feeling a bit deflated having been told that our baby is in the 97th percentile for size and the Dr. is predicting a 9 lb baby. It sucks that even after all the careful watching of sugars that I still end up with a big baby...I'm really hoping for a natural birth-anyone else out there have a natural birth with their babies?
I went through this too. I did end up with a 9 lb 5 oz perfectly healthy boy. The way that my doctor explained it is that it is likely due to the fact that even with AWESOME control our blood sugars are more often at the higher end of normal than nondiabetic women (more 120s than 70s). The other possibility is that your baby would have been 9lbs ANYWAY. Many people without D deliver perfectly healthy 9lb babies naturally.
I did have a c-section due to my son's predicted size. This was hard for me to accept at first (I really wanted a natural birth as well) and I still think about it every time that I hear that someone else (without D) delivered a similar or bigger baby naturally. I think that I COULD have done it. But a friend with D in a similar situation was allowed to deliver naturally and ended up needing an emergency c-section due to shoulder dystoria. So there are many factors that determine whether a woman can birth a large baby naturally.
One thing that would be important to know is whether big babies are common in your or the father's family. This may mean that the baby's size has less to do with your diabetes and more to do with genetics. In my case, we were both small babies and my doctor claimed that my body was not designed to deliver a baby that size. In the end, I trusted her and accepted the c-section.
I hope that you are able to get the natural birth that you want. But if you do end up with a scheduled c-section, I would recommend doing your best to ACCEPT it. I read that often the disappointment about a c-section can lead to postpartum depression and can also make breastfeeding more difficult. I had almost two months to ACCEPT the c-section and I really DID. In the end, the birth experience actually turned out BETTER than I expected. Now, 5 months later, I sometimes think WHAT IF I was allowed to try naturally and I am still hoping that I can with the second baby. However in the weeks right before and after the c-section, I really forced myself NOT to dwell on that. I think that eliminating that stress helped my milk come in and made more able to enjoy the early weeks with my son. I just say this in case you do need a c-section and can't get around it, then acceptance is SO important.
Also, it is possible to request certain things to make the c-section closer to a natural birth. My husband did skin-to-skin time with our son while they finished the c-section. Then I was able to breastfeed him (while laying on my back with my husband holding him) the MINUTE that I came out of the c-section.
Another thing: when the baby turned out to be big on the ultrasound, my endo recommended that I STOP taking a multivitamin. Did you doctor mention this? She said that I get sufficient vitamins and minerals from my healthy diet and that the vitamin may be making the baby grow faster.
hmmm the doc said nothing about the multivitamin...I'll ask her. I haven't been told yet that I have to have a c-section, I am trying to keep my mind open about it and remind myself that a healthy baby is the most important thing. Still hoping for a VB for now however :)
Yes, do everything you can to try to have a vaginal birth. How many weeks are you now?
Also keep in mind that the percentiles are based on older data -- babies seem to be bigger for everyone now!!
33 weeks.
Thanks for the encouragement Kristin :)
OK, keep us posted! I was told around 33 weeks that it was most likely to be a c-section.
Check outthis discussion for other women's experience too.
I will :)
I felt the same exact way that you do! My highest A1C was 6.1 with most hovering around 5.8. I had monthly ultrasound weight checks and when i was 37 weeks along they said the baby was measuring 7 lbs 10 oz. I had an induction scheduled for Oct 13th (a month ago) at 39 weeks and luckily I went into labor on my own about 4 hours before my scheduled induction! I had a very quick labor with only 10 min of pushing and delivered a 9 pound 9 ounce baby! The ultrasound was way off as they often times are. I did have a vaginal delivery but certainly didnt do it without an epidural or episiotomy (eep)! haha. My doc said if he knew how big our sweet girl was he would have made me have a c-section. I told him well thankfully you didnt know!!! Its really amazing what our bodies can do! But those docs are so afraid of law suits and shoulder dystocia. BUT it can be done!
Dont beat yourself up about it! I am sure you are doing all you can and its just the nature of the beast with diabetes :(
Yep, I was in your shoes a few weeks ago, too. My A1cs during pregnancy were 5.5-6.2, and at my 37 week ultrasound, they estimated the baby's weight at 10 lbs, 13 oz. I had a c-section scheduled for Nov 4, but my OB left it up to me as to whether I'd want to try a VB if I went into labor sooner on my own. It turned out that I went into active labor later the day of the ultrasound (10-25), so it was a very, very hard decision for me as to whether I would have a c-section, knowing that the weight estimate could be way off. When the midwife examined me when I got to the hospital, she said that it was too bad I was having a c-section, because my body was all ready to go for a VB and everything looked good. That made me reconsider and I had to make the decision all over again. :( My OB had told me that if I were her sister, she would tell her to do a c-section. And the OB on call told me that if it were her, she would definitely do a c-section. Although my baby ended up being smaller than predicted (though still big--9 lbs, 13 oz), I just didn't feel comfortable making a choice that two highly trained OBs were advising against. I do think that I could have done a vaginal birth--big babies run in my family, too--BUT I know that if the baby's shoulders had gotten stuck, and she had been injured, I never would have forgiven myself.
Just make sure that if you do go into labor and you're doing a c-section,, that you stop eating right away. I was told I could have a snack before coming into the hospital, and when I got there, they told me I had to go under general anesthesia because I had eaten too recently. Like Kristin, I agree that it's essential to start trying to accept the possibility of a c-section now, even if you keep hoping you'll be able to do it vaginally (and I really hope you can!!) With all of the hormonal stuff going on after delivery, it is really easy to fixate on what you regret about the whole experience, unfortunately, but if you have come to terms with it ahead of time, it won't be as bad.
Keeping my fingers crossed for a natural birth for you!
E. Lousie- What a very difficult decision to make! I would have been faced with the same decision if ultrasound would have predicted a 9 lber. Thankfully Dr. thought baby was much smaller and I didnt have to make any tough decisions...because like you if something bad happened I would never forgive myself! How is your sweet baby doing? I think the hardest part about having a big baby is peoples reactions. Seems like peoples first reaction is "wow your baby is huge!" or "look at those cheeks!" I just want people to ack baby for something other than its size.
Sharon- I agree that acceptance is so important! Although very hard to do. Just think of a healthy baby above all else. Hopefully your next ultrasound will predict a smaller baby!
Wow, what a tough decision. In your shoes, I would have done the same.
I went into labor the MORNING of my scheduled c-section. I only realized that was what was happening when the NST before the c-section showed regular contractions. The nurse laughed that I must have put myself in labor. My c-section was delayed a couple hours. So I did get to have some contractions and it gave me peace of mind that our big guy was ready to come out!
It didn't cross my mind until later when someone asked why I didn't ask if I could try to deliver vaginally. I guess I had really accepted the c-section by that time. I doubt that my doctor would have let me try. They didn't give me a choice.
thanks for all your replies. I kind of love your story Steph :D It shows that natural birth with a large baby is doable if they just give you a chance, especially if large babies run in the family-I think your body is better able to birth a large baby. My concern with a large baby is that both my husband and my family have not typically had large babies so I would be concerned about being able to birth a large baby. It's good to talk with you and hear your experiences.
Just wanted to say yes, I did have natural births with big babies, but in my case the doctors were not suggesting a cesarean, either...although they did offer to do one if I had wanted to. With both of my babies, the last u/s predicted they would be bigger than they were...but they were both still on the larger end of normal at 8 lbs 14 oz and 8 lbs 12 oz. But that's also fairly average for our families. (Slightly above our family average, which is right about 8 lbs, give or take.)
I think it's really important to prepare yourself as much as possible with whatever you can do and find out but also to be able to let go to whatever the experience turns out to be...we second-guess ourselves ALL THE TIME but really, you do the best you can with the information and circumstances you're given and only YOU know what those are! So...I had "natural births," and I wanted to share those for your data set, but also, whatever happens, know that that is what was right for YOU! And good luck!
thanks Susan :)
Hi, Sharon!
I just wanted to tell you that I have been thinking (and worrying) about the baby's size since the day I found out I was pregnant. I am currently 32 weeks and the baby's size looks normal on the ultrasound. However, I don't know how big my daughter will be on the day of delivery,,, I do believe that you shouldn't beat yourself up if you end up having a c-section.
I'm preparing myself mentally and emotionally about the possibility of a c-section as well. I mean it helps a lot that in Germany where I'm currently living doctors and hospital are pro-VB all the way, but I trust German doctors in general. So, if they decide a c-section would be better, I won't object. After all, they are trying to protect both the baby and the mother, right?
I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes you can only do as much to try and have a 'normal' pregnancy with the best BG control ever and still show signs of a diabetic pregnancy. I mean we're only human. The important thing is a healthy baby, right?
Yes large babies can be birthed vaginally! As a labor and delivery nurse I have seen tiny women come in and delivery10lb babies (this one in particular wasnt even diabetic!). But it all depends on the person so you never know who will fit and who wont! There is a silver lining to having a c-section! You usually know the exact date to look forward to for your kiddos birthday! And the old rule "once a c-section, always a c-section" is not true anymore. So even if this one is a c-section it doesnt mean the next will have to be! Oh one more perk! Your kiddo wont have a cone head at birth. haha
yes, this is true, but you know, living in the US is kind of part of the issue for me. I was born and raised in Ireland, very few of my friends or family who have had babies have had c-sections. Most births are supervised by midwives and obs are only called in the case of an emergency or in the case of a scheduled c-section (which is rare). VBs are way more common in Ireland compared to the US, so I must admit, that while my dr. is wonderful and I trust her, the fact that she is an ob and trained to intervene medically and she MUST be present at my birth, I'm not so sure that I trust the motives behind her decisions or even the decisions of labour and delivery staff. Although it seems that the hospital we're having the baby in is natural birth friendly, I'm fearful that they will have a different attitude to a high risk labour and delivery. I guess it's a lot of fear of the unknown-I also know so many people here who have had emergency c-sections without having had a high risk pregnancy. Anyway, my main desire is a healthy baby and know that I need to mentally prepare for these interventions...
Steph -- is there any way to know if a woman is more capable to birth a large baby? I assumed the size of her hips mattered, but I don't really know anything about this.
It was really hard for me, trying to be okay with whatever happened but still trying to figure out what I should do and what was best. I think, in the US at least, that when you're considered "high-risk" as we are as diabetics, sometimes if you DON'T have any trouble, they don't know what to do with you! Very luckily for me, I was in that category, but it did still cause me a lot of stress. I really wanted to have the lowest amount of interventions possible, and I did--but it was hard to advocate for that because the doctors had not had that experience before--but if they had ever been seriously concerned, I knew I had to go with that and be open to that too. Such a difficult, delicate balance.
No one knows if you're capable of birthing a large baby or not--you can read up on the physical process of it, but your bones and the size of your hips don't really matter much...the thing that's hard is knowing whether you have a normally big baby or a baby who's big because you're diabetic. On the one hand, in my mind an 8 pound baby or a 9 pound baby is still well within the range of "normal" but if it's a diabetic's baby, you don't know about proportions and whether they'll have large shoulders, etc. etc.
You just gather the knowledge that you can, surround yourself with people who have your best interests in mind, and have honest conversations with your care providers, and in the end, everyone's done the best they can. I hope the best outcome you can imagine will be yours!
thanks Susan :)