elective c section for suspected large baby?

[EENS]

Is this common? I'm having a hard time wrapping my little brain around this.

A friend of mine, first baby, just had an elective c section today for suspected large baby. The baby was big, I guess. 9 lbs, 11 oz. She was only 38 weeks pregnant with her FIRST.

I don't have more details but this seems odd to me. Sure, I've heard of obs scheduling inductions for suspected large babies...but a c-section? This is a first time, healthy mother who had an uneventful pregnancy.

What am I missing here?

[momma2libby]

It happened to me in 2006. DD was expected to be extremely large and an induction would "probably fail anyways, and if we wait until you actually go into labor there is a good chance the baby will die because it won't be able to get out".....I can't believe I bought it, but I was ignorant, and 39 weeks pregnant and ready to have the baby. My OB really scared me. I didn't think I had a choice. DD was born a whopping 8lbs 9oz. I'm hoping to have a VBAC in April/May with a midwife.

[Shiloh]

my son was almost 11 pounds at birth...
my ob is old school (over sixty yrs old) said second baby no problem and he was right...I don't think a first down the chute might have been so simple for me...they worry about lawsuits shoulder issues...I found the almost 11 pounder in the right position easier than the 7 pounder in a malposition..

I was actually confused my ob didn't even offer me a section..in the end my ds was born so quickly I didn't believe the nurse I thought I'd be pushing for hours not 4 times...my sis' ob said she'd have not allowed me to go into labour at all....

[Storm Bride]

I'm on the ICAN email list, and this comes up a lot. Quite often, the baby will only be 7-8 pounds, and the OB will say something like, "well, it's a good thing we did the section, because the cord was around his/her neck". I've lost count of how many people I've talked to who have had sections for suspected macrosomia, and then had a V(H)BAC with a bigger baby the next time around.

[_betsy_]

SIL had an elective c-section with her first because he was "HUGE!" She went into labor on her own 3 days before the scheduled c-section, and they wisked her off to the OR without even letting her labor at the hospital. Baby was 7 pounds 6 ounces. HUGE, indeed.

[EENS]

How wreckless of the obs!

[mrscunning14]

What I don't get is, how are these women not angry after the fact--after they get cut open and the baby is not even close to what the doctor said it would be.

I would be furious--at the inaccuracy of the sonogram, at the stupidity of my doctor, and at my own willingness to believe what they were telling me.

[EENS]

Originally Posted by mrscunning14

What I don't get is, how are these women not angry after the fact--after they get cut open and the baby is not even close to what the doctor said it would be.

I would be furious--at the inaccuracy of the sonogram, at the stupidity of my doctor, and at my own willingness to believe what they were telling me.

Yeah, I would too. As mainstream as I used to be, I would still have been angry, mostly at myself, though.

[rmzbm]

IMO, this is one of THE most common reasons - and most bogus. I would be furious after something like that.

[mrscunning14]

Originally Posted by EENS

Yeah, I would too. As mainstream as I used to be, I would still have been angry, mostly at myself, though.

Former mainstreamer here, too.

My upstairs neighbor was induced because the baby was measuring "big," over 9 pounds. She was a few days "overdue." Surprise, surprise, her labor ended with a C-section, and the baby was a whopping 7 lbs, 15 oz.

And why on earth are we not trusting our bodies to deliver our babies? Why don't we think that our bodies can birth a 9 pounder, 10 pounder? Why do these sizes end in a C-section?

It's preposterous.

[honeybee]

OBs are surgeons. They will find any ole excuse to do a c-section because it is what they are trained in. They are not trained to attend normal birth. C-sections are convenient (for the doc), this way they do not have to worry about being woken up in the middle of the night. C-sections are seen to be the best avoiders of litigation. It "proves" the doc did "all he could" to safely deliver the baby.

[wendy1221]

I switched OB's when I was pregnant with my first at 8 mos because the one I had was teling me his "rules" like I couldn't push for more than *1 hour* before using interventions (isn't that crazy!?) and that he thought my baby was measuring big and he wasn't sure I could handle it b/c I am so "small." Whatever that means. GOod thing I switched. Ds was posterier and had a nuchal hand, so I had to push for 2.5 hours to get him out. He was 8lbs 8oz, so not huge, but his head was in the 98th percentile. THe OB I switched to was AWESOME! Completely hands off, was very reassuring, recommended and fully supported natural childbirth (recommended Bradley to all of her patients) and had a 4% c-sec rate, including her high-risk patients.

When I was pregnant w/ my 2nd, my OB also started talking about how "big" my baby was measuring and how "small" I am (did he not even notice my hips? These are child-bearing hips here, mister! Short does not equal small pelvis!) Ds2 was asynclitic, 9lbs4oz, and I pushed only a few times before he popped right out. My 3rd was born at home and he also came out in an odd position. My midwife told me I have a pelvis "you could drive a truck through" and that I should NEVER believe anyone who tells me I am too small to deliver a big baby.

I never had any doubts. I'm the same size as my mom, and she had 6 kids w/ aabsolutely no problems.

I would never trust a doctor who tells me I'm "too small" to safely deliver a big baby. Bullshit! My biggest was 9lbs6oz, but judging by how easy it's been for me to push my 2nd and 3rd out, even in their odd positions, I bet I could handle a bigger baby no problem!

[momma2libby]

Originally Posted by mrscunning14

What I don't get is, how are these women not angry after the fact--after they get cut open and the baby is not even close to what the doctor said it would be.

I would be furious--at the inaccuracy of the sonogram, at the stupidity of my doctor, and at my own willingness to believe what they were telling me.

I can't speak for everyone but, I for one am angry and embarrassed that it happened to me. I just didn't realize that I was being fed lies at the time. period. At that point I hadn't met anyone who had had a natural birth. It's just the common thing around here for women to trust their doctors and have highly medicalized births. I hadn't yet realized that what they do in my town is wrong. Bottom line is that I was made to believe that I should be scared for my baby's life. I was so confused and just wanted my baby in my arms at that point. The experience has made me question health care providers constantly because I worry about getting screwed over again. I've learned from my mistakes and I can only look forward. I am grateful to have learned that my c/s wasn't needed so that I can avoid it this time around (VBACing in April/May). I'm so happy to know all the many birth options that I do have once I looked outside the comforts of my own hometown and community.

[Narn]

I just ran into a chick who was in my childbirth class at the hospital. She said she had a planned c-section because her baby was so big. It was only 8lbs 7oz. She believed that was a large baby. I guess it's larger than the average... but not huge.

[Cheshire]

My son was 10lbs 11oz. I am so thankful I switched from an OB to a midwife early in my pregnancy. I know my original OB would have given me heck. On my second visit to her I asked about episiotomies (sp?), eating while in labor, etc. Her answers were so obviously "medical" and that my labor and delivery would be a "medical" issue I knew I was in the wrong place. I cried for days (early pregnancy boo hoo's) at the thought of going through the work to find someone else but I did and I never looked back.

I had an ultrasound at 18 weeks and then again around 26 weeks. The doc that did the ultrasound kept telling me I was going to have a big baby. I was thinking around 8 lbs.

My midwives never said anything about how big I was. I'm sure I measured weeks ahead and my stomach was HUGE.

I gave birth at 40 weeks 5 days after 19 hours of labor. I pushed him out in 45 minutes. I tore and needed stitches but I attribute that to his head being in the 75th percentile and I just do not have stretchy skin (genetics, ya know).

I can always hope that I would have stuck to my guns. But I can imagine being overdue, being told your baby is going to be big and hearing that you are risking your child's life by not choosing the surgery can be very hard to not listen to. I know that forewarned (sp?) is forearmed (sp?).

The best lesson women can learn is be prepared and do the research EARLY in your pregnancy. Find a health care provider that listens to you, that you can talk to and question. You've got to listen to that little voice in your head - you know when you've found the right provider and don't ignore the voice just because finding someone else will be inconvenient. It is worth it to find the right one.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by mrscunning14

What I don't get is, how are these women not angry after the fact--after they get cut open and the baby is not even close to what the doctor said it would be.

Some of them are angry. Some of them aren't, because the OB quickly covers his/her @$$ with "oh - he/she had a cord around his/her neck" or some other bogus reason why it was a good thing they thought the baby would be big, because labour would have killed it for some other reason.

I know a woman who UBACd and the baby had the cord tight around its neck. She and her dh managed to deal with it, but the OBs tell us that they can't...wonder who the real "birth professionals" are?

[barefootpoetry]

It is a crock, because no ultrasound can 100% guarantee a baby's birth weight. It can be off as much as 2 lbs. in either direction. I had one at 38 weeks because the CNMs were paranoid that I wasn't gaining enough weight...well, it all must have been going to my baby, because he was supposedly already 8 lbs. and would likely be 10 lbs. at delivery. He was born at 7 lbs. even. I didn't have an elective C-section, but poor lil' me just couldn't push that whopping 7-lber. out of my teeny tiny pelvis! :

I think there is too much focus on the "norm" which is an 8 lbs. and change baby, and anything bigger than that is "abnormal."

[mrscunning14]

Originally Posted by momma2libby

I can't speak for everyone but, I for one am angry and embarrassed that it happened to me. I just didn't realize that I was being fed lies at the time. period. At that point I hadn't met anyone who had had a natural birth. It's just the common thing around here for women to trust their doctors and have highly medicalized births. I hadn't yet realized that what they do in my town is wrong. Bottom line is that I was made to believe that I should be scared for my baby's life. I was so confused and just wanted my baby in my arms at that point. The experience has made me question health care providers constantly because I worry about getting screwed over again. I've learned from my mistakes and I can only look forward. I am grateful to have learned that my c/s wasn't needed so that I can avoid it this time around (VBACing in April/May). I'm so happy to know all the many birth options that I do have once I looked outside the comforts of my own hometown and community.

I know what you mean, momma2libby. I had interventions up the wazoo with my first birth--when I think of all the things that happened that could have led me to a C-section, I cringe. I was fortunate to have a vaginal birth--I was really determined. But I was uneducated save for mainstream information, and had no idea that there was anything different than a hospital birth with the standard protocol, either.

I was also scared into magnesium, an induction (pitocin), and an epidural. I let the nurses take my son away and put God knows what into him, and I never gave it a second thought. It took me months to get over the trauma that was my first birth experience.

[almadianna]

i will never understand why docs keep telling women that their bodies cant handle babies over 7 or 8 pounds.

[guest9921]

I dont understand it either.

I'm petite when not pregnant (size 2-4, but when pregnant my hips EXPAANNND, and then go back a few months later,) and I just birthed a 10lb 13oz baby boy with a 15 inch head out my tiny pelvic bone and tiny tissues. This was 2 weeks ago, and I feel fabulous.

Granted, I tore a little bit, but I believe I tore because my body pushed him out SO quickly and forcefully - not to mention, I tore along my scar line from my first birth, which was on-your-back purple pushing of a 10lber.

My DP and I did it in our dining room, just the two of us, in an inflatable kiddie pool without scapels or vacuum attachments.

Seriously, if your body made that baby, it can birth that baby.
[Standard disclaimer for those rare medical exceptions.]