11lb at 38 weeks! Advice please

[wtfisgoingon]

Hello all,

DS1 was 40+9 and weighed 8lb7. DS2 was 40+16 (i refused induction) and weighed in at 10lb 11oz. Both spontaneous, natural and, compared to most I would say quite easy births.

So....I am 38+4 with my third baby. I was referred for a growth scan last thurs (38+1), and apparently the baby already weighs 11lb . I honestly thought the sonographer was joking at first. Saw the consultant afterwards, all very serious: bring me in for induction the following day or book a c-section for the tail end of this week. I said I wasn't prepared to make a decision there and then and we left.

Plenty of googling that evening has led me to some conclusions:

1: they may be off with the weight (although margin of error seems to only be just over a pound, and I suppose could would in either direction)

2: shoulder dystocia (my main concern) could happen regardless of size, seems to be more of a positional thing. I haven't put on excessive weight, no sign of GD either.

I have since asked for more time. I had acupuncture on Friday, and a follow-up for Tuesday morning with reflexology booked for that afternoon.

I am mainlining raspberry leaf tea, and snorting clary sage fumes.

I just imagined this birth being as wonderful and as straightforward as the other two, and am trying to stay calm and positive, but I am thinking that if they are correct about the weight then I cant really delay past next weekend. I have confidence in my body but only up to a point!

I would really welcome thoughts and advice from anyone with similar stories to share.

TIA

Well, I had shoulder dystocia with dd who was 7lbs 9.

I was induced with ds who was 8lbs 5 and it was the quickest, easiest birth ever. My induction was a great experience - far better than dd's birth which was a natural labour.

I'm sure some experiences people will be a long in a minute. Me, personally, though, I'd be having an induction in your situation.

I've just had something similar - growth scan at 37 weeks showed baby at 10lb 8oz already.
Saw consultant a few days later to discuss induction/planned section & she wasn't convinced on the size predicted from the ultrasound and decided to rescan me herself. She spent ages doing the measurements really carefully .......and came up with 8lb 8oz! Obviously there's still some room for error but she felt that was a more likely prediction so were back on for a normal delivery!
I was more confident in her measurements than the sonographers and they fitted in with my growth chart.

Perhaps ask them to scan again & if still coming up with big numbers that'll help you make your decision as to what to do?

It is a decision only you can make. My sil was threatened with induction each time as she was having 'a whopper' and would struggle. Her biggest baby was 8lbs and she gave birth relatively easily to each baby. I had an emcs with a 6lber and a 7lber and this was down to the position of their heads.

They can be quite a long way out with their guess re size and you are right that position and head circumference are more indicative of how labour will go. But you do have a history of bigger babies and generally, they do increase in size each time. Still, most women do make babies who they can birth, regardless of weight.

The choice is completely yours. You can either consent to induction now or you can wait. You won't start labour naturally. None of the old wives' tales work (though raspberry leaf tea is a uterine tonic which will possibly help with your second stage, it's nothing to do with induction of labour).

I do think the option to wait and do nothing atm is a valid one. You're only 38 weeks and you could spend some time shifting focus back to enjoying the end of your pregnancy instead of worrying about a theoretical risk.

It's such a lot of pressure to heap on you right now. I'm sorry I've been precisely no help I suspect.

scans are notoriously crap indicators. i read an article about this yesterday all peer reviewed ans very good.

the conclusion was that offeting induction or c section for suspected big baby actually made complications more likely. and that scans are really not accurate.

do.you have gd?

how did your previous two labours go?

btw my ds4 was 10lb 13oz, when preg with no 5 consultant was quite sure baby no 5 was going to be big, i would need a section etc etc... i refused, baby was ten days overdue and 8lb exactly :)

how big do YOU feel the baby is? having carried big babies before 9-11lb i could tell tgat no 5 wasnt as big. she did suprise me being only 8lb, i thought she would be bigger but i knew she wouldnt be as a big as ds4 had been.

evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-for-induction-or-c-section-for-big-baby/

here you, was a very intetesting read, also look at ten month mamas on fb they had useful info on this :)

No GD, and the other labours went really well. First 6 hours, second 3hours.
My feeling is that, yes, it is big. It does feel massive, and the bump is enormous! However, 11lb already just seems ridiculous. Although ds2 was 10lb 11, he was really late and I had been using that as an argument for letting me give birth in the local MLU (full maternity wing closed recently) instead of travelling to the consultant unit 40mins away (what if there is traffic!!!). Obviously in light of this weight info, we will go over to the main unit, and hope the traffic is in our favour (can be appalling). Did a trial run yesterday to familiarise ourselves.

I think another scan is a good idea, I feel like they will say no, but I will insist. Has anyone demanded additional scans for similar reasons and received them?

I was looking forward to the birth, and would upset if I had a c-section this Friday and they pull out an 8-9lber (not upset with the baby! Just the experience)

Thanks 5mad , I'll take a quick look at that link

Would they rescan to double check?

I don't think you'll have a problem getting another scan - if there is point out a further scan is less hassle to them than induction or a section!
Good luck x

And you were helpful there show, absolutely right. It is heaps of pressure right at the wrong time. Similar to when I refused induction with DS2, I had huge pressure from the hospital to just have it done and the stress probably delayed things even more.

It seems, to an extent, a bit of a knee jerk reaction to the scan size by the consultant this week just to offer up an ultimatum (and I did actually cry as she said it, only a teeny bit, just the shock).

i woulf insist on re scans and second opinion.

you can obviously deliver big babies as you have.

has the babys head engaged at all? it prob wont before labour as its not a first baby. its head size that counts! and position. ds4 head circ was off the top of the chart. labour less than an hour, born in pool with no pushibg.

dd at 8lb was my smallest baby but she was back to back so hard labour tho only three hours.

my othets were 9lb+ and straightforward as well.

if i had to choose it woild be induction not c section and i was induced as i got to more than two weeks ovetdue (gave up at 18 days over) still had natural labour including using birthing pool. they induced me by breaking my waters so no drip etc.

have thry assesed your cervix? how favourable it looked would influence my decision. but you seem to have longer pregnancies so i would be reluctant to induce early.

We were told our ds was very big, no he wasn't at birth... They were totally wrong.

I wasn't told an estimated size with mine, the sonographer just said 'put it this way, you're not having a small baby.' DD was 11 days late and weighed 6lb 15!

And I was told I was having a 7 1/2lber and ended up with an 11lber - 3.5lbs out!!

Ok. Def asking for another scan tomorrow.

Just told DH, he was watching the scan and said she double-checked everything. He would have put me on the chopping block last Thursday, if she hadnt looked so busy I think he would have asked her to shift it there and then.

These are the measurements from the scan, which I fed through an online calculator to get the approx gestational week:

HC (head): 360mm - 40.8 weeks
FL(femur): 71mm - 36.2 weeks
AC (abdominal): 430mm - 49 weeks

The legs ring true, my boys were both short on leg and big of body until the age of 2. Gorgeous little dumper trucks.

But the tummy? I will admit to a controlled intake of tunnocks teacakes, and a daily glass of coconut water, but have eaten sensibly, put on loads of weight with the other two and became quite into good diet and exercise and didn't want the same fight to get it off again.

I think these measurements will feature in my request for another scan.

well that head circumference is normal! mine all had head circum of 38-39cm and ds4's was 41cm!

def get another scan.

I was told my baby would be between 7-8lb.....he was 10lb 6 and a natural delivery. he came out easier and as an unexpected home birth with only gas and air from the ambulance crew he didn't get stuck nor did I tear! I wanted a natural birth as ive had to epidurals previous an I suppose it doesn't get more natural than that lol! you do whats right for you and your baby they maybe wrong on the size too.

Update: saw c

Oops!

Saw consultant today, and she was lovely, second scan organ

Sorry, pregnant thumbs on iPhone,

Organised, estimated weight now 12lb (at 39 weeks) so not the result I was looking for. They may still be wrong but it looks less likely now., so have caved under pressure and booked a csection for Monday, and they did all the pre-op then and there and I just started feeling really panicky again, like last week, after feeling really calm and positive all week. Second reflexology appointment tomorrow.
That's all, really.

I have a scan at 36 weeks because I wanted a home birth. My baby's tummy was so big the computer couldn't cope and the sonographer had to work out the figures by hand. The scan was correct and he was born at not quite 37 weeks weighing in at 8lb 10 oz (so not as big as your baby is predicted to be.)

When discussing my birth plans with my midwife, her comment was that my ds had an enormous tummy and tummy's are squishy and therefore having a huge tummy is not necessarily a problem. Having a huge head on the other hand...... I had a completely uncomplicated home birth. It was, dare I say is, not even that painful.

OOh. Cross posts. Sounds like a cs is not a bad idea. Good luck!

Well, slightly different scale but similar issue...massive tummy. Am going to sleep on it. Not worried about the baby getting stuck as such, just worried that I will be ripped to shreds, was ok with my 10lb 11 baby but this is just, er, bigger!

Will sleep on it.

Yikes. Since the 38 week and 39 weeks scans are in agreement, I'd go for a section without passing go and collecting £200 But then I did have a 3rd degree tear delivering a