Big baby?

[Salem Lily]

This might be a silly question but....how can an OB/midwife tell if a baby is "big"? I have had many friends who have been told they are going to have "big" babies only to deliver average size/weight babies. It seems like using ultrasound to determine the baby's weight/size is unreliable. Are there other signs that would indicate a "big baby" besides ultrasound? Or is this just another scare tactic used to persuade women into inductions and c-sections?
Thank you mommas!

[thebigfam]

I would say sometimes it is a scare tactic.

Big momma

[fruitfulmomma]

Scare tactic and ultrasounds can be off by pounds. I've been through 5 pregnancies and couldn't tell you that there was a noticeable difference between a 7 1/2lb baby and a 9.14oz one. I would not choose to induce based on "big baby" prognosis.

[limette]

They can't.

I had a midwife tell me after doing a cervical check that the baby was huge.

Yeah, she was 7lbs 19 inches long and tiny. My second baby was 1lb more and the same length yet was definitely smaller than her sister. There is no way to be sure.

[finnegansmom]

An experienced midwife can palpate the baby in uterus, which I would trust more than ultrasound anyday. My midwife estimated my son at 8.5# at about 39 weeks, he was born at 9#10oz at 41weeks which is correct given 2 weeks growth. I wasn't measuring big at all but she did happily explain that I had a "wonderfully large pelvis".

And she wasn't scaring me at all, that practice seemed to like to grow big babies and the birth was a snap.

[lotusma]

your fundal height (measurement in cm's from pubic bone to top of uterus) is used as a determining factor.

[nova22]

Maybe it's a scare tactic, maybe it's just poor estimations, but it seems that every time an OB guesses the baby's weight they're way off. I always ask just out of curiosity and they are always off by about 3 pounds, which is a lot for someone who weighs so little. I have given birth vaginally and med free to a 7lb 6oz baby, an 8lb 3oz baby, a 9lb baby, and a 9lb 11oz baby. Honestly, I can't tell a difference. The hardest part of labor for me is transition regardless of the baby's size.

[mama to 2 girls]

I would go first by the mama's instinct, then palpating by an experienced m/w. I would NEVER go by u/s or fundal height.....Sure sometimes they are right but more often than not they are wrong.

My OB was wrong on all counts (u/s and palpating and going by fundal height) with dd1 (they were saying she was LGA, she ended up being a bit over 8lbs.)..... my m/w was just about right on with dd2 and I had a feeling that she wasn't that big (she was almost 8lbs.)....with my last p/g my m/w was guessing he would be about 8 1/2lbs. and eventhough I had a feeling he was going to be big (I had horrible pubic symphysis pain and my belly just felt soooo heavy) I just kept telling myself he wasn't going to be big...(he was a 10lber)......

And maybe I am the exception to the rule but his birth was by far the hardest! My labor with him was about the same but pushing was (and I hate saying this) awful. But in my defense he did have a head that was 1 1/2" bigger than my dd's.

I don't think it's anymore than a scare tactic. Plus all they worry about most of the time is the weight of the baby.....Any other mama out there with a big headed newborn will tell you that whether that baby was 7lbs. or 11lbs., that head is what matters! Fat squishes!

[HeatherB]

Even very experienced MWs can be off, even though I'd trust them more than anything else. My MW was concerned with my last birth that baby would be big, but he was born at 7lb 4oz, no problems whatsoever. However, she wasn't telling me she thought he'd be big or making me feel guilty or frightened. In fact, I don't think she mentioned it until after the birth when we were remarking on how little he was.

I do think that, most of the time, when someone is told they have a "big baby" that it's a scare tactic (implicitly or not), which prepares them to agree to induction and/or c-section.

[lillymonster]

If they are pushing for c-section or induction, it's a scare tactic.

OB convinced baby was 6 pounds, even after u/s showed 7 1/2. Actually u/s was right on the mark - it was a late one done because I was AMA and it was part of the NST and other junk they did. Baby was a born a few weeks later at 7 pounds 15/16 ounces. That last one when I was like 36 weeks was a very long u/s longer than any other I had earlier. Not sure why mine was pretty accurate, but they didn't suggest inducing, even though OB still thought 8 pounds was big.

[monica82]

Not sure. I had a dr w/ my first. I guess the us made him think the baby was at least 8 or 8 1/2 lbs. He was 9lbs 5 oz. My dr didn't force/pressure me to induce though.

[terra-pip]

I would say maybe, maybe not...but leaning toward no. My first two were 9 pounders and it amazes me how "impressed" people are that I delivered a baby that "big" naturally...I just don't get it. <shrug>

My MW with this pregnancy admits that there is no real way to tell. She palpitates to check for position etc but she tells me that I "hide the babies well"..which means I tend to stay pretty small and have just a belly going on but that just by feel alone she wouldn't guess that my babies could be 9 pounders. She was my MW for my 2nd and it was the same way. Wouldn't guess he was big but he was. She says it seems to be going the same way...I don't feel big but it's totally possible for me to have another 9 pounder. She doesn't try to make guesses like that because she knows how completely inaccurate it is. Much better to just make sure the baby isn't breech and feel for head engagement than guess at weight. My MW with my first was the same way after an US tech wanted to say I was due earlier than my EDD, the MW said to just ignore her!

I would never consent to induction with the excuse being the baby is "getting too big" or by an ultrasound dating at all.

[LadyCatherine185]

Originally Posted by finnegansmom

An experienced midwife can palpate the baby in uterus, which I would trust more than ultrasound anyday.

My midwife estimated Liam to be "right around 9 lbs" before birth, and he was 9 lbs 3 oz's. It was not used as a scare tactic either, as she herself had given birth to two 10 lb'ers.

[terra-pip]

I would still take a MWs palpatations with a grain of salt so to speak...I had three different MWs at the birthing center practice with my first guess wrongly, and my current MW guessed wrongly with my second. In my case I don't carry very big but ended up having 9 pounders when they were guessing smaller. My MW remembers this and says I feel and look small now but she knows better than to guess.