Was I in danger at hospital?

[wellington77]

Hi everyone, I gave birth 7 weeks ago and I have been reflecting on my time during labour. The last trimester I was given extra scans as they said my baby was measuring big they said I would need a planned c section as with a big baby there is the usual risks of tearing or baby’s arm being broken to get her out. Or worst case death. They could only book one in 4 days before my due date as they were booked up , that worried me as I didn’t think I would last that long, which I didn’t, went into labour 1 and a half weeks early and I said would I be having the c section, they couldn’t do it as two women were already in theatre. In the end I gave birth naturally with gas and air and age actually wasn’t a big baby. I have been wondering since, what if she was a big baby??!! Is this normal care from the nhs or actually was this dangerous as if she was a big baby and I didn’t have a C-section it would have been medically dangerous. What does everyone think? Genuinely curious as it’s been in the back of my mind

Thankyou yes you are right, just wondering really

It will do you no good to wonder, it didn't happen and if you were genuinely in trouble the likelyhood is that they would have made the section happen one way or another.

I would take it that if she was measuring big for gestational age then if you hadn't gone into labour naturally and she continued growing for 10 days or so beyond her due date then she might get so big that there were the risks you were told.

However as you went into labour 10 days or so before your due date that's 20 days less growth compared to the scenario they were worried about.

So no I don't think you were at any risk.

Everyone goes over the what ifs of their birth.

I gave birth with just gas and air to DS1 who was just shy of 10 lbs. I asked for an epidural but all anaesthetists were unavailable. That's just the way it went.

Giving birth to big babies is usually fine. It's a very small additional risk.

My second baby was twins, the placentas got very stuck and I nearly ended up with a hysterectomy as infection was setting. It all worked out mostly fine in the end. It is what it is.

No birth is with out risk. C-Sections aren't without risk. But people keep having babies so it's a risk worth taking.

You and your baby are both safe and well which is what is important.

Most health trust will have a birth reflections services where you can discuss this.

As a PP said? You'd have got your section if it was an emergency. They'd have made it happen.

Thankyou guys you are right

Normal care from the NHS?! You mean a pregnancy overseen by highly skilled professionals and a birth in a safe, warm, dry place with effective pain relief and immediate emergency care in case anything went wrong?!?
Sometimes I think it would do people good to see how childbirth CAN be. Yes the NHS is massively flawed and struggling, but please do remember that we are so incredibly luck to have access to advanced medical care.

The risk would have been mitigated due to your earlier delivery. Big babies are perfectly fine delivered naturally, it just increases risk my a tiny amount. If they had deemed it to be a significant amount you WOULD have been prioritised for a C-Section.

Congratulations!

They were concerned about the extra weight that baby would gain in the last weeks of pregnancy, especially if you hadn't delivered by your due date.

You gave birth 10/11 days earlier than your due date. Had you gone to your due date or later the baby would possibly have been 2lbs heavier than her actual early birth weight which would have been a different scenario.

Your baby arrived, safely, much earlier than your planned C-section. Don't be worrying about "what-ifs" The "what-if" in your scenario is that 2 other women were given C-sections at a time when you were able to birth safely. Presumably they needed the C-section for some medical reason. Presumably if you had gone into natural labour at a later date you would have been the person bumping another woman in the queue. I'm sure you were assessed when you went into hospital and didn't just give birth straight away. The other women were deemed to have greater need at that time.

Enjoy your new baby.

Most of the time, if a big baby is going to be a problem in labour it will present itself as a problem before getting to the fully dilated and pushing stage, especially in a first time mum. As in, the labour doesn’t progress because baby doesn’t descent into the pelvis or comes down a bit wonky.
As PPs have said, the risk would have been if you had been overdue as baby would have been bigger.

There has been a recent thread on here about the poor maternity care in the UK and minimising attitudes.

It is okay to look back and ask a question, and get a really considered answer like the one from @OpusGiemuJavlo

Other posters saying don’t wonder, don’t question, if you don’t get an epidural (if that is what you want) that’s just how it is - no! We do need to question maternity care. Giving birth is a huge event. Effective pain relief is subjective but very very many women in the UK don’t get it.

Yes I'm not saying it is perfect or people shouldn't ask questions. But working in an industry that is just constantly bashed, the whole bloody time when you are exhausted, on your knees and trying your absolute best for people is hard tbh, and sometimes I don't think people realise how hard. I'm on a year out due to stress and panic attacks caused by work (nursing), and the pressure of trying to hold it all together. In addition to questioning, couldn't we also recognise the bits and pieces of excellence we DO get?! Not just I didn't get this or that, but I had an absolutely wonderful MW who was an incredibly support. We don't need to gloss over the bad - and we 100% shouldn't, we should insist on the very best of care - but lets also have a look at the good sometimes. For the sake of all us poor fuckers who really DO care!

What does it matter. As people have pointed out, your delivery was managed; and baby arrived safely. If your birth had gone differently, taken a bad turn; your birth would have been managed differently and would have ended differently (CS) is your answer.

This is exactly what happened to me with my son. I was induced for 3 days due to complications & nothing happened, nothing worked no contractions etc. he was born 6 days early weighing 10lb he was stuck trying to engage.

Thankyou for people’s comments. I’m not sure why some people are coming across angry for me asking the question, it’s just me reflecting back and wanting to know as I’m not medically trained I don’t know the ins and outs of the risk. I just want a better understanding that’s all, it was a big moment in my life. I’m not complaining or said I word to any one in the NHS, because I know they work hard etc. shame I can’t just ask a question without being completely shut down for even asking. I’m not worrying about the what ifs, just genuinely curious about the science of it and therefore the decision made nothing more.

I’m not bashing anyone, or not criticised anyone please don’t jump to conclusions. I genuinely just want to understand how the science works in order to understand the decisions made. I’m not angry in the slightest I have a healthy baby. I’m naturally a nosy and curious person, I’m not worried about it. Shame I can’t even ask fellow women without troubling staff in the NHS as I don’t want to hassle or criticise them

Have a look at the other recent thread about birth trauma. I'm past childbearing age and thank fuck that I'm not giving birth in an NHS hospital these days. It is VERY much no longer a given that an NHS maternity suite is a safe place with effective pain relief, immediate emergency care and it is no longer a given that the professionals will act in the best interests of the mother.

I'm strongly pro the NHS but it does us no favours to pretend that things are other than they are. Our NHS is in crisis and failing, and that's extremely evident in maternity services. £1bn of it's £3bn budget is spent on settling lawsuits. That's horrendous.

Yes, birth is even more dangerous elsewhere. It shouldn't be a race to the bottom.

Your stress and panic attacks are a symptom are as a result of the overall problem too, though. You're just as much a victim of an inadequate and dangerous NHS as the women who experience dangerous and inadequate birth care. I'm so glad and relieved that you had a good MW and birth care; but it's evident that a great many women don't receive that.

The NHS was ridden on the coat tails of nursing staff who do really care for too long until it broke both the staff and itself.

I'm furious about the state of our NHS, but it's definitely not people like you who I'm furious at. I don't think anybody is or would be.

Hello - want to throw my hands up and say I think I completely overreacted there tbh...confession - I didn't read the OP properly. At work and its been a bit of a 'day' and I have a raging headache and a bad mood! Very very sorry. One of those lessons in life - don't go tiger like on people on the internet who haven't done anything wrong!

I had an early induction a week before due date for the same reasons, it failed so on the 3rd day I got listed for a section but got bumped to the next day, got bumped on the next day too due to emergencies so finally had the section on the Friday after going in on the Monday so was only 3 days before my due date at that point, I understood there were much more urgent cases and I also knew it wasn't so much about getting him out early but them not wanting me to go over just in case, he was only 9lbs in the end

Thankyou for your apology 💕💕

It's really disappointing to see so many posts just saying that as long as the baby's fine then all is well. Mothers matter too. As a minimum they should have explained to the OP that she didn't need a c-section at this point because of x reason. I can imagine it was quite scary for the OP to be told she needed a c-section and then to be denied one because the operating theatres were already being used.

@OrlandointheWilderness you must have missed all the recent media reports about how poor maternity care is in this country. It's not as great as some people like to claim and those people tend to also be the sort who think we should be grateful for any NHS care because it is "free".

My cousin almost died giving birth in an NHS hospital. They left her labouring for 24 hrs before they bothered to do a scan and realised the baby was never being born naturally. She lost so much blood and was severely ill for a couple of months after the birth. We really need to move away from thinking that as long as the baby is born OK then all is well.

Depends on what is deemed as a big baby. My mother gave birth to an eleven pounder,at home with just a midwife present

I’d really encourage anyone saying anything along the lines of “if baby is here and healthy you’ve nothing to worry/complain about” the read the birth trauma inquiry that has been released just this week.

OP, I think all trusts are now obliged to provide a birth reflections service. It maybe go by different names in different areas but is essentially where you get to have an in person debrief of your labour. The professional delivering this will have access to your antenatal, labour and post natal notes and will be able to talk you through any decisions made. This might be useful to you, contact the hospital you delivered at for more information.