baby Weights help please

Hi all, want some advice please. I am 18 weeks with my 4th Pregnacy. 1st one
weighed 6lb 14oz and ripped me to shreds he was stuck for 5 hours of pushing
and they still wouldnt do a c-section. He was born with a very mishappened
conehead that did not return to normal untill he was 2 years old. I went on
to give birth to two more babies both girls weighing 5lb 12oz and 6lb. with
no problems and had natural births. My concern is that I am very large for
dates I am 18 weeks but am measuring 27 weeks!!! still waiting for a scan I
am frightened that if it is another boy he is going to rip me to shreds like
my last boy. I am very small boned and was wondering if anyone knows some
sort of test that can be done to measure the pelvic outlet? before the birth
to ensure baby will fit. Any help appreciated. Thanks DEBBIE 18wks

Crystalhaven wrote:

Hi all, want some advice please. I am 18 weeks with my 4th Pregnacy. 1st one
weighed 6lb 14oz and ripped me to shreds he was stuck for 5 hours of pushing
and they still wouldnt do a c-section. He was born with a very mishappened
conehead that did not return to normal untill he was 2 years old. I went on
to give birth to two more babies both girls weighing 5lb 12oz and 6lb. with
no problems and had natural births. My concern is that I am very large for
dates I am 18 weeks but am measuring 27 weeks!!! still waiting for a scan I
am frightened that if it is another boy he is going to rip me to shreds like
my last boy. I am very small boned and was wondering if anyone knows some
sort of test that can be done to measure the pelvic outlet? before the birth
to ensure baby will fit. Any help appreciated. Thanks DEBBIE 18wks


There is no test, short of determining you have some
kind of pelvic deformity. Also, late term ultrasounds are
notoriously inaccurate. They can be off by *pounds*, and
therefore really shouldn't be used in order to schedule a
c-section or induction for suspected large baby (as a
general rule).
It is often the case that first births are much
rougher than subsequent births, so I wouldn't necessarily
jump to the conclusion that you can only birth very
small babies. It may have been the fact that it was
your first birth, or maybe there were other aspects of
your labor that contributed to the tearing and the
difficult birth (e.g., did your caregiver provide
good perineal support? were you on your back or
semi-sitting for the delivery? were you anesthetized?).
If by "measuring 27 weeks" you mean that your
fundal height is 27cm, that also can be very misleading.
Different caregivers sometimes measure differently, it
could just be the lie of the baby, it could be excess
amniotic fluid, etc. A 9cm difference is outside the
normal range, but it could be many things other than
a huge baby.
This is really a case where I wouldn't borrow
trouble. Even if the baby is big, you might still be
able to birth it just fine now that it's your fourth
time. If I were you, I would concentrate on simply
making sure that the birth went better *regardless* of
the size of the baby. For instance, you could make
sure you've got a care provider who is skilled at
delivering larger babies and who has a good track
record delivering over an intact perineum. You could
try to avoid things that keep you immobile and therefore
unable to work with your body to deliver a larger baby
(e.g., avoid anesthetics, avoid staying in bed, avoid
delivering on your back or semi-sitting, etc.). You
could hire a doula to help you manage all these things.
You could discuss with your caregiver what you didn't
like about your first delivery and discuss how you can
avoid that scenario this time without going so far as
to schedule an elective c-section. For instance, you
could agree that instead of pushing for five hours,
you would open up the option of a c-section earlier
if you felt things weren't going well and changing
positions and such didn't seem to be helping. I think
a little preparation will go a long way here.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Crystalhaven wrote:
My concern is that I am very large for
dates I am 18 weeks but am measuring 27 weeks!!!

But remember that it's your fourth child, so you'll be measuring ahead
of the week # anyway. I wouldn't worry about that part.

I am very small boned and was wondering if anyone knows some
sort of test that can be done to measure the pelvic outlet? before the birth
to ensure baby will fit. Any help appreciated. Thanks DEBBIE 18wks

The biggest thing you can do, I think, is to get into a good position
when it's time to labor and give birth -- squatting, using a birthing
stool, standing/leaning, on all fours. Those positions can open your
pelvic outlet (up to 30% according to some sources), while semi-sitting
or lying down (basically anything that puts pressure on your butt) will
close youu up.

The book "Birthing From Within" has some good info on how the different
positions can make your pelvic outlet wider or narrower. It sounds like
your first birth was pretty traumatic and that's also a good book for
getting past previous birth fears. I think you'd like it.

Mary S.
mom to the Sproutkin, 20 months