Help confused. Midwife v Docotor advice!

[lozzamumoftwins]

Help please. im so confused and frustrated. Im 39 plus 3 and am measuring 2-3 weeks ahead which was confirmed at 34 weeks. Midwives couldnt fit me in for a check up this week but insisted i be seen by a doctor as im high risk due to previous c-section with my twins (who are now 3 1/2).

Doctor says im still measuring rather large (43 cm) and doesnt think I should go over my due date as doesnt want to risk rupture. He wants me to be assessed at the hospital today to see if I can still go for a VBAC.

Rang hospital and to be honest they are not concerned and told me to wait for my next midwife appointment next week after my due date. They allow for this sort of thing.

Im just always getting conflicting advice from midwives and doctors and the doctors seem more concerned. I just want someone to give me a straight answer.

Would like the baby now but if she is happy and healthy and there is no risk to her health then im happy for her to stay put but if there is any risk that there could be complications I want to know.

Sorry for the rant but im very frustrated.

I'm surprised the hospital are querying a request by a doctor. If it were me, I would probably call the doctor back and say the hospital won't see you and ask him to call them to request you are seen today. Let them fight it out amongst themselves!

thanks. Im on the case but wish theyd make up their minds.

Docters v risk adverse - and some I think actually disagree with VBAC -wouldn't come out and say it of course- if you and baby is fine I would say don't worry too much - and its not good practice in my view to induce for VBAC -which I am assuming he is suggesting or was it go to ELSC-
I would say that induction is more risky with regards to rupture due to stronger contractions than a "big" baby -Also just because you are measuring big doesn't mean your baby is big BTW

He was suggesting c-section again which I dont really want as my experiences last time werent good. I think his concerns were if i go any further the baby will get to big for a natural and he was thinking of my well being. I think there is always this conflict with midwives and doctors but I put my trust in both but get concerned when i get 2 different answers.

It could be due to excess fluid, am suprised the dr or midwives haven't arranged a scan as a midwife arranged one for me when I was measuring a few weeks over date.

I was in a similar situation in reverse (am now pregnant with twins). My FIL gave me great advice. I really wanted a VBAC but with risk of rupture I was told it wasn't really possible. Having heard that and other concerns, I really wanted a clear set of actions. Call the consultants secretary (you can usually get this on the hospital website) and ask her/him for clarification and actions from the consultant and/or registrar. Explain what has happened and leave her/him to sort. All the best

they really need to scan you to properly assess the baby's measurements. tape measurement are inaccurate and highly old fashioned, and many countries abandoned these a long time ago. you should insist on a scan. god luck. hope all goes well.

lozza I agree a scan would be better, but even they are not 100% accurate. Measuring big could mean that baby IS big, or is still high, or you have lots of fluid...and lots of big babies are birthed naturally.

Is the doctor your GP or is it a specialist? Just thinking that the hospital probably see much more of this than a GP, which is probably why they're not worried.

Doctors are must more risk advewrse (and aware) and tend to think about the things that could go wrong (and try to avoid them) than looking at the things that go right.
In this scenario, your baby could be big (but measuring ahead of dates is not always a big baby) and if your baby is big this could potentially increase your risk of rupture (a little)
So its up to you to decide if there is enough evidence of your baby being big, and enough evidence of this increasing your risk of rupture to make you change your mind about VBAC and go for an ELCS
OR
If there is not enough definete evidence to convince you a ELCS is necessary to feel reassured by the midwives (who are the experts in normal birth) and continue with your plans to VBAC.
You could always reconsider if new evidence is presented or you go very overdue.
Some links that might help-
www.bigbaby.org.uk/vbacs_with_a_big_baby.html
birthingbeautifulideas.com/?p=905
www.pregnancy.org/article/vbac-scare-tactics-big-baby-big-problems
www.lamaze.org/OnlineCommunity/AskanExpert/tabid/363/aff/14/aft/31745/afv/topic/Default.aspx

Thanks everyone. Got a scan booked tomorrow so fingers crossed x

Sorry I am a bit biased as I come from a family of Dr's and I would say go with the Dr's advice. I often think midwives are so concerned about their 'natural births' that they often do not take into consideration the risks involved. They also do not have the same medical knowledge of Dr's. In my mums day it was Dr's who led the care of every pregnant women helped by midwives - now its only high risk patients who go under the care of a consultant - Just remember a consultant is a specialist in his field, the midwife may not be. x

Yes I agree, I came across so many midwife who thought they knew best rather than the doctors while I was in hospital waiting to be induced. Turned out some of them hadn't heard of my blood disorders so to be so dismissive of something you don't understand seems very wring to me! Doctors do err on the side of caution but to be honest with you that's the stance I would ALWAYS prefer them to take!

Mum same here, I am being consultant led this time because of DVT after 1st so I sort of feel as if I am in safe hands! :)