Predicted big baby

[gratitude2022]

Baby was measuring of the charts on fundal measurement, so sent for a scan at 36 weeks and baby measured 91st centile. At 38 week appointment fundal measurement suggest reduced growth so sent for another scan which showed baby around 80th centile and gaining 28g / day.

I'm 38+ 5 now and my bump feels firm and huge. I'm now anxious labour will hurt more with this 8lb plus baby bearing in mind I'm petite at 5'2 and size 8 with the smallest frame. My other 2 were 7lb 12 (overdue 10 days) and 6lb+ (2 days early).

Would love to hear other mums experiences.

My DS measured big and they offered me induction at 39w or possible section. I took the induction and wish I hadn't. Induced at 39.0 and gave birth 39.5 but it was natural and everything was great just took a while. He was 8.6 so I could of gone full term

@gratitude2022 no I (fortunately!) had an attempted induction and then asked for a section when pain relief didn’t work. She wasn’t going anywhere the near the main exit! In the last few weeks they kept sending me to talk to obstetricians and consultants but I wish I’d been firm and asked for a late growth scan and booked in for a section. Hopefully yours won’t be that big though. My sister is the same build and birthed a 9lb baby but it makes me very nervous to think what would have happened if I had gotten to attempting to deliver her naturally!

@jelly79

My DS measured big and they offered me induction at 39w or possible section. I took the induction and wish I hadn't. Induced at 39.0 and gave birth 39.5 but it was natural and everything was great just took a while. He was 8.6 so I could of gone full term

Why do you regret the induction? What centile did they expect ds to be?

[quote ricketybeauty]@gratitude2022 no I (fortunately!) had an attempted induction and then asked for a section when pain relief didn’t work. She wasn’t going anywhere the near the main exit! In the last few weeks they kept sending me to talk to obstetricians and consultants but I wish I’d been firm and asked for a late growth scan and booked in for a section. Hopefully yours won’t be that big though. My sister is the same build and birthed a 9lb baby but it makes me very nervous to think what would have happened if I had gotten to attempting to deliver her naturally![/quote]
Is your partner big? The growth scans are so unpredictable as they could be so wrong and causing unnecessary stress.

Big babies are easier to birth because of gravity

The NICE guidelines and RCoG do not reccomend earlier induction or csection for a suspected big baby if there are no other contraindicated conditions

My first born was 97th centile and I had a 7hr labour in an MLU with one small tear no other complications

Growth scans have an innacuracy range of upto 20% either way (this can be about 2lbs) and they are more likely to misdiagnose a big baby than a small one.

@HairsprayBabe

Big babies are easier to birth because of gravity

The NICE guidelines and RCoG do not reccomend earlier induction or csection for a suspected big baby if there are no other contraindicated conditions

My first born was 97th centile and I had a 7hr labour in an MLU with one small tear no other complications

Growth scans have an innacuracy range of upto 20% either way (this can be about 2lbs) and they are more likely to misdiagnose a big baby than a small one.

I hope you're right 🥲

Interesting about NICE guidelines, I'm low risk and definitely no other indications.

Is it possible for our bodies to actually grow a baby that's too big for us to birth? Not my case specifically but just in general. Hypnobirthing course says otherwise but I'm sure it's happened before...

Babies of all sizes get stuck or have slow transition usually down to their positioning it's not about weight.

Very unlikely you can grow a baby too big - shoulder width can be tricky but midwives are trained to help with that too.

My biggest baby was very long/tall not fat or stocky shouldered. Plus internal pelvis size and shape isn't related to external hip size. I have the opposite of "child bearing" hips!

@RandomMess

Babies of all sizes get stuck or have slow transition usually down to their positioning it's not about weight.

Very unlikely you can grow a baby too big - shoulder width can be tricky but midwives are trained to help with that too.

My biggest baby was very long/tall not fat or stocky shouldered. Plus internal pelvis size and shape isn't related to external hip size. I have the opposite of "child bearing" hips!

That's a good point actually and very reassuring. I suppose this is why they emphasise on mobilising and birth position during labour.

@gratitude2022 he’s tall but not unusually so. People kept saying to me about your body won’t grow a baby to big to birth but mine did. I don’t think a natural birth would have ended well for either of us. But she was also my first and it’s extremely unusual for a baby to be that big. Have they put down an expected weight for you at term?

@gratitude2022 honestly on your frame a huge baby would be noticeable- there’d be nowhere for it to go!

[quote ricketybeauty]@gratitude2022 honestly on your frame a huge baby would be noticeable- there’d be nowhere for it to go![/quote]
Just checked my green notes, the growth scan at 38 weeks said it was measuring 7lb 4oz which to me isn't huge. Can't see estimated birth weight on there though. They said that weight is going up 28g each day so would be 8lb 5oz if I get to full term at 40 weeks. Less if I have the baby sooner.

Have they put down an expected weight for you at term?

@ricketybeauty sorry meant to respond to your question.

[quote ricketybeauty]@gratitude2022 honestly on your frame a huge baby would be noticeable- there’d be nowhere for it to go![/quote]
Haven't had the daft question whether I'm carrying twins this time round like I did with the first or that I'm huge.

Or maybe people have come to their senses in the last 10 years since dc1 not to make such comments...

[quote mindfulmotherhood]@ShowOfHands

How would you suggest on educating oneself incase of ecs? Terrified of this and you're right interventions, it's so unpredictable and it Is the unknown. [/quote]
Ask on here! Or read old threads.

And think about what you can control. The CS is carried out by the professionals and in a lot of ways you just hand over that bit to them. So what will you do? Do you want your birth partner to watch the op or stay by your side and talk/comfort you? Do you want the screens lowered so you can see them born? Music? Immediate skin to skin? If you think about what it could be instead of this big scary thing to be avoided, if it happens you have a frame of reference and some things to ask for instead of feeling overwhelmed. It's the day you meet your baby and that is no different to a vaginal birth. I maintain that a CS in its simplest form is not scary.

Thank you. I was talking to a friend who had an ecs and she was saying vaginal deliveries can be as traumatic too not just cs. Made sense.

Think I'm going to go with the preferences I've put down and take it as things come when they come instead of worrying myself. Made this mistake with dc2 worrying about this pain that never actually came.

I was measuring big and was sent for a growth scan.
Scan showed baby could end up being 9lb or more and im only small at 5ft.
Baby was born at 6lb 8oz.
They arent always accurate as I measured huge for my whole pregnancy!

I have always been fairly petite. Size 6-8, 5’4. Ds was born 8lb 8 and very long. No issues.