cross posted on oct. 04....big baby, no gd, can i still home birth with midwife???

[Proudly AP]

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...70#post1976670

basically, it says, baby measured 38 weeks (avg-head was 39) when i was a couple of days shy of 35 weeks.

i do not have gest. diab. can i still home birth? i dread the thought of hospital or induction. i've left a message for my midwife, and am waiting to hear back from her.

anyone else birth big babies at home (this is already estimated to be 7# 3oz at 35 weeks). my first was 7# 9.5oz

thanks.

[georgia]

Home is the safest place to birth a baby (no matter what size), IMO. If you do a search in the birth forum about *big* babies, you'll find tons of inspiration! Remember, you're growing your baby just the size s/he needs to be. Feelings of dread need to be heeded

Best wishes!!!

[mimim]

IMO, your should avoid the hospital especially if you are having a big baby. There's a much bigger chance of c/s,episiotomy, forceps,etc. based on their guess about your baby's size. And if you do have a 9 pound plus baby, they are going to want to prick him/her to check blood sugar and give formula if it's low. Stay away!

My best friend delivered a 10 lb. 10 oz. baby at home. She's only 5'3" and not wide in the hips. She did have a hard time pushing him out, but came through fine with only a small 1st degree tear.

Also, don't forget, they are only estimating the size. My doc was sure that my second baby was much smaller than my first, but he was only 3 oz. smaller.

[pamamidwife]

ultrasounds are notorious at being wrong with size. even fundal height measurements are no indication.

for example, I had a client that at her last prenatal at 42 weeks measured 52cm. She had a 13lb 6oz baby.

Then, I had a client who measured 41 cm at her last prenatal and had a 13lb baby.

Then, I had a client who measured 44cm at her last prenatal and had a 9lb 6oz baby.

I'm not sure why all the fuss around big babies - just labor as you want, in whatever position you want and don't sit on your tailbone to push. it sounds to me, though, like you're not growing a big baby - but an average sized baby.

[Ravenmoon]

One of my friends delivered a 14lb baby and she is a tiny woman.She did great and her midwife was a huge help.As long as your midwive is supportive go for it.I don't trust U/S though.Those measurements could be way off.I delivered 2 7lb babies and 1 9lb baby and i had no problems.

[suebearsmom]

I also,would go with the homebirth for all of the reasons that have been talked about.And try not to worry and fret - the US almost always err on the heavy side and this is your 2nd baby and you have no idea of when the babe will actually come.You may only be pregnant for 3 or 4 more weeks. Remember - it is very unlikely that your body will grow a baby you couldnt push out and it is not actually the weight that can cause problems anyway - a person could have a 7 lb baby with an unusually large head or chest circumference and have more of a challenge with that.Remember - in a hospital setting you are usually MORE limited on options when a challenge is encountered. Midwives have so many more tricks up their sleeves so to speak than most OBs in a hospital setting.Hugs,Catherine

[weesej]

10 lb 10 oz, waterbirth. Easiest labor yet, not even a skid mark

[Proudly AP]

thanks, i feel better. i have full confidence in my midwife, and know that u/s measures can be off, i just don't know by how much.

i keep saying, though that women have been birthing big babies for millenia and i can, too.

i also appreciate the reminders about the home birth being better than hospital. i really do want to do things my way (and the baby's), and will not likely be granted that peace in a hospital.

[nikirj]

My Dr. was soooo sure that my second would be under 7 lbs. He was 8lbs, 7oz. She was off by about 2 lbs. My mom (who works at the hospital I delivered DS at) says that generally doctors are only correct if you give them a 2lb margin of error - which is huge. Think about the difference between how a hospital will treat delivery of what they think is a 7.5lb baby and what they think is a 9.5lb baby. Definately avoid the hospital - you'll get nailed with "you can't birth a big baby" syndrome. When nobody thinks you can actually do it, it is a cesarean waiting to happen, ya know?

[plantmommy]

Just for one more perspective, I have a friend who did have GD and preeclampsia, and her Dr. did an u/s which said the baby was 7.5 lbs, so they felt good about inducing... she ended up with a 5 lber who had to spend some time in the NICU.

Homebirth, all the way!

[TiredX2]

You said this in the other thread:

the measurements of fundal height actually have been on the *low* side (but within 3 cm). the measurements i refer to were by the u/s tech. the circumference of the baby's head was at 39 weeks, the abdomen at 38 and femur at 35. i did measure a week ahead at the first u/s too, so i guess it's just gotten bigger? the averaged combination of the measures was 38 weeks.

I just wanted to point out that a three week difference isn't *that* huge on an average baby at this point. I think the average 37weeker is appx 19 inches vs 20inches at 41 weeks or something like that. Not even an inch in head circumfrance. Etc...

Additionally, u/s are only supposed to be within a 10% window for weight and are OFTEN even further off (my sil was told a 8lb baby on a Friday, delivered a 6lb12oz baby the next Monday). I was told DS was around 7.5-8 lbs at 37 weeks. He was born at 41+ weeks at 8lb 2ounces They really just don't know.

[Fiddlemom]

First baby, 9 lbs 11 oz at home--shoulder dystocia resolved by my competent midwife and me and the baby working together. Thank God I wasn't in the hospital--I'm sure I would have gotten psyched out by everything, costing me a few millimeters of MUCH needed pelvic space. That kid had to be wiggled out of me! I wouldn't wish an SD experience on anyone--my baby's a gorgeous healthy 3.5 yo quite possibly BECAUSE I birthed him at home. If SD had happened in the hospital, everyone might have absolutely panicked and God only knows WHAT they would have done--possibly separated us for a couple days while they watched him in the NICU and we sweated bullets. I wonder some damage to him might have occurred, not to mention to me.

Second son came on his own a month early at 8 lbs 13 oz--he would have been a giant if he'd gone full term.....a week before he made his appearance I had an emergency meeting with the midwives because I was so freaked out that this baby seemed big again and I was petrified about another SD. After meeting with them for two hours (and I was with three of the best most experienced midwives in Seattle at this meeting), I came to my own conclusion: I felt safest birthing at home, since avoiding drugs was not only a wish but a safety precaution for me, and also because these women knew how to resolve SD's. They reassured me for the umpteenth time that if at any point they felt it was not safe for me to have a baby at home they would tell me. Fortunately he came early and the SD was not an issue.

GOOD LUCK AND LOTS OF GOOD BIRTH JUJU!!

[pamamidwife]

Originally Posted by Proudly AP

thanks, i feel better. i have full confidence in my midwife,

while it's great to have confidence in your mw, she's not the one birthing your baby.

your confidence should be in YOU.

[Proudly AP]

Originally Posted by pamamidwife

while it's great to have confidence in your mw, she's not the one birthing your baby.

your confidence should be in YOU.

point well-taken

my mantra is: "I trust the wisdom of my body, and the instincts of my baby" it really helped the first time around, and I feel the same way now. thanks, pam!

and thanks to everyone else for the support and positive stories, you certainly have (re) convinced me that the only good alternative IS to birth at home.

i am nearly 36 weeks. so, 1.5 weeks to go until i am 'clear' for homebirth. no problem, i am sure.

[sarahloughmiller]

My ds was 10 lb 4 oz and was born at home with no problems. I did not tear at all and he came out fine, about 20 min of pushing and he was out. I would not go by what the ultrasound says, they seem to be wrong most of the time. When I was pregnant they gave me a due date that was 1 month before my ds was born. I guess because he was so big they thought I was further along. That was a very long last month of waiting. Good luck on birthing a nice big healthy baby!