks still no baby so I was booked in for a CS at 40 weeks but said if I went into labour I'd cancel the CS, then I cancelled it the day before and rebooked it for 41 weeks, which I nearly cancelled but was a bit about waiting any longer incase the placental issues caused problems.

[ajm200]

Check out the optimal positioning info on www.spinningbabies.com

The website isn't the best for formatting as they are going through a troublesome upgrade at the mo but it does have some info on positioning that might help get your LO lined up.

As others have said, don't be too concerned about the big baby stuff you are hearing. My son was estimated at over 10lb and I'm not very big, only 5'5 but he was born at 8lb 3 - not exactly huge.