Britains biggest babies is a of a scaremonger?

[Rollon2012]

based on this doc that was recently on www.itv.com/Lifestyle/BritainsBiggestBabies/default.html

about obese women and big babies, I am larger myself although nowhere as big, I was had to have a GT when pregnant, got tested okay on measurement my bump was 1/2cm shorter then it should have been then had the cheek to ask me if I had been eating properly baby was 9lbs 3 long but skinny, bf'd only but 5lbs on in first 4 months.

I watched this thinking its gonna turn into another witchhunt that every pg large woman id going to have a huge, giant baby the size of a 5 month old.

AIBU

I don't really understand what you're asking AIBU about?

I dont understand what the AIBU question is either, but FWIW,
I was a size 10-12 when I fell with DS1. He was 7lb 6oz.
I was a size 14-16 when I fell with DS2. He was 8lb 2oz, and 10 days late.
MY friend was a size 22-24 when she had both her DDS, both were around the 8lb 6oz mark.
My SIL was a 10-12 (she says 8, but there's no way!) when she had her DS1 who was 9lb 13.
Guess us 3 defy research??

Are you BU about what exactly? I don't even know really what you're saying!

sorry, AIBU to think some of these programmes are really a glorified witchhunt

Much like the appt I had today at the weight management clinic. Was 40 minutes of "your blood pressure is fine BUT..." "your weight gain is fine BUT..." "your baby's size is fine BUT..."

I walked out of there feeling like I was carrying Gargantua and had every pg/weight related condition under the sun when actually everything she tested was absolutely fine. I appreciate the need for caution but I really resent being treated as if I have conditions that I don't. Especially when it has such a negative effect on the birth and treatment afterwards.

Hardly a witch hunt. There is evidence that larger mothers have larger babies. Anecdotes also don't trump research.

I'm not sure I understand what your OP is saying

But there was a recent study that concluded the unborn children of a certain amount of overweight Mothers had dangerously high levels of fat around their inner organs.

It wasn't the overall birth weight that was the problem but the distribution of fat...too much around the liver and other areas.

Is that what you're getting at?

I am chubby/plus size
DS1 was 8lb 13oz
DS2 was 8lb 10oz
DS3 was 8lb 12oz

All 3 were 53cm long. They are all a bit smaller than average but in proportion. My friend is a size 8 and had a baby who was 7lb something a week after I had ds1. She rapidly overtook ds1 in growth and wears clothes 3 sizes bigger than ds1 does but she is in proportion too.

ellie it's not about birth weight...it's about the distribution of fat in the babies of overweight mothers (if I've understood the OP right)

Well I defy research also.

Ds 6lb 3oz, was early though.
Dd born at 39+4 7lb 6.5oz

perfectly healthy always been 'average' and still are at 2.11 and 4.3

It is vital that women are aware of the risks of having a large baby.

My eldest weighed in at 10lb4oz.

He nearly died as there was a complication - shoulder dystocia. Bad. They couldn't shift him. He was stuck for minutes and wasn't breathing when they finally got him free. He was left with erbs palsy.

This was down to mismanagement of the shoulder dystocia. If you have a large baby, there are more risks.

My second child was 10lb 5 oz! but his birth was managed well! By the consultant. Because they were aware of the risk and did everything they could to manage it.

Most big babies are fine. Some smaller babies also suffer sd. but a macrosomic baby is statistically a higher risk and there's no good pretending otherwise.

I knew my son was too big. I asked them what happens if the baby gets stuck. I was told it cannot happen. Actually told it does not happen. They lied. They may have thought they were being reassuring, but it was the wrong thing to do.

Being taken by surprise and panicking - which is what happened in my eldest's case - causes problems. In my case, it left my son with a lifelong disability. There is nothing wrong with having the facts. Having the facts is in no way a 'witchhunt'. If they had correctly risk assessed and put plans in place to deal with all eventualities, then perhaps the doctor wouldn't have panicked, screamed help me help me help me and pulled on my son's head so hard she caused nerve damage.

People need to know. The risks are small. Most people will be fine. But pretending nothing can ever go wrong is the wrong approach, imo.

I have not seen ths particular programme. So I do not know if it was poor and a witch-hunt, as you describe.
But I tyell you what, this issue does need to be addressed.
No one ever tells you, when you fall pregnant, what your birth may be like. What will/could happen, the complications , if it tunrs out your baby is very big.
Or what will happen if your baby is very small. No one talks about SBU and what the machines do and what it all means. I emna no one tells you early on, about all the possibilities.

My niece is tiny. Tall and very slim. She is a fitness instructor. Gave birth in 1 and 3/4 hours to a 10 lb'er.
Loads and loads of slim women give birth to huge babies.
That needs to be examined aswell.
There is a wealth of programmes that could be made, on these topics don't you think?

Have just re-read HeCate's post.
Think it sums it all up perfectly, doesn't it ?

See, like Hecate I had a big baby, macrosomia due to Gestational Diabetes.
She was expected to be around 12lb, and my consultant practically forced me to agree to a caesarean after telling me that if I tried to give birth naturally she could get stuck, we could both end up having bones broken to manipulate her out and that if there were complications she could end up brain damaged or dead.
At the time I felt like it was the last thing I wanted, but after seeing DD I was so glad that that was the route that had been taken. If I hadn't been given the information that I was, I would have chanced it and could have lost DD, so I really agree that it is vital information that pregnant women, particularly those at high risk of such conditions are made aware.

Also defying research, I was obese with DD1 who weighed 6lb13.

Overweight with DD2 who was 6lb3.

msbuggywinkle part of the research actually showed that many obese mothers tend to have SMALL babies, but that these babies then often go on and gain weight extremely quickly once born.

i am small 5 2 size 10-12 and mine were 8lb 7oz, 9lb 3oz, 9lb 5oz. 10lb 13oz!! and then my last was 8lb tho that may be cos she was a girl and they tend to be smaller? all natural births even the whopper was born in a birth pool with no issues, the midwife just said i have good 'childbearing hips'

It reminded me of one of those ghaslty exploitative obesity programmes just for babies , and esssentially going 'oooh she liked her food so now her baby is a freak of nature'

I felt as I watched it, wonder if the same sensationalist tone would be taken with FAS, drug addicted babies or indeed babies damaged by smoking. IYSWIM.

I was told 8 1/2 lbs max , 9LBS 3 :O

my mum 5ft, was a size 12 put on 4 stone with me i was 9lbs

I did haemorraghe and 3rd degree tearing so some of it rang true with me, im not sticking my fingers in my ears I am trying to loos the weight iv gained before TTC so I can say to myself and pro. that I tried to do best.

I saw the programme and they did also say that maternal obesity could lead to low birth weight in some cases. Yes the programme wasn't particularly good, but I thought the underlying point (that maternal obesity increases the risk of complications) was pretty uncontroversial.

rollon i was told that my first three boys were going to be 6lb, 7lb TOPS yes yet they were 9lb+!!

ds4 they said woudl be 9lb, he was 10lb 13oz and then they said dd would be over 9lb i said NO she is smaller, i knew she wasnt as big as the boys, having carried big babies before i could feel she was smaller, but they wouldnt listen to me, what would i know, i was only the pregnant one she was 8lb exactly, so not the big baby they said she would be and actually a bit smaller than i thought she would be, we had to go and buy her newborn sized clothes, i only had 0-3mths as that was what the boys had worn and they drowned her!

I think it's par for the course really that obese/overweight women won't want to be told they could be putting their babies at risk.

No-one really wants to hear that if they feel there's little they can do about it.

But that's no reason not to tell obese/overweight women they could be putting their babies at risk.

In the same way women are advised to give up smoking before they fall pregnant, they're being advised to lose weight before they get pregnant.

Anything to decrease the risk of damage or complications is a good thing surely?