Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Jan
1
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Holiday Sweets! “…You Can Give Birth Vaginally To A 10lb Baby.”
“Yes! You can give birth vaginally to a 10 lb baby.” -Midwife to mother who was a larger woman and feared a big baby and being told she needed a cesarean section.
There are 21 comments to this post.
Jen@PlusSizebirth had this to say,
Jan 1, 2013 @ 4:45 pm (Quote)
This is my story. I had switched care from an OB-GYN to a midwife when I was about 5 months pregnant. My midwife was so encouraging and helped me to have as much faith in my body has she had in it. When I addressed the big baby risk factor she eased my concerns immediately. She was amazing and I have so much admiration for the midwifery model of care.
I went into labor a month early and gave birth on my knees to a 6 lb 1/4 oz baby.
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Yay! A provider who has faith that the human body can (in general) do what it was made to do! 
SO envious of your midwife, OP. My doctor is currently convinced that she’s going to have to vacuum or cut my “huge” baby out of me. >< (He measured ~8 lbs on the last u/s at 38 wks… not huge, IMO, but she seems terrified. And oh yes, I'm well aware of the margin of error on u/s anyway. She wanted me to schedule an induction back at 35-36 wks for 39 wks because she's SO worried about his size.)
Desperately hating that I couldn't find a different provider who is not afraid of my baby/ birth this late… No one else will take me. She may very well be kicked out of the room by the end of things. 39w+3d and counting…
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Susan Peterson Reply:
January 1st, 2013 at 6:28 pm (Quote)
Laura, I am so sorry that you can’t find a different provider. I suggest that you stay home as long as possible to give her less excuse to section you! It is not easy to kick a doctor out of the room, or to say no to what she wants. Best to stay out of their domain for as long as possible! May your birth go well!
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Laura Reply:
January 2nd, 2013 at 11:50 am (Quote)
I plan on it… unfortunately I don’t have a great idea of how long to wait. My mom says she went pretty quickly with both me and my brother, and I know that precipitous birth can run in families. :/
Thanks for the positive thoughts! We’ll see what happens. This doctor actually seems to be more invested in the idea of vacuum extraction than c-section– she’s tried to get me sign a consent for it at my last 2 appointments…
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Lisa in Texas Reply:
January 2nd, 2013 at 8:22 am (Quote)
Maybe your best bet is to fire this doctor and just show up at the hospital when labor is well established with your birth plan in hand. That’s what my friend’s daughter did recently. Her OB led her to believe he would respect her wishes and then showed his true colors at the 39 week appointment. She ended up having a wonderful birth the following week with whomever was on call after firing him.
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Laura Reply:
January 2nd, 2013 at 11:58 am (Quote)
I’ve thought pretty hard about doing that– at this point it depends a lot on her behavior at my next (last?) prenatal. I’m hoping pretty hard that baby decides he wants to come out on my actual due date (Jan. 5th), because she’s already told me she’ll be out of town. Maybe I can get to the hospital and get everything done before she gets back from her trip! My comment to Susan appears to be in moderation up there, but like
I said, there’s a chance I’ll go pretty quick (Mom said I took about 4 hours). *crossed fingers*
My birth plan IS already scanned into my chart and I have a few copies to bring with me to the hospital. The hospital advertises that they respect birth plans and such… we’ll see whether that’s true or not pretty soon.
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April Burns had this to say,
Jan 1, 2013 @ 4:56 pm (Quote)
My son was 10 lb 3.3 oz at birth, and I am a plus-sized mom. I gave birth naturally, and it was actually a really quick birth. Have faith mamas, your bodies were MADE for this
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I had a 10lb baby and a 4th degree tear. Wish I’d had a c-section so I could still have sex without pain or not worry about the strength of my anal muscles as I age now that I had to have them repaired.
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Allison Reply:
January 1st, 2013 at 5:15 pm (Quote)
I am so sorry you are dealing with that. I had a good sized tear (not 4th degree though) with my first and dealt with pain for a long time so I understand how much it sucks. I can understand why you might wish things had gone differently, and see a C section as a better option. Unfortunately it’s hard to know exactly what would or will happen to a given woman. I tore and had muscle damage with a 6 lb 5 oz baby, and no problems whatsoever with an 8 lb baby. And I have taken care of multiple women with bad wound infections and complications from c sections. I hope your symptoms improve either with time or intervention and congratulations on your little one.
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Hannah Reply:
January 1st, 2013 at 5:28 pm (Quote)
I just wanted to bring it up because a lot of women get flack for wanting or needing a c-section. I knew I was going to tear because my body was telling me she was way too large. I begged for a c-section around the 24 hour mark of labor but no one would listen to me. I kept telling them it wasn’t the contractions but that my hips were going to break. I didn’t have an epidural or any other pain meds even for the stitching. (I metabolize pain medicines too quickly. They just don’t work.) I’m 5’2″ and was in labor for 32 hours before I had her. She had a broken collar bone from the whole ordeal, too. I just wish she hadn’t had to be born in so much pain. She’s about to turn one and I am still traumatized by my birth.
Ladies! Listen to your bodies! If you feel you need a c-section then don’t let others make you feel bad for that. We ladies should stick together and support each other, not try to belittle each other.
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cat Reply:
January 2nd, 2013 at 12:08 am (Quote)
So sorry to read your story. I hope you will find it in yourself to recover both physically and emotionally. You have a valid point, providers should listen to the woman. She knows what she’s feeling and what she needs. They should take that much more seriously.
It’s good to read that some, like OP’s midwife, have a good sense of that.
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Bonita Reply:
January 1st, 2013 at 5:30 pm (Quote)
I had a third degree tear and ALMOST hit 4th degree. As it was I ended up in the OR for hours being stitched back together. That baby was 9lbs 2oz and I tore because I was on my back purple pushing with meds.
I now have had two 10lbers at home with very minor tears and I’m not a big woman.
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Susan Peterson had this to say,
Jan 1, 2013 @ 6:36 pm (Quote)
Five of my nine babies were ten pounds or more. The one who was over 12 pounds came out with a tiny tear so small my doctor didn’t think he even needed to stitch it, but I told him I’d rather have it done. Many many women have given birth to ten pound babies.
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The homebirth midwife I hired with my youngest daughter made me believe that I was “too out of shape” to have a natural birth, and she made me keep a detailed food journal, chastising any “bad choices”, and gave me an “exercise plan” (Which I lied about following) and to document all my activity and if I didn’t do so, she would risk me out to a hospital because being fat made me higher risk!
I only kept her as my provider because hubby refused to entertain the idea of a UC. I had a one hour labor (from first contraction to birth) of a 9 lb 10 oz baby girl at 40 weeks (the night before her due date).
I hired her again, because of hubby, for my son, in which she kept taking my BP with a cuff that was too small, getting elevated readings, and telling me that, “I wasn’t following the Brewer diet properly, and she was going to have to risk me out if I wasn’t going to take my health and pregnancy seriously.” I fired her, and UC’ed an 11 lb. baby boy, 3 days after his EDD.
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Lisa in Texas Reply:
January 2nd, 2013 at 7:28 pm (Quote)
Wow. She gives homebirth midwives a bad name, doesn’t she? I can’t imagine any of my midwives treating me like that, but then again I live in an area where there are A LOT of midwives to choose from. If I didn’t like one, I could just hire a different one.
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Amanda in Ottawa Reply:
January 3rd, 2013 at 9:19 am (Quote)
Congrats on taking control and doing what was right for you and baby!
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The Well-Rounded Mama had this to say,
Jan 5, 2013 @ 3:16 pm (Quote)
Jen, so glad your midwife was so supportive! It’s so refreshing to hear that when we mostly hear the opposite from women of size (provider afraid of big baby, etc.). Although we must not ignore the bias out there towards women of size, it’s also important to highlight the fact that there are good providers too, ones who are not afraid of bigger women or bigger babies.
Thanks for sharing!
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Add Your Comment.
Go, midwife!
So had the OP been told, “Fat mother equals big baby and weak flabby muscles, so fat mother must have abdominal surgery in order to give birth?” I suspect that she had been. Like, “Fat mothers are all diabetic and diabetic mothers all have oversized babies, QED (not)” and “Fat women are all lazy and flabby and stuff so they must be rescued from labor (not!).” This is medical advice?
If using basic logic is fluffy crunch woo woo, then give me a fluffy crunchy woo woo midwife any day!
Anyway, go midwife, go momma, and go baby! (OP, how big was the baby actually?)
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I've heard that Reply:
January 1st, 2013 at 6:36 pm I've heard that(Quote)
“Like, “Fat mothers are all diabetic and diabetic mothers all have oversized babies, QED (not)” and “Fat women are all lazy and flabby and stuff so they must be rescued from labor (not!).” This is medical advice?”
Oh… you’ve met my previous midwives, have you? Glad they inadvertently pushed me toward a UC – finally had a peaceful homebirth!
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