small woman- giving birth naturally?

[pinkelephant2017]

Me and my husband want to start trying for a baby the only thing is that i am absolutely terrified. My grandmother and mother had narrow birthing canals so both had pre planned c sections.

I am 5ft and about 6 1/2 stone, and generally have the body of a 14 year old. I know a womans body stretches during birth but i still don't see how i will be able to give birth naturally without any problems. And i am worried i will be bullied into a natural birth.

I wouldn't mind so much if i could get a pelvic exam before hand, but i just feel like i will be bullied into having a natural birth. I am sure i could eventually do it but i don't want to then be living with complications from doing it rather than looking after my baby.

I have a tiny cousin who had two quite large babies vaginally.

They can and do test for head/pelvis disproportion when there are reasonable grounds to suspect it, but it is very, very rare.

Vaginal birth is generally the safer option, so you will find that HCPs will expect you to deliver in the way that poses least risk, but this should absolutely not amount to bullying.

The vast majority of HCPs are not bullies.

Thanks that is reassuring to know.

A lot of woman are scared of giving birth. You should raise it with your midwife. I have heard of people having planned sections because they were so scared of giving birth so they would take you seriously. I was 7 stone before I got pregnant and I gave birth so a lowish weight won't necessarily prevent you from giving birth.

It's very very rare for a baby to be truly out of proportion with its mother's pelvis. From an evolutionary perspective it doesn't make sense - your body wants to make a baby that it can birth, because that's what it's evolved / been designed to do.
Because you're small they'll probably monitor your baby's growth quite carefully during the pregnancy just to make sure you're not one of the exceptions to that rule.

I have a couple of tiny colleagues who gave birth naturally. If you are worried why not go to your GP now and talk to them about it.

My Aunt had c sections in the 1960s for reasons of a small pelvis but I wonder if that was a 'fashion' in that era.

I had my second child by elective c-section - I asked them to do it and at no time did anyone try and bully me into not doing so.

Narrow birthing canals? What is that? Narrow Fanjo Syndrome?
You can't tell by weighing a woman or looking at the outside of her pelvis whether she will be able to give birth vaginally.

I'm 5'2 and 45kg ish. I've had three natural births (7lb babies)

Thanks for your responses, i probably will go to my GP first for some reassurance!

Also, not being facetious, but 14 year old girls can and do give birth vaginally.

It would be very very unusual for you not to be able to do so.

My sister is 5 foot 3 and around 7 stone - she's always been that size yet eats like a pig 🐷
She gave birth naturally to a healthy 6lb 6oz baby girl last year so I'm sure you'll be fine.

I'm terrified of giving birth and I don't have the reason of being tiny! It's a recognised condition. I was so worried that it wouldn't be taken seriously but I had my first midwife appointment this week and she assured me I could give birth via c section if I can't overcome my fear in time. I imagine there is some pressure to give birth naturally but I think you have to stand your ground if that's what you want. The most important thing is you not being stressed and if you're genuinely terrified it's not conducive to a smooth labour!

5'1" and had forceps delivery with first (due to presentation of baby rather than any other issue) and natural delivery with no or only 1 stitch with subsequent three babies.

How big are your feet? I was told that foot and pelvic size are relatable and ladies with a size 1 or smaller are almost always given automatic C section.

I think Drs will want you to do whats best for yourself and baby, that might well be a natural birth. C-section is quite a big op.

I am a 'small' woman ( 5ft 4, 7st 10) and I gave birth to DD vaginally. I had to have forecep help as her head got stuck - she was 8lbs. No one mentioned during my pregnancy about how body size might affect my ability to give birth

I'm 4'11" and huffed my baby out in the water with no issues. I did have the same concerns as you - family and friends saying I would need a c-section as tiny hips, small feet etc etc - but my midwife completely discredited this as old wives tales, and basically said not to worry. I'm sure you'll be absolutely fine OP, you won't be bullied into a natural birth but hopefully you'll be talked through the best option for you and your baby (which is generally a vaginal birth unless there are other factors at play).

I'm under 5 ft and 7 stone and had three babies naturally (and somehow with no pain relief) First was 6.15oz, second 5.7oz and last 7.7oz It really is amazing what our bodies do

I had the exact same concerns as you, and the consultant didn't take me seriously.

I'm 5ft 3, narrow, and 7 and a bit stone with size 2 feet. My husband is 6ft 4, and was a biggish baby.

I went two weeks overdue as well.

Baby 6.10 and long and skinny and came out like a bullet.

Consultant was right to ignore my panicking about the baby getting stuck.

Please don't worry. Along with other posters I am a petite 4'11" weighing 6.5 to 7 stone and have had 3 natural births, 6.6Ib, 4.9Ib (36 weeks prem baby) and 7.2Ib. The heaviest I weighed during pregnancy was 9.5 stone and my body sprang back with weeks of birth to my "usual" size.

5ft 3, around 5.5-6 stone

Two natural births

I still need the "virgin" speculum for examinations, that's how little I am.

I tend to wear children's clothes too. 14-15 year old is usually a good fit. I'm 28.

I had severe tearing with my first born that required repairing surgery a year later. Even with the surgery I was still in a small amount of pain.

When I was pregnant with my second, I was considering a c-section because of my size and the previous damage but the consultant reassured me that it would be ok.

And it was. I tore again but it was a much cleaner tear and it healed so much better. I'm now totally pain free down there.

My biggest problem is my back. The weight of pregnancy has permanently damaged my back and I'm on strong pain killers daily. Could be for the rest of my life.

Apart from that I had two healthy pregnancies and babies,

First was Dd. I had hypermesis with her and was in and out of hospital with dehydration for the first 16 weeks. I also had SPD so badly I needed a wheelchair from 20 weeks.
I then had threatened spontaneous pre-term labour at 27 weeks and ended up in another hospital 4 hours away. She finally stayed put until 38 weeks and was 5lb 13oz at birth.

My second born, Ds, was a slightly easier pregnancy.

No sickness at all with him and though I still suffered from SPD I had it a lot milder.

The biggest problem with him was, at 35 weeks he suddenly decided to stop growing. This meant I was going into the hospital everyday for 2 weeks (even on the weekend) for a trace.

In the end they decided to induce me and after a sweep, Ds was born at 37 weeks weighing 5lb 3oz

But healthy.

Sorry for the essay but trying to show even though I had complications, I don't think my weight and size had anything to do with it

If you want a natural birth you can do it

5ft, had 2 c sections. Size 2 feet. Both babies 99% head circumference. First emergency c section, over 9lb baby two weeks overdue was induced. Second planned c section at 39 weeks, 7lb 8.

Nothing wrong with a c section. However, growth scares wildly inaccurate in my experience. Don't fret they will get the baby out. My first was so large, during induction nothing happened, she was stuck. Growth scans said she would be around 7lbs.

I'm 5'3, small frame and tiny size 2 feet. I've had 3 big babies with huge heads, all naturally. As in 1 9lber and 2 over 10lbs. As a pp has said, far pregnancy itself was far harder on my body, sore back and pelvis

I'm 5ft 1 and was 7stone 10 when I fell pregnant, i have small feet too, size 3 and it didn't affect me giving birth naturally if that helps. I had quite a quick labour too and only a very small tear which didnt bother me post birth.

I'm 5 foot, 7.5stone with size 3 feet. DH is 6'4 and was over 10lb at birth. I gave birth naturally, without pain relief, to my DS who was 7lb 6oz and 12 days early.

I did have a growth scan because my bump was measuring a few weeks ahead, coupled with how big my DH is, and the consultant said women rarely produce babies they can't give birth to.

5ft 2, 7st 10 before pregnancy. Gave birth naturally to two children. Didn't tear with either.