Fetal Growth

AthenaNabi · October 2014

I am 38 weeks pregnant and I had my appointment today. My midwife told me she wanted me to get another ultrasound just to see how big my son is. We've known all along that he's been running a little big. She said they just like to have an idea of what they are dealing with before labor. My question is, why do they want to know? Is it possible that if he is over a certain weight they would try to talk me into inducing labor or having a cesarean? I just don't really understand why it matters but now I feel a little nervous about it because we planned on having a natural childbirth.

AllTheTeaInChina · October 2014

AthenaNabi said:
I am 38 weeks pregnant and I had my appointment today. My midwife told me she wanted me to get another ultrasound just to see how big my son is. We've known all along that he's been running a little big. She said they just like to have an idea of what they are dealing with before labor. My question is, why do they want to know? Is it possible that if he is over a certain weight they would try to talk me into inducing labor or having a cesarean? I just don't really understand why it matters but now I feel a little nervous about it because we planned on having a natural childbirth.

Those are all questions for your MW.
An u/s is not very accurate in estimating size late in pregnancy. It can be off by more than 1lb. Women give birth to large babies all the time, there's no reason to think you can't have a vaginal birth. No one can force you to have a csection.

AthenaNabi · October 2014

Normally I'm the kind of person who asks a lot of questions and is very prepared but the truth is I wasn't expecting this at all, and she was so casual about it I didn't even start to question it till I got home and was explaining it to my husband. That's when I was like "why does it matter how big he is?" I've defiantly heard about people giving birth to 10 pound babies vaginally so why do they care?

kellyfo14 · October 2014

My first measured big. They were thinking over 9 pounds when I went for an ultrasound a week and 2 days before my due date. They offered to induce so I didn't go past my due date and have an even bigger baby. I was induced the following day. I was in labor for 12 hours till they broke my water to try to get the labor going. I was in labor another 24 hours till they took her by csec. She was 11.1 pounds (no GD) if it is true about them putting on a pound a week at the end if I had gone late I could have given birth to a 13 or 14 pound baby.

Mothers can definitely birth big babies, they all get out somehow but I understand why they wouldn't necessarily want someone going too far past their due date. Some people might see this as a reason to sue if something went wrong. I think it's a matter of trying to look at it from the perspective of the people who will be providing you care. I am sure they will just want you to be aware of all your options.

ZooCrewMom · October 2014

All of my pregnancies have measured on the larger side. During my 1st they did an extra ultrasound and found that my son had a big giant head. He still has a big, giant head at 3 (99.8%). I did end up with a c section, but it had nothing to due with his size (fetal distress, cord issues). Things are different at every practice though, so you have to ask your OB or midwife how they handle things.

RayRay007 · October 2014

I'm surprised that a MW would ask for that. Ask those questions (ie. why) of your MW. You can always decline, which I probably would.

poteetpartyof3 · November 2014

They may just want to make sure you can birth a large baby if you're on the small size. My MIL is five foot even and my husband was ten pounds at birth. Her pelvis was too small to birth a child that large and he just wouldn't come out. Her blood pressure started dropping then he went into duress and they had to do an emergency c-section. I believe they wouldn't have let him get that big and her attempt a natural birth if it wasn't the 80's. Sometimes it's just not safe.

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