Big baby! Spontaneous, induction or C-Section advice please!

[BeingATwatItsABingThing]

After measuring 37w at my 34w appointment, my midwife referred me for a growth scan yesterday when I was 35w exactly. Baby’s head and stomach measured 39w and on the 98th percentile and his legs were 35w and pretty average. They’re estimating his weight as being around 6lb11oz currently. I’m being tested again for GD which will take 5 days and will change my options but for now they are:

1. Let my body go into labour naturally. This is my 3rd baby and I went into labour naturally at 40+5 with DD1 (8lb6oz) and 40+2 with DD2 (8lb 2oz). My concerns with this are that he will get too big and I will struggle to push him out (I’m average sized) but spontaneous labour would be my preference normally.
2. Induction at 39w. My concerns with this are he will still be quite big by 39w and might still get stuck. Plus, the increased risk of further intervention with induced labours and increased pain. I would rather avoid an epidural if that means I won’t be able to push properly.
3. C-section at 39w. Whilst this seems like the safest option in terms of getting him out without risk of getting stuck, the long recovery time afterwards really stresses me. It’s also fairly major surgery which scares me somewhat.

If my 5 day GD test comes back positive, I will be looking at induction/c-section at 38w instead.

My hope is that my body recognises that he’s too big and I go into Labour spontaneously at 37/38w but I can’t rely on that!

Any advice would be greatly received. I know there is a chance that their measurements aren’t accurate but I feel that’s unlikely with family history.

Bump!

I had spontaneous Labour with my first at 38 weeks, he was 9 and a half pound. It was awful.

I was induced with my second and 39 weeks. He was 11 pounds and it was a breeze compared to my first. Labour, birth and recovery much easier.

So if you were to have another, would you go for an induction again?

I was told, following a scan at 41 weeks that baby would be at least 10lb 4oz. She was born 48 hours later and weighed 8lb 4oz. She didn't drop 2lb in 2 days. Take heart OP, scans are notoriously unreliable.

@BeingATwatItsABingThing

yeah I would definitely choose induction if i had another

I had a planned induction at 37 weeks with DS2 due to his size. He was 9 and a half pounds with a large head and large shoulders. I had an episiotomy as he got stuck.

I went into spontaneous labour at 40+6 and ended up having a c section as was still only 4 cm dilated 48 hours later. Turned out he was just too big to drop down to make me dilate further and he was 8 lbs 15 and I'm rather small framed at 5 foot. If I had to do it over again I think I'd go for a planned c section.

Definately choose C - section, safer for you and safer for your baby.
I’ve had two, one as an emergency and last one elective, my sister had two natural births and the last one a C - section for same reason as you. She told me she wished she’d had them all that way.
Just get the big boy out….

I had a dream come true induction experience with my over 9 pound baby so I'd pick that but then I'm biased and it's such a personal thing.

Yeah, I know they are and I hope this is true for me too.

However, DH was 9lb 12 when he was born (induced early) and his older brother was 10lb 2 and had shoulder dystocia. Both my sister and I were 9lb+ and my sister was an EMCS. If he was looking to be in the 8lb range, I’d be ok because I know I have done that twice before.

I would also add your baby might not even be big. My friend was told her baby was way on the big side by loads of different professionals but had a 7 pounder, it's impossible to be certain about these things.

Personally I would go for a spontaneous natural delivery given the tiny risks involved i.e. shoulder dystocia which in the majority of cases is quickly resolved with simple manoeuvres. We have risks involved every time we get in a car etc but maternity services have to offer you the option and inform you of potential tiny risk else if your that very rare unlucky case then you might decide to sue, that’s what it comes down to basically. Most big babies are born with no problems at all and well growing baby has much better resilience to cope with labour and any difficulties which come up so more likely to survive any serious complications and less likely to get stressed if long labour etc so less likely to need an emergency caesarean.
The chance of them intervening with an emergency caesarean section with any first labour these days in relatively high so fair chance with even an average size baby a woman ends up with an emergency caesarean so you need to consider, would you regret not having a planned caesarean if ended up with an emergency Caesarean anyway. Plus also, how do you feel about the minuscule extra risk of opting to deliver naturally rather than have a caesarean given that baby slightly larger. For me personally I’d be happy to go with the flow and attempt a natural delivery unless during the labour they strongly recommended a caesarean. In terms of the actual risk of a larger baby, I wouldn’t bother leaving my house if I was so risk adverse. If you are found to be diabetic that does change things and are additional risks involved which they would discuss with you, so it is good they are testing you for that

An episiotomy scares me. I had minor tearing with both previous births and healed well but the thought of them actively cutting me isn’t great for me.

I keep telling myself that getting DS here safely is the main thing and I don’t know why I’m so against a C-section other than losing my independence for so long after. After DD2, I was up and walking about quickly afterwards and I did the school run when DD2 was 3 days old.

I tore with a 7lb baby needing lots of stitches but didn’t need any with my 9.5lb baby, first time round much more likely to tear anyway and can very much depend on position of baby plus baby’s head size. One of my baby’s was quite chubby but smaller head than another who was long and skinnier (different dads!)

I was in a very similar situation with DC2. I was tested 3 times for GD and negative each time!

I went with the c-section. DC2 ended up being born at 39+4 and weighing 9lb 15oz. I have no regrets!

It is a very personal decision but by rationale was that my DC1 had actually arrived at 42 weeks and DC2 was showing no signs of being ready to arrive early. I personally felt that induction would be working against what my body and my baby were naturally doing and I’ve had too many friends who felt pressured into an induction tell me some pretty traumatic tales of how things escalated. I instinctively knew this wasn’t the right path. The last thing I wanted to do was go through a length induction and end up with a c-section after all that.

I will say a c-section is quite a different birth experience if you’ve been through natural birth before. It is no less magical but it is understandably more clinical and your birth choices are a lot more limited. I really enjoyed my c-section but it was a world away from my natural birth. Recovery is also different. You will need your partner and ideally other family to step up with childcare for your older ones and it’s important not to push yourself. But once you’re over the initial hump it does get better everyday and I have no lasting effects.

@BeingATwatItsABingThing Another one that was told DS was huge here 👍🏻 first baby.
Estimated to be 10lb 8oz by 40weeks.
I went for induction at 39+5. It was quite a long process (39hours total) but was actually a really positive experience. DS was born on his due date weighing 8lb 11oz.

Gas and air & 1 internal stitch for a tiny tear. DS was born at 3am and I was home with him by 3pm.

Thank you. I’m not generally risk averse but I also want my DS here safely. When I was expecting DD1, I wasn’t even nervous about labour because millions of women have done it before and it’s what my body is designed to do! Her labour was 17hrs and painful but uneventful. DD2 was nearly born in the car park after a 3hr labour and 5 minutes of pushing. Second was much more painful but I would choose that one again because it was over quicker and I felt in control. Gas and air makes me pass out and I hated it.

Just read is not your first labour and delivered fine previous times, so more than likely you would have a normal delivery this time too. So it just comes down to any potential tiny risk of a shoulder dystocia that takes them a while to resolve (very unlikely) or potentially you delivering so quickly your not in hospital and then having a shoulder dystocia and advice having to be given over the phone to resolve (which may not be as effective) Both scenarios are quite unlikely but it really is up to you

Thank you for all the replies. It really is such a personal thing and I’m struggling to make the decision. I spoke to DH about it to see what he thought and he, predictably, said that he would support the decision that’s right for me and he just wants whatever will get our DS here safely and keep us both healthy and alive. He’s wonderful but that doesn’t help my decision making! 😂

I will just do what I can to bring labour on naturally before that… safely of course.

I will add OP that I think that a mother’s instinct is very strong. With both births I knew deep down what I wanted and the anxiety came from worrying I was making the wrong decision and holding my ground. Try and sit with yourself in a calm moment and think about what instinctively feels right, regardless of outside opinion. We are far more connected to ourselves than we give ourselves credit for sometimes.

Yes, it’s my third (really don’t know what we were thinking!) so I know I can push a baby out which I keep reminding myself. It’s not like my girls were tiny either.

My midwife has been talking about a plan for in case I end up with a home birth due to DD2’s speedy entrance. She’s still our little whirlwind. 😂 I really don’t want a home birth so I will be getting to the hospital as quickly as possible and waiting in the car park if they won’t let me in.

I had an induction and a surprise 11lber, who got stuck, and ended emcs. Then had a planned section, they said baby wasn't big. He was 10lb.

My friend had a spontaneous delivery of her third child 10lb 15oz and all was well. I think my problem was that I hadn't done it before - I think it worked better for her because her body had already done it. Personally I would never opt for induction.

It’s difficult for women when they are told there is a risk as they feel if they ended up being one of the unlucky ones then they would regret it, also its difficult to know how much of a risk it is relative to other risks they may be told about. Some risks I would absolutely say go for having a caesarean as they are significant, in your case I can see why they are covering there backs offering you they option but to be honest there was probably more risks to you choosing to have your first baby naturally than there actually are here (if you are not found to be diabetic) if there are any complications they are more than likely to be able to be quickly resolved. I can’t say what you should do as you could be one of those exceptionally rare unlucky ones, at the same time you or baby could have complications from the caesarean which are much more serious so personally don’t think the benefits outweigh the other risks in your situation

I had a “big” baby and tested positive for gestational diabetes. I was able to control it with diet but my son was still measuring big so I was pressured into an induction I didn’t want at 39 weeks. It was an absolutely horrible experience. The induction caused back to back contractions, I pushed for three hours and needed an episiotomy. My son was born at 7 lbs 4 ounces so perfectly normal and not big at all. I wish I’d been allowed to just carry on with the pregnancy and let him come when he was ready.

Your experience may be totally different and your baby may actually be large. It’s very possible that an induction/ c section is the right option for you so I won’t tell you not to do it. Just be aware that these growth scans are not always accurate and it may turn out that the earlier delivery was for nothing.