birthing big baby

nurseclare9

I had an ultrasound this week because baby wasn't cooperating last time. Turns out baby is huge...I am 29 weeks and he was 3 lb 10oz (av is 2.5lb). My OB who is definitely not c-section happy or anything told me that we are going to need to keep a close eye on it. She said that if he continues at this rate she might want to induce early. The rule here is they won't induce before 39 weeks, and if he is more than 10lb at that point consider a c-section. I know there is room for error on these but he has measured large all along. I know many people can be judgmental about this sort of situation so I am not looking for "your body is made for this doctors just want to cut!" comments. I am very happy with my OB and she is extremely supportive and not pushy at all. I know that many people vaginally deliver 10lb+ babies, but as my first I am not sure I want to. I've read that this can lead to complications like 4th degree tearing, permanent rectal incontinence...I am just not sure I want to put myself through that above a surgical incision. I don't know that the natural birth I was hoping for is worth damaging my body over.

I am wondering from any mamas who have been in this situation what you did and what the outcome was? Thanks!!

BelhurstBride

Scroll down. There's a post almost exactly like this.

With 11 weeks to go I wouldn't borrow trouble and worry about early inductions or a c/s. I would start doing some research about why neither of those are recommended because a baby "might" be too big. 

jayro10

Both ultrasound and fundal height measurements are very frequently inaccurate. Don't stress.

nurseclare9

At my anatomy scan he was measuring twice what was expected (at 17 weeks) so the big measurements seem to be a trend for him.... I know they aren't 100% but I am guessing he is at least larger than average

BeckyTheEngineer

clarissamaealison:

At my anatomy scan he was measuring twice what was expected at 17 weeks so the big measurements seem to be a trend for him.... I know they aren't 100 but I am guessing he is at least larger than average

Actually this makes me think that your due date is off. Was this your first ultrasound? I thought that all babies generally measure the same until 20 weeks, so ultrasounds way off before then would indicate a more developed baby.

Anyway my ultrasound at 38 weeks last time was off by well over a pound and baby was over 9 pounds, so I don't particularly put a lot into estimates.

ceechie

My son was 9lbs and 11 oz at birth. I tore and had internal bruising. I also tore with my first though, she was 8lbs and 8 oz. so i think that was going to happen no matter what. After I had him, I was so swollen I could not use the rest room on my own and had a catheter for 24 hours until it went down. Healing took a little longer than normal and it was a painful delivery. I didn't get meds bc this was my second baby and I went too fast once I got to hospital. That sucked.
But no issues long term. My baby held his head up, on his own, his first day! Kinda cool.

skio

Oh, FFS.

WashingtonQueen

Their measuring techniques are wrong way more than they are right. I would never let them induce me or give me a C-section for a "big baby".

rissa06

ceechie:

My son was 9lbs and 11 oz at birth. I tore and had internal bruising. I also tore with my first though, she was 8lbs and 8 oz. so i think that was going to happen no matter what. After I had him, I was so swollen I could not use the rest room on my own and had a catheter for 24 hours until it went down. Healing took a little longer than normal and it was a painful delivery. I didn't get meds bc this was my second baby and I went too fast once I got to hospital. That sucked. But no issues long term. My baby held his head up, on his own, his first day! Kinda cool.

this for me and both kids were early.  Also, I had severe hip issues after my second, that am still have issues after almost three yrs.  finally, I hemorrhaged after my first and need medical assistance to get both out.  I will say the mfm did my measurements and they were fairly accurate, but they can be a pound off either way.

i will say that because of the above my doctor is giving me a choice for the birth of this one and I said I will wait and see what happens. 

BlueJewelM

WashingtonQueen:

Their measuring techniques are wrong way more than they are right. I would never let them induce me or give me a Csection for a "big baby".

This!

santoriello21

I had my 9 pound 5 ounce son with a giant head vaginally and didn't tear or anything.  I was honestly fine as soon as it was over.  The docs had no idea he was that big.  They estimated he was 7 pounds.  I guess it depends on the person.  Many women have it a lot worse with the tearing and long-term effects. 

Like others have said, I would just wait until you are farther along to make that decision.  The docs wanted me to get a C-section after 2 hours of pushing because he was sunny side up.  I asked that we just keep trying.  I was very glad I made that decision because I couldn't imagine trying to recover from surgery and taking care of baby without trying all available options. 

BelhurstBride

BeckyTheEngineer:

clarissamaealison:

At my anatomy scan he was measuring twice what was expected at 17 weeks so the big measurements seem to be a trend for him.... I know they aren't 100 but I am guessing he is at least larger than average

Actually this makes me think that your due date is off. Was this your first ultrasound? I thought that all babies generally measure the same until 20 weeks, so ultrasounds way off before then would indicate a more developed baby.

That's not even a little but true. Genetics start taking over after 13 weeks, which is why u/s after that point are not reliable for dating purposes.

Snapdragon750

Not that either would be ideal, but why do you think a tear would be worse than a major abdominal incision?  You know there are complications and permanent damage that can come from c-section incisions too, right?

sophie206

Interesting. Baby was estimated at 3lbs 13oz at 29 weeks and a few days and I was told that was 90th percentile, which is still within the "normal range". My doctor has not mentioned either induction or c section. There are many other factors that play into whether you'll tear or have trouble. Even with a third degree tear, I healed up fine after DD and her head was 95 percentile at birth!

yodasmistress

I had a growth scan around 26w and baby was measuring 2.5 pounds.  OB said that was only 57%.  Because my son was pretty big (9 lb 15 oz at 40w4d) I actually asked her if big babies are big all the way through or if it happens at the end.  She said it totally depends - sometimes babies can measure big throughout and big big, or measure big throughout and slow down toward the end, or, most typically, measure average all along and then get big at the end. 

So 3.5 pounds at 28w doesn't seem all that big to me.  And it doesn't really mean anything about how big baby will be when you deliver.  I seriously would not worry about it.