Big Baby birth story's.. positive or negative welcome

[anonny55]

First time mum - baby estimated to be over 10lb

No GD
No health complications
BMI - 38

Been offered early induction due to size - I queried about having an elective section instead and was met with a consultant who basically said don't be pathetic you can birth a big baby there's just more chance of complications , he wouldn't sign me off for one he would only accept induction.

I've requested to speak to another consultant who I will meet with on Tuesday at 35+2 so hopefully they'll grant my wish!

I'm 90% sure I'm going for an elective over an induction however if I were to have an induction or go into spontaneous labour before 39 weeks, id love to hear your big baby birth story (please mention if it was your first baby too!)

I'm aware growth scans can be wrong. I've had them since 16 weeks and baby's always been above 95th centile. I don't feel safe to 'just leave him to come when he wants' as that gives time for even more growth.

Thanks!

I had baby1 with forceps and the recovery was fine but you seem to have made your decision on that already. I think you have made the right decision, I hear very little success stories of anyone I know who has been induced. Over 90% have resulted in a section anyway! How many weeks will you be at your section date?

Insist on a section. End of.

@PreggersWithBaby2 it's booked for 39+3. I've said I'm happy to give vaginal birth a try if I go into labour myself before hand. I'm not accepting induction as 60% of first time inductions fail in my local hospital..that's more than 1 in 2! Then how many of the 40% that have a vaginal birth end up needing forceps or ventous?!

Now to try all the labour inducing things!🫠

I've had parts of my mucus plug coming away, more braxton hicks, period pains on and off, emptying my bowels (nice way to put it!😂) for days now so I wonder if my body's getting ready!! We'll see😆

@anonny55 labour happened quick for me when I had those symptoms but I've heard other people having those symptoms for quite some time beforehand. Unfortunately that's the thing with pregnancy and childbirth, there's no one size fits all. You seem to have done your research and have thought about what's right for you, that's all you can do. It might not go exactly as you want though so be prepared for that too. Once the baby gets here safely and you are safe, you'll forget all about this planning and research you did 😅 best of luck!

Mine were 10 pounders and I had elective sections. Friends who had big babies had inductions and all
ended up in emergency c-sections. But we were all geriatric mothers, so maybe that was a factor.

I could have written your post as was in exactly the same situation with my first who was measuring big, with a massive head. I then developed pre eclampsia and was strongly advised to have an induction but knew that I would want a section in that case due to the risks of needing an emergency section any way and shoulder dystocia, lack of oxygen etc. Felt like I met a lot of reluctance but I stood my ground and had a section at 39+3. Son was 9lbs 12 and his head was enormous, the consultant who did it said there was no way he’d have delivered vaginally. My thinking was I’d only know if I’d made the wrong decision if something went wrong, otherwise it’s all unknown. My post section recovery was absolutely fine, I was out walking the dog again after 2 days, much smoother than friends who ended up needing an emergency. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.

@anonny55 so my eldest was born on his due date but I went to to Labour 2 days before.

I went 3 days over with my youngest. It turns out my waters had gone without me knowing so I had to be further Induced due to risk of infection. He was born the next day!

Recovery was pretty straight forward to be honest. I probably never gave my body enough credit for its ability to just crack on with it!

Oh I can imagine your shock when they said that! What I would say though, I genially don't know anyone who has had accurate measurement scans, truly!!! I have no idea why they share weight guesses as all it seems to do is cause panic.

I was so excited to hear my baby was going to be small as I have massive anxiety after my first giant, only for his to be nearly a pound heavier 😂🙈

@Teamrofl thanks for commenting. Glad you had a good experience and recovery. I'm really nervous for a section but even more nervous for the unknown of how a vaginal birth of a big baby will play out. I guess you know what you expect with a section. I bet you were relieved you went straight for the elective when you see how big he was😅

It's funny you say that actually as I have high bp and symptoms of pre e so I'm having 2 weekly check ups and blood tests so they catch it asap. For now it's just 'hyper tension' but my consultant is convinced it'll turn into pre eclampsia soon as I have the headaches, visual disturbances, swelling in feet and hands etc. id had such an amazing straight forward pregnancy before all of this😆

I'm just shoved on bed rest really and consultants plan is to just leave the section as 39 weeks and if I get pre e before then they'll bring it forward😅

Hi! My first baby was 10 lbs 1, had no idea he was going to be so big, I'd been measuring 50th centile until 36 weeks and never had a growth scan or anything. I went overdue by 12 days so was induced with a pessary - you hear induction horror stories but mine was fine, had the pessary at 10am, went home, contractions started around 5pm and he was born at 1.30am.
I had a natural non instrumental delivery with just gas and air and codeine. Now, it was painful 😂and I was pushing for 2.5 hours which was not pleasant (but check up GP said that was good as I could have done real damage if he'd come out much quicker). I was mainly lying down on my side but gave birth on the birthing stool. I had a 2nd degree tear which was quite sore after but consider that soo lucky with his size! I had done a lot of perineal massage beforehand which I think possibly saved me from a 3rd.