large baby-CS?

[sanita]

If it looks like i will be having large baby, do i get automatically offered CS or docs still will be pushing to deliver it naturally? What is considered to be large baby? Any comments, ladies? Thanks

"A newborn over 4 kgs (almost 9 pounds) is considered a large baby. This is called "macrosomia" and is a perfectly valid indication for cesarean section."

Cote - there are different weight thresholds for 'macrosomia' depending on country.

In the UK c-section is generally not offered to women expecting large babies if they are otherwise low risk as there is no evidence that it's linked to better outcomes for mums and babies.

I've had 3 babies over 9lbs (9lbs 6oz, 10lbs 12oz, 9lbs 3oz). I dieted very aggressively in my third pregnancy to keep the weight of my baby down and it worked for me - my third child was the lightest of all my three children, despite being by far the longest and having the biggest head circumference.

Ticklytum - fruit and fruitjuice can send your blood sugar rocketing and increase the amount of sugars available to your baby. Especially if you are having them between meals. You need to be eating complex carbohydrates (wholegrains, pulses etc), lean protein and vegetables, and laying off fruit juice. You can bring down the glycaemic load of your meal by combining proteins and carbs. In other words - no toast binges, washed down with half a gallon of orange juice!

DS was 10lbs 2oz and the delivery was fine, I had a smallish tear that healed in a week.
I am large of hip though; I don't know if this makes any odds or not.
I was told that he was about 8lbs. Friend's DD was 6lbs 7 and she was told that she was a large baby in utero.
I wouldn't worry too much. Babies seem to get stuck far more because of odd positioning inside than size. DS was head down but facing my spine but had enough room to spin round in labour despite being a whopper.

has anyone had 2 sections and then vbac?

DS2 was 10lb 5oz , expected large and 13 days overdue. I did tear in 5 places but that may have been the speed of birth also. CS wasn't even slightly suggested. I am 5'2" also if that makes a difference.

does the amount you eat as mum affect the weight of baby?

ds1 was a lovely 7lb 3oz and ds2 was an eye watering 10lb 8oz and i put on the same amount of weight with each and they were both 10 days over due......

both were very long but ds2 weighed a baby and a half!

OP - Talk to your hospital about their guidelines re delivering big babies. Do they automatically go for a large episiotomy? (apparently this is very usual because they wish to maneuver the baby before crowning to avoid shoulder dystocia).

If that is the case, push very hard for a c-section. Trust me, if you are going to have such a huge cut and those myriad stitches, you'd rather have them on your tummy and not on your fanjo.

Cote - where do you live? They don't do that in the UK.

Good grief!

I can't imagine anything more physiologically unhelpful to a healthy birth with a large baby than lying flat on your back with your legs in stirrups (necessary for a large epi) while someone shoves their hand up your fanjo and interferes with the normal mechanism of birth in order to try to prevent a SD which they can't predict and which happens in only the minority of births, even with macrosomic babies.

Here the protocol is to watch and wait for signs of shoulder dystocia and if it occurs to evaluate for episiotomy, rather than do one before they even know there's a problem. My midwife did exactly this (evaluate for an episiotomy) when I had a SD with my second baby who was a whisker off 11lbs. Luckily for me I have a very stretchy fanjo and she managed to do the manouvres necessary to get him out without cutting me.

I am usually size 12, size 4 feet and 5'6". DS2 was 10lbs 14ozs and born one and a half hours after arriving at hospital. Good luck either way.

thanx for that ladyofwaffle given me hope i too 5.2ft and large baby on way but elected my self for section at 39 weeks but if i go into labour before 39 weeks would like to give it a try. cant carry on anymore stomach huge! only 33 weeks yet.

As lulumama says if your baby is engaged that probably means you can deliver it. I had a CS because my 10 lb 14 baby would not engage and 48hrs of a carefully monitored induction due to high head at term, failed to get labour going. I was told I could never have delivered him through my pelvis, although I am very average weight and size. This was deemed to be true cephalo pelvic disproportion by 2 different consultants, which is quite unusual I believe. One of them said I had a "man's pelvis" which DH found amusing.

Hi, I'm 5'2 was 8 and a half stone before being pregnant and my son was born by emergency section at 9lb. I was told when I was pregnant by an old woman (in her 80's) in my parents village that I'd never give birth naturally and should have a section as I have narrow hips and no waist.

I took no notice of her but in retrospect think she was right! I have a boyish figure and I think that is a factor. Could be wrong though.

You don't get offered a section unless you've previously had a large baby but I think they will offer one more quickly in labour but not sure.

By CoteDAzur on Wed 31-Dec-08 17:17:28
"Look up the word "Macrosomia" and you will see that it applies to babies over 4 kgs."

It depends on your parentage as well. A 4 kg baby would not be considered enormous if you have Scandinavian (or I suspect African) in your background, but be mahoosive if either of you was Chinese.

A well respected MW (2000+ births) believes that large babies are actually easier to birth because they have to navigate birth canal perfectly (which also means optimal maternal position as well, i.e. not lying down). The littler ones have the space to get into tricky positions.

Isn't macrosomia a big baby as a result of diabetes, rather than just a big baby? They look very different...

"A 4 kg baby would not be considered enormous if you have Scandinavian"

V. true. Which is why they now also have ethnically appropriate fetal growth charts...

Also re: diabetes - yes, big babies born to diabetic mums do look different. If you want to see an example of this look at my son on my profile. He was just shy of 11lbs and I reckon most of it was man-boobs and double chin. Babies of diabetic mums carry most of their excess weight abdominally and around their chest. 'Normal' big babies tend to be very long and have big heads too.

My DS was 5.1 kg at 11 days over. I am currently 24 weeks pg with my third. The consultant said they might induce me a bit earlier if I get another big one.

TBH I would be very reluctant to have a c-section just because the baby was big. I am quite reluctant to be induced early too tbh. He was delivered without much help and was far easier to get out than my dd who was only 3.63 kg!