Help-big baby

[puglover]

hi everyone.Im 32+1 weeks with my 4th pregnancy but just have the 1 child. I had a growth scan at 28 weeks which showed 98th centile for all measurements apart from abdominal cicumference which was off the scale.Seen midwife today and im measuring fundal height 38 cm and baby engaged 3/5.Glucose tolerence test normal. Midwife has booked me in for another growth scan on friday.I`m starting to panic abit about being able to deliver this one and just what size she is going to be.Does anyone have any advice and do you know what the management is of big babies.Any comments much appreciated.

Flo23-its been over 4 years since my son born so cant remember exactly,but i feel nearly as big now as when i went into labour with him.Cant get any of my maternity clothes to fit now.Estimated weight at 30 weeks was 5lb.Did you have any difficulties getting a section and is this what they recommended?

Duh, sorry, that should say 'they were 5 days and 12 days late'.

Just seen your post about your first birth too. I had a 33 hour labour with dc1, lots of stitches but with dc2 I had a 3.5 hour labour ans a few stitches in the old scar line. Habbibu is right that 2nd labours are usually shorter.

I think talking it over with your consultant or mw is the best idea. I remember looking at the charts and calculating how big dc1 was going to be and feeling terrified but he was a good lb smaller than the predictons on the chart. I also have a friend who wanted a vbac but was told, on the strength of her growth scans that her baby was too big to risk it. They were predicting 10lbs+ at 37 weeks and she had an 8lbs 2oz baby. Her friend, otoh, was told from 20wks that her baby was small for dates, she was scanned fortnightly, there was muttering about growth restriction - she had an 11lbs 3oz baby naturally. It's such an unexact science.

you don't need to go for the scans if all they are doing is causing stress - as you say, what's the use if they'll do nothing, all that's happening is that the fear is being reinforced again and again .FWIW if you popped at 38 weeks before -that may be your 'term' . I know after 3dc that 39 weeks is mine, just as I have a mate whose term is 43 weeks - my mum's 'term' was 38,36,34 weeks each bigger than the last so none of us outstayed our welcome IYKWIM
Lisa X

pug, don't forget that your bump will be bigger this time, purely because your stomach and uterine muscles have been stretched in your previous pgs, so it all hangs out more .

gosh i didnt realise that these scans were so unpredictable.Well i do think i will deliver early so hopefully wont get a chance to get too big.Hope midwife can cope if baby does get stuck though.The midwife i had for first child was terribly inexperienced and let me go 24 hours without a wee having had an epidural and she didnt catherterise me-hence in retention and needed catheter for 6 weeks.She also kept asking me haw to spell things like anaesthetist whilst in labour then walked out in the middle of pushing! hence dont have to much faith on the midwifiry services in leicester.

No, section was offered after I had ds1 due to his size(11 lb 3 to be exact!)and the tear I had.

This time I had glucose tolerance test which was normal and the scan at 36 wks was to decide on best way to have baby. I did have lasting probs after giving birth to such a large baby and felt that he was just too big to have come out normally!

I did agonize over whether or not to have section due to risks of surgery, how it would affect me being able to look after ds1 etc, but am sooo glad I did. Feel so much better post section than I did post normal delivery, recovery much quicker this time.Ds1 born at 41+5, so I think ds2 was heading to be of similar proportion!

If your baby continues on her current growth, I'm sure possibility of a cs would be discussed. Keep us posted!

I was induced at 37 weeks as they said I was having a big baby my ds was 9.8 and I had a easy birth

Err, not wishing to put a dampner on things but the whole first baby early = second baby early didn't work for me! ds born at 37+6, DD born 40+12 after induction. She was too chilled to move!

difficult one, i had a 10lb 12 baby naturally and it was fine until his head was out and then he had shoulder dystocia which was quite hairy and scary.

the actual labour was fine but all things considered i am going for an elective c-section this time, you have to do what feels right to you, i've thought long and hard about delivery and this will hopefully be the right decision for me and my baby.

on the positive line, my 'big baby' was a dream to breastfeed and much more content than my previous wee one, he is now a strapping 6 year old!

good luck with whatever you decide

hotchoc

just wanted to add another example of how unreliable growth scans are

I had 2 growth scans with DD & told she would be 9.5-10lbs - she was 8.5lbs in the end.

Sent for a growth scan again this time at 37wks, again told to expect a 9lb10ozish baby, yeah right, whatever, I don't feel any bigger than last time (39+1 & counting, so not sure if they are right yet )

However a lady in my antenatal group last time was told her DS would be around 10lbs & he was 6lb5oz in the end, so they got that one WAY wrong.

Also as the dr said to me last time the only bit that really matters is the size of the head, the rest "squishes" on the way out (DD was long (DH & I are both tall, so no suprise there) & had a "fat" belly), women very very rarely grow a baby bigger than they can birth