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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Eating too much = big baby?

51 replies

ag123 · 16/03/2012 21:17

I was just wondering if anyone had any information on this topic. 10 weeks ago I gave birth to my beautiful son at a whopping 11 lb and he was my first baby. I am quite big -5'10" and certainly not of slender frame, but the fact that he was so big led to a lot of complications- I ended up with an emergency section and also had a tear to the caesarean incision as they struggled to heave him out. I won't be planning on getting pregnant again in the near future (and have been advised to wait 12-18 months anyway) but I want to be well informed before I do. I definitely ate a lot during the pregnancy, but never had any sugar in my wee (so I don't think I could possibly have had undetected gestational diabetes) and he has also stuck to exactly the same centile line throughout (95th approx). Do you think if I was very very careful about what I ate during a subsequent pregnancy I could control the size of the baby?

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Loislane78 · 16/03/2012 21:37

Congrats, glad everyone was healthy in the end ;)

I hope that's not the case as I know I'm over eating. I'm not just pigging out in a "I'm eating for two so there mentality" just ravenous all the time! I try healthy snacks but also eat big portions and treats as well. Bizarrely chomping often was all that got me through morning sickness.

I've put weight on but at 17 weeks lots of people still can't tell I'm pregnant. Will be interested to hear others experiences.

Sarahplane · 16/03/2012 21:52

They don't know. Tommy's have been doing a research study into glucose level, maternal obesity and baby size which I took part in but don't think they have a conclusion yet. Maybe when the research is finished they might have more of an answer.

madaboutmadmen · 16/03/2012 22:09

I wouldn't have thought so. I have a healthy appetite which increased when I was pregnant. I didn't stuff like a pig don't get me wrong but I had what i fancied. My Ds was 6lb 1, at nearly 2 weeks over. I put on about a stone and a half during the pregnancy.

I've heard that it's linked to the mother's weighy when born, which makes sense for me as I was 6lb. Were you a big baby?

LeBeauReve · 16/03/2012 22:13

I had an 11.1lb baby and I only put on 1.5 stone whilst pregnant, which given that the baby and placenta weighed about a stone, I didn't think was that bad!
I make a joke afterwards that I wouldn't be eating at all when i got pregnant again and the midwife said it makes not difference, some people just make big babies and as long as there is no glucose/GD prob during pregnancy, it isn't a concern.
I am currently pregnant again though and am quite worried what this one will come out weighing! [shocked]

happy2bhomely · 16/03/2012 22:13

Hi, i'm 5' 9 normal BMI and gave birth to an 11lb baby boy at home 2 years ago. He was my 4th baby, and other than a delayed second stage,I had no complications.

My midwife who delivered said he was the biggest baby she had delivered in over 20 years and asked if I drank a lot of milk. I drank almost 2 pints a day (craving). Coincidence probably, and just anecdotal, but she just nodded wisely. Who knows? She said, more dairy equals bigger baby.

I don't think you could, or should attempt to, control the size of your baby by limiting how much you ate. Some people just have big babies. My others were around the 9lb mark.

LeBeauReve · 16/03/2012 22:13

even!

LeBeauReve · 16/03/2012 22:19

happy2bhomely you are amazing for delivering an 11lb baby at home! Did you know he was going to be big? They predicted my DS was going to be around 9lb and I was terrified of trying to deliver him!
Ended up with and emergency c-section in the end as he was just wedged in and not going anywhere.

Original poster

ag123 · 16/03/2012 22:22

Hi there,
Thank you for your replies. Yes I was quite big- 9lb 5oz, which I suppose is especially big for a girl,and I have always just been quite big-as a child and adult,so it does make me think maybe it's just genetics as wouldn't his growth have tailed off by now if he wasn't meant to be that size? I suppose the point is more that maybe I could have controlled his size be eating a healthier diet (I did eat all the good stuff,but the bad stuff too :-s) and then he would have caught up subsequently,if that is the way it works..?

OP posts:

themymble · 16/03/2012 22:57

Hi ag123
I've read quite a few articles about overweight mothers producing overweight babies. A quick google brings up quite a few. Not saying ALL mothers who produce whoppers are ALWAYS overweight.....but there does appear to be a strong correlation.

happy2bhomely · 16/03/2012 23:00

I could feel he was big, but I had delivered a 9 1/2 lb girl in hospital with G&A and not even a graze, so I felt confident.

My consultant scared me out of a home birth with my dc3 saying she was going to be massive. She ended up being comparatively small at 8lbs.

My 3rd was a precipitate labour, so everone was on standby for another quick one! Although labour at home was quite quick at 6 hrs, he took a long time to move down and my sister was hysterical when his head was delivered but his shoulders just wouldn't budge for what seemed like forever. He was so broad, I actually heard my pubic bone creak as he was born!

bonbonpixie · 17/03/2012 00:26

As this is going to be my first I have no actual experience. However a colleague scared me silly a few weeks by professing to have worked on a study claiming that eating lots of fish or taking fish oil supplements during pregnancy produces a larger baby independent of mothers weight at birth. I'm currently 31 weeks and have been gobbling fish oils since before I was pregnant. MW tells me that I'm measuring bang on for my dates but as many have said on these boards- that may mean nothing.
Had anyone else heard of this?
With only a couple of months left I'm hoping to prove her wrong!

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 17/03/2012 00:28

You are tall, so chances are your babies will be too. Is your husband tall as well?

mrswattnot · 17/03/2012 04:02

My friend is 5'1" and a size 8 pre pregnancy. She gained around 2 stone and by the end of pregnancy could barely walk as her bump was huge.

She went 2 weeks over and her DS was born by emcs and was 10 lb 12! She is convinced she had undiagnosed gestational diabetes as her partner is also small, there is no history of large babies in either family and her DS2 was under 8lbs.

MurrayHewitt · 17/03/2012 04:33

I am small, my bump was small and I actually lost weight at the start of pregnancy. But my daughter was over 9lbs, (also quick home delivery). So clearly not always the case, but Bigger mums must have more room to grow bigger babies. I was always under the impression it was more to do with how tall the mother was rather than how big. (I'm just over 5'2 )

Happenstance · 17/03/2012 06:58

I'm overweight and have eaten like a horse in both pregnancy's last baby was 7lb exactly,according to the doctor that did my 36 week scan this is a small baby too.

issimma · 17/03/2012 07:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

ag123 · 17/03/2012 07:14

Ok,so no dairy,no fish oil (both of which I certainly guzzled) and losing some bloomin weight might be a good place to start!

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Smugfearnleyshittingstool · 17/03/2012 07:21

I think there is some truth in it. My dh and I are quite small boned and not overweight, but I ate like a horse in all pregnancies, resulting in much larger babies than my mum had, all 91/2 lb plus, compared to the 7lb ish that every other baby in our family has ever been. My sugar addiction caused it I think!

FelixDaSouza · 17/03/2012 07:22

I was very overweight for both my pregnancies and produced 2 term babies weighing 7lb 11oz and 7lb 5oz.

In saying that I didn't binge all the way through my pregnancies and was actually lighter at 9 months pregnant than I was at the time of conceiving each time.

CherryBlossom27 · 17/03/2012 07:37

Hmmm....I'm not sure about this! My mum is 5'3 and my brother and I were both born weighing less than 7lbs, but we were both long and scrawny at birth according to mum. She ate 3 mars bars a day with my brother as they were on offer at the time! She put on about 3 stone of weight with both pregnancies and then back in her normal jeans by the 6 week check. I'm 5'7, and my brother is 6'1.

My DS was born 9lbs1oz and he wasn't very chubby, just long! My DH is 6'2. I ate sensiblyduring pregnancy and although I did put weight on, I was mainly all bump! I was measuring normally and my community midwife was quite shocked when she visited us at home as I'd been spot on all the way through e.g 35cms at 35 weeks. The birth was good though under 6 hours and just gas and air, and I only had to do the pushing stage for 5 mins so not worried about another big baby!

BuckBuckMcFate · 17/03/2012 07:52

I've always eaten what I wanted when I've been pg. Sometimes that has been salad cravings, sometimes pork scratchings (bleugh!) and I've always been mammoth by the end of each pregnancy.

I'm 5'9" DP is 6foot.
Babies have been 8lb 2, 8lb 13, 9lb 2, 8lb 13 so not massive but they've all been long and skinny. And they're all still long and skinny.

But both DP and I are quite naturally slender so it makes sense to me that they would be too.

RickGhastley · 17/03/2012 08:01

I have 2 DS. With DS1 I ate loads during pregnancy - and it was all carby stuff! He was born at 40+4 weighing 9lb 10oz.

With DS2 I had terrible sickness all the way through the pregnancy so could not eat much. I also had obstetric Cholastasis from 30 weeks which causes loss of appetite and I hardly ate a thing. DS2 was born at 36+0 weighing 8lb. The consultant said if I'd gone to term he'd have been even bigger than DS1 despite me having eaten about a quarter of hat I ate when P g with DS1!

So in my experience, some people just have big babies and there's nowt you can do about it!

BTW if you have had a previous big baby my hospital gives you growth scans and extra checks and they will induce you early if baby is looking really big.

lynlynnicebutdim · 17/03/2012 09:36

I think you need to make the distinction between having a big baby and having a chubby baby. Yes, overeating in pregnancy, gd etc probably does produce chubby babies but if your newborn is on the 95th centile for length and weight then that is not chunk, that is just a big baby. Your diet would have very little affect on that.

DaisySteiner · 17/03/2012 09:44

I think some people just grow big babies regardless of diet. I have a genetic condition which can cause fetal growth restriction yet mine have been 8lb 9oz, 9lb 12oz (41 weeks) 9lb 12oz (39 weeks) and 10lb 13oz (42 weeks). I'm not particularly tall, fairly slim and I had a tiny bump with the last one. I dread to think how big they'd have all been if they weren't growth restricted

Original poster

ag123 · 17/03/2012 10:37

Yes I suppose that's true. I must say though even though I'm saying it myself,he never has looked fat-just big all over..I was watching One Born recently and some of the bigger babies definitely looked a lot chubbier than he ever did. So do you think that is the difference then-if his size had mainly been due to what I was eating then he would have looked fat rather than bug all over?

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