Big Baby Story

(sorry if this posts more than once, my ISP is going crazy!)

Sometimes I get scared that if I ever get pregnant, I'll have to run into
the woods to have my baby!

I was visiting a mom from my church that just had her 2nd baby. When he
came out he was somewhere around 11 lb. (which, I admit, is not tiny by any
means). I asked her how labor went, and she said that she only pushed for
11 minutes, and came away with just one stitch! She said there was about 30
seconds where they were scared that his shoulder was stuck, but I guess it
wasn't true dystocia, I'm not sure, but they didn't have to do anything
drastic to get him out.

Anyway, at the end of her story they said, "The doctor said that if they had
known he was that big, they would have just given me a c-section on my due
date!" I'm pretty sure the doctor wasn't joking around or anything, because
he told her later that if she got pregnant again, they'd have to watch the
baby's size pretty closely. I'm pretty sure none of this bothered her, and
she doesn't know how much of a maven I am about such things, so I didn't say
anything.

Doesn't it say something about standard of care if the doctor was willing to
tell a woman who just had a **successful vaginal birth** that if only we had
known, you'd have been in the OR??? **unnecessarily cough cough** How does
the doctor not realize how ridiculous that sounds?

She had a proven pelvis (her first was around 9 lb). Yet, if the doc had
determined that her baby was 11 pounds, she would have had unnecessary
surgery! To top it all off, this is the hospital I'll have to deliver at if
I get preggers (we're both military, and it's a military hospital). I guess
we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

**boggle**

--Jodi

How did they not notice in the first place that she was going to have a
big baby? My doctor measures and weighs and manipulates at every
opportunity she gets it seems! So you're probably safe anyway.

Stasya

stasya wrote:
How did they not notice in the first place that she was going to have a
big baby? My doctor measures and weighs and manipulates at every
opportunity she gets it seems! So you're probably safe anyway.

Late term estimates of weight (especially via ultrasound) are
*notoriously* inaccurate. They can be off by more than a *pound*,
easily. Paying attention to them and, worse yet, making clinical
decisions based on them is a great way to increase your odds of
unnecessary interventions dramatically.

Best wishes,
Ericka

I think the point is that the doctor was going to intervene
unneccesarily anyway, so apparently he wasn't all that on the ball to
begin with if he had no inkling he was dealing with a baby that was
over 10 lbs, even allowing for a lb either way. Considering that seems
to have been his attitude, it was a good thing is all I'm saying.

Stasya

I don't get that - if she had given birth to a 6lb baby with only one
stitch, and 11 min of pushing - even with the slow to birth shoulders
(?) they wouldn't be thinking of c/s next time, would they? When infact,
a 7lb baby might be too big next time for her, whereas if she has a 13lb
baby next time it still might be fine! *exasperated*

Jo (Mum to Will, 3 months old)

Ericka Kammerer skrev:
stasya wrote:

How did they not notice in the first place that she was going to have a
big baby? My doctor measures and weighs and manipulates at every
opportunity she gets it seems! So you're probably safe anyway.


Late term estimates of weight (especially via ultrasound) are
*notoriously* inaccurate. They can be off by more than a *pound*,
easily. Paying attention to them and, worse yet, making clinical
decisions based on them is a great way to increase your odds of
unnecessary interventions dramatically.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Here in Denmark we have what we call 'cake babies'. That's the ones
where the midwife's (not so many doctors involved in pre-birth care
here) estimate is more than 1 kg off. She has to bring cake the next day
to the staff. :-)

In late pregnancy they just feel the baby and make an estimate.

Tine, Denmark

"Cat" wrote in message
...
Ericka Kammerer skrev:
stasya wrote:

How did they not notice in the first place that she was going to have a
big baby? My doctor measures and weighs and manipulates at every
opportunity she gets it seems! So you're probably safe anyway.


Late term estimates of weight (especially via ultrasound) are
*notoriously* inaccurate. They can be off by more than a *pound*,
easily. Paying attention to them and, worse yet, making clinical
decisions based on them is a great way to increase your odds of
unnecessary interventions dramatically.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Here in Denmark we have what we call 'cake babies'. That's the ones where
the midwife's (not so many doctors involved in pre-birth care here)
estimate is more than 1 kg off. She has to bring cake the next day to the
staff. :-)

In late pregnancy they just feel the baby and make an estimate.

Tine, Denmark

love it! cake baby! i think my first might have been one of them!.
mmmmmcake

chris in oz

Jo wrote:
I don't get that - if she had given birth to a 6lb baby with only one
stitch, and 11 min of pushing - even with the slow to birth shoulders
(?) they wouldn't be thinking of c/s next time, would they? When infact,
a 7lb baby might be too big next time for her, whereas if she has a 13lb
baby next time it still might be fine! *exasperated*

My cousin is going to have her fourth baby shortly. She has had two
who were 9 lbs. 7 oz. and another 7 lb. 7 oz. She has had no problems
delivering at all and the last time pushed only a couple of minutes.
This despite being induced all three times (for no reason) and spending
all of labor monitored on her back (twice with epidurals).

But her doctor plans to induce her two weeks early because she has
"such big babies."
:-p

And she DOESN'T CARE. She's just going to be glad to have it all over.
Since she will then have three babies under the age of three, if I
were her I think I'd be looking to keep this one in as long as possible
.. . .

Leslie

I'd be looking for alternative care next time. Indeed, how can you
deny what the woman just did!?

"Joybelle" wrote in message
...

"Jodi" wrote in message
nk.net...
(sorry if this posts more than once, my ISP is going crazy!)

Sometimes I get scared that if I ever get pregnant, I'll have to run into
the woods to have my baby!

I was visiting a mom from my church that just had her 2nd baby. When he
came out he was somewhere around 11 lb. (which, I admit, is not tiny by
any
means). I asked her how labor went, and she said that she only pushed
for
11 minutes, and came away with just one stitch! She said there was about
30
seconds where they were scared that his shoulder was stuck, but I guess
it
wasn't true dystocia, I'm not sure, but they didn't have to do anything
drastic to get him out.

Sounds like a pretty good birth... You would think she'd be very proud of
her body and its abilities.

Anyway, at the end of her story they said, "The doctor said that if they
had
known he was that big, they would have just given me a c-section on my
due
date!" I'm pretty sure the doctor wasn't joking around or anything,
because
he told her later that if she got pregnant again, they'd have to watch
the
baby's size pretty closely. I'm pretty sure none of this bothered her,
and
she doesn't know how much of a maven I am about such things, so I didn't
say
anything.

Argh. My cousin recently had 10-pounder for her first. The doctor told
her
there was no way he'd let her go to 41 weeks like they did this time. She
did have a bit of a hard time pushing him out and they used the vacuum,
but
my word, the girl delivered him vaginally without pain meds. She's done
it
once, why can't she do it again???


She can, but she's going to have to take charge of her own care better, and
refuse an induction. She could swap to a different care provider, whether
its a more "lenient" OB or a midwife.
--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03 -- My Little Super Star, who loved to sing and dance
around the campfire at Family Camp!
Addison Grace, 9/30/04 -- My Little Frankenstein Monster, who lurches all
around the house on her own!

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