If your ob/midwife had concerns about how large your baby was, but there were no other "risks", would you let them induce you early?
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My honest answer is it depends on how far along I am and how I'm feeling.
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hmmm depends on how big they think they baby is. I know a few people who have delivered 10lb babies with no issues (naturally even). Also would depend on how I was feeling and mama instinct.
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My gut says no.... She especially since those ultrasound always seem way off
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Yep, that was the plan for me. Long story short, my water ended up breaking so it was a moot point, but yeah, we were basically inducing for size. Turns out the baby was very normal sized (and even so, got stuck), so I don't think I'll rely on the OB-GYN's guesses again, and wouldn't want to induce due to size.
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Yes. I was in that situation and my ob wasn't going to induce unless the baby was huge. So I trusted that it was in the baby's best interest, and mine. Lo came early though so we never got to that point.
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If there were truly identifiable risks to my health or the baby's health - yes. I'd probably get a second opinion, but yes. Just "the baby is probably too big to deliver" - no.
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Maybe for a first baby depending on how far along I was. J was over 8lbs and I was induced at 40 weeks because of pre-e.
@prettylizy: I was told J was about 6/7 lbs, lol
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No, because the ultrasound can't tell 100% how big/small the baby is and I'm confident in my body's ability to birth a baby.
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We did.
Basically I was measuring a week ahead the whole time (even with a dating ultrasound in the first tri) and by 36 weeks she was measuring 40 weeks length and approx 8lbs 13 oz.
They actually offered a c section because by 38 weeks I was not progressed at all (to be expected). In the end we opted for an induction even though we knew we weren't favorable. The date selected was at 39 weeks 2 days.
The inductions went well. After cervidil that night my water broke and labor began naturally and I labored for a while before starting Pit. By 10 pm (24 hours after being admitted) I started pushing and delivered her fine. She was 9.5 lbs and had a huge BM before they weighed her.
I'm really happy with our choice because I can only imagine what she would have weighed if we waited much longer or even worse waited for my body to actually start. This baby is on the same track and we assume we may be in the same situation.
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Nope! I don't fear a big baby. Maybe a smaller baby could be easier to deliver, but I have faith that my body won't grow a baby that I can't deliver. I see a Homebirth midwife so the chances of her asking me to deliver early due to size are super slim.
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If that's what my medical team thought was best for me and my baby's health, yes.
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I might. I was actually really scared about this because bigger babies are at risk for shoulder dystocia. I was so thankful when Xander came early so I didn't have to worry about this.
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Yep. I lost a 10 pound baby during labor, so I would definitely.
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Yes. But not because I doubted my ability to birth a large baby or because I feared it. I did it because I trusted my doctors recommendation. My ultrasounds were extremely close to his birth weight. I don't know how it would've turned out if I wasn't induced but my induction went great and I was able to deliver him vaginally.
Eta: I was induced only 2 days before my due date.
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I would. We were in the NICU with a 41 week old who got so stuck on the way out, they did an emergency c section and had to get the biggest doc they could find who stood on the table and yanked with both hands to get him unstuck. He had to be treated for oxygen deprivation. I just kept thinking, if only they knew, she could have had a c section to begin with!
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I would ask a lot of questions to make sure it was really necessary, but if my midwife team thought it was, I guess I would probably agree. I saw a midwife practice that was very low intervention, so if they were recommending it, it probably would be for good reason.
That said, I really wouldn't want to and it would depend on how early they were talking. C was over 8 lbs and I had no problem delivering her.
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@Dandelion: I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope my question isn't insensitive, but was weight the only complication?
@beaker: How much did the baby weigh?
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@junebugmama: they aren't completely sure but I know it traumatic getting her out of me. Huge head, stuck shoulders...it was awful. It's the whole reason for scheduling the c section with M...even though he was only 7 lbs. I didn't want to chance it.
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@Dandelion: If I was you, I would have done the same thing the 2nd time around. Again I'm so sorry.
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There are tons of risks with a large baby and fact is they are getting better at estimating size between fundal height and ultrasounds with better equipment and measurements.
Sadly there are things our body just can't do sometimes. Yes you can let natural take its course but I wasn't willing to risk that.
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Definitely. I would follow my dr's advice on how best to get the baby out safely.
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@junebugmama: I'm not sure, but he looked really big to me, all of the NICU nurses kept commenting on it. I think he was around 10 lbs.
@Dandelion: I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope my comments about the other baby are not insensitive to your experience.
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Yes. I had GD and a big baby that measured 2-3 weeks ahead the entire time. I would have been induced, but decided to go for c-section instead for various reasons. He was 8lb 13oz at 39 weeks with a 15 in head and they had to vacuum him out during surgery because he was so stuck.
He was estimated at 7lb 12oz at 36 weeks, so I think the ultrasounds were pretty accurate in our case.
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Yes but no earlier than 37 weeks. I'm petite only 5'2 and 110 lbs.
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I had a scheduled c section at 39 weeks because of DS' size. I didn't go for the induction. An ultrasound at 37 weeks had him weighing 9 lbs 3 oz. Two weeks later he came out at 10 lbs 9 oz. So the ultrasounds can be accurate or even underestimate.
My mama instinct knew that he wouldn't be coming vaginally even if I tried. Sure some moms can deliver babies that size but I didn't think I'd be able to. I'm pretty petite. The thought of him getting hurt on the way out was also a fear of mine. Thank goodness I did choose a c section. My big old broad shouldered boy wouldn't fit anyway.
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@T.H.O.U.: I recently received access to the percentage of accuracy of the majority of our local ultrasound techs. Some of them are still WAY off.
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My initial reaction is no. However, it would all depend on the situation at hand.
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Not unless I had GD or some other reason to think s/he'd be big. I don't trust the ultrasound measurements, nor do I think birthing a fairly big baby is impossible.
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Yup. Absolutely.
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No. I know that ultrasounds are super inaccurate for determining size so I wouldn't induce based on that. I've seen studies where the average ultrasound was a pound off, and frequently they are 2 or 3 pounds off.
Also I know my body is capable of birthing a big baby. ACOG recs still say 13lbs and under should be attempted vaginally, right? I could be wrong on that, I should check.
And since inductions raise the risk to baby, I wouldn't do it unless it was medically indicated.
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I think it would depend on how far along I was and what methods were used to make the estimation. I remember reading that ultrasound can be up to a pound off in either direction but if I was measuring well ahead and my midwife was sufficiently concerned (and she is a home birth specialist) then I would consider it.
@coacheswife123: the tutor who took our antenatal classes actually said that bigger babies can be easier to deliver due to gravity!
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My ultrasound with dd was off by one ounce. We didn't induce due to size. I had an amniotic fluid leak was monitored for a couple days and made the decision to induce because my bp was doing strange things and something didn't feel right. DD was born by c-section after 84 hours. She was 10lbs1oz at 40w0d.
While I'd like to try for a vbac with future babies, I won't go past 40weeks, and an not too optimistic about future inductions working. -
No... the margin of error at that point is too wide for me to be comfortable with that. Plus, I really want a natural birth-- no medications (including for induction).
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I was induced due to the baby being too small. I would do it again in a heartbeat. My ultrasound was only 1 oz off the baby's actual weight.
If the situation was reversed, not sure how I would feel. If the doctor felt there was a risk, I would probably go along with their recommendations.
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If I trusted my midwife/doc (and I would hope I would...) I would take their recommendation on this. I really really don't want to be induced, but I feel like my wanting a med free/intervention free birth is more for my benefit than my LO's (not that there aren't some for her too of course, but I presume the midwife/doc would factor those into their recommendation before suggesting induction). So if there was any indication that it was safer for LO for me to go through induction, I'd do it.
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@Mae: well said
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If it was based only on size, I would not. There were concerns in the last few weeks of my pregnancy that LO was getting too big. The ultrasound technicians and doctors (my ob outsourced ultrasounds so they were not done by her) kept recommending my ob to induce me. She refused and said she would let me go to 1.5 weeks after my due date because ultrasounds can be notoriously off and according to her, inductions should really not be done for size alone. She told me that our bodies know what they are doing and it's always best to trust them when possible, and I whole-heartedly agreed. My LO was coming up as 10lbs on the ultrasounds, but weighed just 7lbs 10oz at birth.
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Like @LemonLong I was also induced due to small size and potential growth/placenta problems. I had several ultrasounds before the induction and the size estimates were all similar (and accurate) even with different techs and facilities taking the measurements. I would absolutely get a second or third opinion on the size before leaping into an induction but if there was a strong possibility that it would prevent a c section or serious complications then I would probably do an early induction based on size.
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It depends.
I trusted my midwife so much. She had 40 years experience providing prenatal care and delivering babies, and she could tell how big baby was just by feeling someone's stomach. She was spot on with the weight of my baby - no ultrasound needed. So yes, I would have induced if she recommended it.
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72 comments