Planned C-Section

[2happymamas]

DW and I are going to be TTC in about six months. We have been to two gynocologists and both have indicated that DW will need a planned c-section. They both said her hips did not spread during puberty. She is about five foot one and weighs just under 100 lbs. She also had endometriosis.

They (the doctors) said she should have a c-section and not carry the baby completely to term. They said that she should not carry a child that is any larger than 6lbs.

Does this sound normal to you? We do not really know what to believe. We also have x-rays of both of our pelvises and hers is so tiny. Would you all accept this advice from the doctors?

[alegna]

No way I'd accept that. Unless she was in a severe accident resulting in a CRUSHED pelvis that was pinned and healed poorly they have no way at all of knowing what it will do in pregnancy or childbirth. Personally I would RUN away from those drs. as quickly as possible.

Also something to think about- OB/Gyns. are surgeons. They tend to suggest surgery.

-Angela

[etoilech]

DW and I are going to be TTC in about six months. We have been to two gynocologists and both have indicated that DW will need a planned c-section. They both said her hips did not spread during puberty. She is about five foot one and weighs just under 100 lbs. She also had endometriosis.

They (the doctors) said she should have a c-section and not carry the baby completely to term. They said that she should not carry a child that is any larger than 6lbs.

Does this sound normal to you? We kinda believe them because both docs said the same thing. We also have x-rays of both of our pelvises and hers is so tiny. Would you all accept this advice from the doctors?

Sounds like complete BS to me. I weigh just under a hundred pounds and am 5'1" and had endo. I delievered my son completely naturally without medication.

An x-ray of her pelvis means precisely squat since your pelvis is dynamic (it moves and spreads during birth and pregnancy) NOT static (immoveable) I would RUN not walk away from such doctors since anatomy and human physiology seem to be subjects they are apparently NOT familiar with.

I am sorry if I sound curt, but this is just such complete crap they are feeding you. Unless she has a pelvic deformation (specifc condition), I cannot imagine why she wouldn't be able to carry a baby to term and deliver vaginally, I would get a 3rd and 4th opinion. I would also see a CPM (cerified professional midwife) and get her take on the situation, since OBs are not versed in the fine art of pelvimetry, and midwives generally are.

Size has NOTHING to do with your ability to carry to term and deliver a healthy baby. Nothing.

I am just so completely flabbergasted that there are OBs out there propogating this kind of garbage. So, the seed has already been planted in her head that she is doomed to c-section, because her body has "failed her". Very nice. :irked:

Please get more opinions. Please. A c-section can adversely effect her future fertility and health. I bet, the Dr. forgot to mention that. :(

Olivia

[iris0110]

I second (or is it third?) the suggestion of visiting with a midwife. Dr's are getting terribly c-sec happy lately. Any woman they can convince to have one is some sort of sick victory to them. My hips never spread during puberty, I had tiny boy hips before I got pregnant with Ds. Then at about 7 months my hips spread in a big way. It hurt like crazy for about a week, but I was more than able to carry ds to term and deliver him vaginally. This time around my hips are already plenty spread. :LOL

[shelbean91]

I don't agree w/the dr opinion, either. what type of pg and birth did dw's mother/grandmother/greatgrandmother have? I would think about that more than an x-ray of the pelvis.

[SKK]

I don't agree w/the dr opinion, either. what type of pg and birth did dw's mother/grandmother/greatgrandmother have? I would think about that more than an x-ray of the pelvis.

Yes, also, if she has any sisters that have children - were her sisters able to give birth vaginally? I've read that one's sister's labor is a good predictor of how one's labor will go.

I think the doctors are full of it - unless then can name a specific condition, or DW has been in an accident, I would at least try labor - if it doesn't happen, a c-section can *always* be had later.

[applejuice]

Hello. I am five feet tall, and I weighed 109 pounds when I was first married and TTC. I had all of my four children at home.

Unless your DW has had rickets during her childhood or has been in an accident which pulverized her pelvis, there is no reason to schedule surgery before she is even pregnant.

How can a doctor diagnose CepahloPelvicDisproportion without a baby's Cephalus (head) there to determine size? In the days of X-ray pelvimetry, the mother had an X-ray late in pregnancy to determine the size of her pelvis and the size of the baby and the doctor made the determination as to whether or not the baby could get through.

The nine months of pregnancy does more than grow a baby in a mother's womb; the hormones of pregnancy stretch the ligaments and soften the bones and tissues of the pelvic region to deliver the baby. A pregnant woman can help this process by exercising, stretching, and eating well to nourish her body and her baby.

There are plenty of women who have been diagnosed with CPD, had caesarean deliveries, and then have gone on to deliver an even larger baby vaginally in a subsequent pregnancy and labor. Your doctors are playing g-d.

Go to a few midwives who specialize in delivering babies without surgery and knives and ask them for their professional opinion.

[applejuice]

Also something to think about- OB/Gyns. are surgeons. They tend to suggest surgery.

Exactamundo!

If you do not like to get bit, stay away from snakes.

[JanetF]

Read this and then get angry about surgeons recommending surgery to your perfectly healthy wife thus risking her life and that of your baby. What a great introduction to the current political situation around birth you're getting! And a good warning about staying away from surgeons.

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/pelvis.asp

[applejuice]

I just read that article and I recall that my Grandmother had size three shoes, and she always bragged about it and was proud of her tiny feet.

She had two babies vaginally, my mom and my aunt.

[Rach]

I read somewhere that you can not determine wether a non-laboring pelvis will be able to birth a baby. I thought things changed during labor as well as during pregnancy.
Personally, if I were her, I'd try a new provider or just go ahead and carry to term and go into labor. If I really couldn't birth a baby through my pelvis, then they can give me the c-section if the baby doesn't come out.

[stafl]

Would you all accept this advice from the doctors? no way in :cuss

not only do they want to endanger your partner's future health and well being by totally unecessary/dubious surgery, but the well being of the unborn child by surgically delivering the baby too early! How insane is that?? I know all about babies being born surgically and weighing under 6 pounds, it's not something you would want to choose to do ahead of time. Not only does it cause all sorts of problems for mom and baby, but can effectively put an end to any plans of breastfeeding (it took six days for my milk to come in, and my baby lost over a pound and wasn't but 5.5 lbs to begin with). Plus, they really have only a guess at what baby weighs, with both of mine, u/s weight estimations were off by more than two pounds! I am guessing, that to have gotten two identical diagnoses, you must have seen two doctors in the same practice. Find a doctor who does not know what those other docs said, and I would bet you'd get a different answer. Find a midwife, and you would most certainly get a different answer again.

[JBaxter]

I would definatly find another doctor/midwife. There is not a reliable way to tell she "cant" give birth vaginally or carry to term. Lots of petite women have babies without surgery.

[Aeriane]

As has been said before, during pregnancy everything gets lax, including hips. Also babies are made to come through a tight birth canal, the skull isn't fused. Nature makes it possible for it to happen. I hate the dr's that are panic-mongers. I went through that with my recent baby. They obsessed over EVERYthing and got me all worried etc and finally I figured I needed to sit back and try to enjoy this lil baby. They wanted to induce a week early because I had gest. diabetes and he'd be "too big" to deliver. Well he came early because he had a very slow heartbeat and was non-responsive (heartbeat of @45 bpm) so we had to do something but they were telling me for weeks I'd need to have him early. *sigh* Kitty

[doctorjen]

That advice doesn't make any good sense even if you believe the whole pelvis-is-too-small thing. If you felt that a woman couldn't birth a baby of a certain size, and would need a cesarean, why would you then recommend that the cesarean be done early? If the baby is coming out abdomenally, couldn't you let it grow and be full term? Why would you risk the complications of early delivery that way?

I had a woman in my practice last year who was almost 4'10" and weighed 87 lbs at her first prenatal visit. She is very young appearing, and has such a childish looking figure that I actually thought she was there for a 5th grade physical when I went in the room (it was school physical season and I'd been seeing a lot of kids.) She birthed a very normal 6 lbs 9 oz baby boy, laboring on her own about 2 days after her due date. On top of that, despite the fact that she was the smallest woman in her family, she was the first woman since her great grandmother's generation to not have a cesarean. You just never know what will happen in labor.

[MommyO2]

Wow! I would never accept those drs advise! I am on the small side, 5'3" and weighed 110 before concieving my first. I delivered both of my children vaginally. Also I have a friend that has very small hips, only 5' tall and less than 100 lbs. She delivered all 7, yes 7, of her babies vaginally at home! It can be done!! Many blessing to you and your wife for a healthy pregnancy and vaginal delivery.

[bobandjess99]

I am barely 5 foot tall, small-framed, and if I were at my ideal weight would weigh less than 100 pounds....(but I have a major sweet tooth, so I'm not at my ideal weight, lol!)I just had a slightly under 9 pound baby....and all the women in my family are similarly-framed, the Tallest being 5'3", and we have all given birth vaginally to babies, many at home, weighing mostly in the 9-10 pound range, with the largest being over 13 pounds! I will mention that my pelvis did not stretch and become the flexy thing it is meant to be until after several chiro treatments, which *if* it seems like might be an issue for your DW, she should look into chiro care..having everything lined up and the pelvic outlet as large as it can be, which of course includes delivering in a squat or other "wide-pelvis" position, really helps......

[huggerwocky]

I wonder how all those women in india have their babies...

[Storm Bride]

Even if your dw does need a c-section, I think scheduling one is nuts. This is just based on my experience with three c-sections (probably all unnecessary, but that's another issue entirely).

I've read repeatedly that women recover better emotionally from scheduled sections with no labour. Maybe so, but I didn't. I found my one labour-free c-section to be my worst delivery of all. DD wasn't ready to arrive - it took several days for my milk to come in...I didn't even seem to be producing much colostrum.

I allowed myself to be pushed into yet another c-section with my most recent baby (8 weeks old). But, this time I staved them off for three weeks and went into labour the day of the surgery. DS2 was ready to arrive, and my body was ready for him to get here. My milk came in and he nursed like a champion from the get go. If dh and I have another baby, it will probably be cesarean :irked: , but hell will freeze over before I'll go in to have my baby if my baby isn't ready to meet the world yet. At least to me, a scheduled section was a soul-less parody of a birth.

[applejuice]

I wonder how all those women in india have their babies...

Maybe we can learn something from them. They do more with the little they have.

How is the Infant Mortality Rate there?

www.who.int/

http://whqlibdoc.who.int/bulletin/2000/Number%2010/78(10)1192-1199.pdf

[applejuice]

Storm Bride :hugs

Your healthy babies are a witness to your perserverance.

Keep up the good work.

[USAmma]

I just wanted to share my story, too. I was a world class athlete most of my childhood and puberty, which resulted in delayed puberty, and I never did get very big hips or breasts or a "womanly" figure in general.

At the time I got pg with my first dd I was 5'4 and 108 pounds. Over the pregnancy I did a lot of walking. The last month of pregnancy I did a lot of squats to open the pelvis. My baby was born after 8 hours of labor and crowned very easily. Just a few pushes and she was out (I did get cut b/c her heart rate was way too low due to compressed cord). My second baby was conceived when I weighed 112 pounds and she came out pretty much by herself with minimal pushing from me. About 3 pushes I think.

So just becuase she has small hips now, does not mean she cannot birth a baby. The hips should widen and the joints and ligaments will soften in pregnancy and open up further in childbirth. If she seems to have trouble pushing, she should consider the squat position.

My hips never did go back all the way after dd2's birth. I have lost all but 8 pounds but my size 4 shorts and pants are history thanks to my new hips. :D

[doctorjen]

USAmma, I'm the same height as you and weigh 140 lbs! And I'm thin, actually, and a runner in pretty good shape. You must be really thin!

Although I'm not a particularly small person myself, I conceived my first baby when I was sixteen, and still pretty much built like a little girl. He was 7 lbs 11 oz, and I had a 6 hour labor, and although I did push a good while, had no problems delivering my ds. Like USAmma, I've never worn the same size jeans since, since I finally had some hips after birthing my son!

[NoraB]

My mother is 5ft2 and pretty small boned. When pg w/ me she weighed 113 at her heaviest. She delivered me vaginally and I was 7lbs11oz.

The "too smal pelvis" stuff is such a crock. Yes, CPD does happen, but it is very, very rare and pretty much impossible to determine prior to the pushing stage of labor.

[tmarina]

What everyone else has said...

I'm 5'2" and 115 and at my first appointment with my first midwife in my first pregnancy, she measured my pelvis and told me that it was very likely that I would need a cesarean and proceeded to tell me about what to expect with a cesarean at subsequent appointments. I went on to vaginally birth all three of my babies: 8 lb 6 oz, 9 lb 3 oz, and 8 lb 3 oz. (Of course, I got a new midwife after that first one turned out to be a ditz and had my second two out of hospital and outside of the medical model that did not trust my ability).

All the best to you and dw...