how to get baby out????

[widdly]

I am worried that i will go through labour only to have an emergency cesarian cause the baby will be too big or me to small, as this is what happened to my mum. I was talking about this to a friend last night who said that I can ak them to measure me and the baby's head close to 40 weeks and they should be able to tell me what my chances of natural labour are. I am a public patient and was wondering if they tell me that there is a decent chance of me not being able to push baby out can I ask for a cesarian instead??? :-s

[Antheia]

I am not sure about this but when i had Lily she got stuck and it was very traumatic for us both and i was adviced to have a growth scan near 40w next time and then if it was too big have a c/s. I had a fear that this might happen before i had Lily so i asked my GP if i could have a growth scan and i got told, no, i'll find out in labor! I mean not very proffessional if u ask me, especially since it did actually happen! So i would advice you to ask for a growth scan at around 36w and if they say no either push the subject or get a second opinion. I wish i had!

[Melinda]

I think a lot of people have these kind of fears whilst PG and it's understandable because you're branching out into the unknown and of course you want to ensure that your baby arrives safe and sound.

Scans can be inaccurate when it comes to estimating weight etc - they are only an estimate. That said, they can of course be a wonderful diagnostic tool and provide fantastic piece of mind. The best thing to do is to wait and see how your PG develops - I'm sure that as you go along you'll read and research a lot about the kind of birth that you want, and it's best to discuss your concerns with your care provider so that they are well informed about your fears for getting your baby out - they can then discuss this with you in a way that is relevant to your situation. There is a great article on the main site Fears in Labour - Top 12 Fears which you might like to take a look at.

[Ambah]

Hi widdly,

I think its very understandable that you are concerned about this, however, as Mel said, its probably best to wait and see how your pg goes, and to talk to your GP/Dr/midwife about your concerns. As it may well be that your perlvis is a different size/shape than your mothers. Also, I would caution against relying 100% on the results of those scans where they estimate size/weight before birth, as I have heard its not too uncommon for those measurements to turn out to be innacurate.
I also agree with what Mel said about doing your research into the kind of birth that you want. As an informed decision is an empowered one.

All the best

[Berry]

I think it depends which ob you speak to.

Two of my sisters had c-sections, partly attributed to it being hard to get a fair sized baby through their small pelvises. I discussed this with one ob, wondering whether I should opt to have a c-section - she rejected that idea, saying that she would always give priority to natural birth unless there was a clear medical reason not to. I delivered that baby naturally, with the help of epidural, vacuum extraction to help his head move through the birth canal and episiotimy to help his shoulder to squeeze through.

[BellyBelly]

I am actually writing an article on CPD or Cephalo-Pelvic Disproportion - where you are told your pelvis is too small / baby too big.

Twenty years ago, apparently physicians were known to tell women that the reason for their caesarean was due to the child's head being too big for the size of their pelvis. Of course that went askew when the women would be at home for their future births and had no problems doing so.

It seems to be reaching 'epidemic' levels, to the point where it is being misdiagnosed for so many women - we are born to birth babies!!! Unless you have had damage to your pelvis where it's healed incorrectly i.e. a break or malformation or baby is unusually big, chances are you have a perfectly fine pelvis. I also found this:

"Cephalo-pelvic disproportion (CPD)

This indication has been shown repeatedly to be inaccurate as a predictor of the possibility of future vaginal births. Up to 77% of women with a previous caesarean for CPD have a later vaginal birth. One third of them with larger babies. (ICEA Review). X-rays are notoriously inaccurate as a means of diagnosing CPD. The movement of a woman's pelvis during labour and the position of the baby are so significant that an x-ray prior to, or during, pregnancy cannot reliably indicate the likelihood of vaginal birth."

Anyways... this is why I love active birth so much. It involves changing positions and being upright - often baby is just in a bad position and you need to move. Midwives see this happen - they find the caput on baby's head, off to the side meaning it was not in a good position. One Ob even said something along the lines of "I used to believe in CPD but now I see it as often as I do rocking horses!"

Women are born with all the right equipment (bone structure!) to birth babies, except in rare cases and there have been many women told their pelvis was too small yet they have gone on to birth further babies with no problems - even at home!

So what I would suggest is that if anyone is being told they have a small pelvis, to ask to try things first. Our body optimally births upright, and least optimally reclining or semi-reclining - hospital beds are designed for the ease of medical staff but have the opposite effect on poor babies trying to be born against gravity.

You'll be hearing alot about this in the near future, as I mentioned it's reaching epidemic levels and everyone is starting to realise what it going on. Also you can't trust the stats, I know of a story where one mum had a caeser for CPD - the midwife read the notes and saw that what had actually happened was mum told the Ob she was over being pregnant and wanted a caeser, so what did the Ob do? Write it off as "Caeser due to CPD." How on earth are we supposed to make the best chioces for us and our babies when we have this crap to contend with?! We need accurate stats. This is not.

Having a pelvic scan is probably only going to depress you even more and isn't accurate - the scan is done lying down, isn't indicative of the actual birth and really wont be helpful.

At the end of the day, it's important that you have a medical carer that you trust - there will be some instances where you need to trust their medical knowledge as they are trained to deal with such situations, but don't be afraid to ask, question or suggest if other alternatives may be helpful in your own situation.

[Berry]

That's really fascinating, Kelly. It is a worry that there are so many elective caesarians now when natural births are generally medically safer for women. In my experience, female obs have been more in favour of natural birthing.

I found it odd that two of my sisters supposedly have pelvic structure which is too small to birth a baby naturally, whereas my mum has the same sort of build and birthed 4 babies naturally including one big whopper of almost 10lbs!

[Lucy]

Widdly,

My recent experience of scans is interesting: everyone was telling me I had a "huge" baby inside me and the scan at 37 weeks guesstimated that he would be massive, and I freaked out a bit, but in the end Charlie was 6lb 13oz (on the smaller side of average) and I delivered him vaginally.

With my previous birth, to Olivia, she did get stuck, but I still delivered her vaginally & it was wonderful. My OB suggested I had a "small pelvis" but I honestly don't think I have, or that it prevents me from pushing babies out!

Like the other girls have said, pregnancy is a time where all your "fears" do come to the surface. But honestly, midwives are bloody good at delivering babies.....& their experience will be a great asset to you in hospital. My advice to you would be to read up as much as you can, arm yourself with lots of knowledge, practice relaxation techniques, and then GO WITH THE FLOW..........

HTH.......

[Adnil]

hi widdly,

i guess if you OB thought this was going to be a problem for you they would let you know, as they would be able to tell somewhat by your scans and your size. from memory i think Colleen had this happen to her - hopefully she will pop her head in and help answer this for you. but as the others have said, it is quite normal to have fears like this. my mum is quite short and has a small build, and we were all big babies (8-9lb) and she had no problems giving birth, so i think sometimes your height/ build doesnt even determine it.

HTH

Linda

[Antheia]

Sorry to have to dedate about this and take over your post widdly, but now i am rather curious.

I was told to consider having a c/s next baby because Lily was big and i have a small pelvis (she was 9lb 7oz) Now I had vacuum extraction which failed, so the doctor had to literally (sorry if TMI) get half his arms up there and pull Lily out himself because she wouldn't budge even with the vacuum. It was really traumatic for us both and i would rather avoid this for next time. I don't want to have an elective c/s if i can have a baby naturally but am scared that this will happen again. I mean, Lily was a big baby, but others have had bigger and have had a normal birth. So if women are born to birth that, what's wrong with me?

[christy]

I guess on the other side of the birth... recovery. I had a c/s after 24 hours of labour & the thing that made it worse wasn't the labour, but the fact that it took 6 weeks for my body to partially get back to normal. I was up and moving asap, but it took me two months to feel comfortable even giving Matilda a bath. Because it used those muscles that were a part of the c/s to hold her & in water. I was so scared of not having the control. I know that most have pain after delivering naturally but I also know that it doesn't take as long to recover from something your body was made to do, rather than a c/s that your body wasn't made to have happen. HTH

[BellyBelly]

Tegan,

As per my post - perhaps she was in a bad position, hence the vacuum not working and the Ob having to use his hand in to help. I think I recall a previous post from you saying her shoulders where stuck, which is called shoulder dystocia - is that the case? Completely different, but again, this is often a bad positioning scenario. Please don't feel frightened that this will happen again as it's not hereditary or anything like that - Lucy had shoulder dystocia with her first and Charlie shot out didn't he Lucy!

Also second time around, you have to remember that things are going to be more stretched and birthing is generally much easier and is quicker, as there is more room.

[~Raven~]

Widdly I was worried about this too, but Mason came out ok at 7lb 8oz and Angus literally fell out LOL.

It's only natural to have some fears and hearing of others that have had problems will only make you stress more.
What about my best friend who popped out 12lb + babies with only a small tear each time!

Talk to your OB or midwife about how you are feeling. I hope that they can put your mind at ease.

[Antheia]

Yes it was shoulder dystocia. But i was made to believe it was because i had a small pelvis. Thanks for telling me about Lucy, it's given me a bit of hope. It's just so hard to believe that it will be different when you've been through something traumatic like that.

[BellyBelly]

Tegan, you're right - it sure doesn't help our birth rate when a traumatic birth does occur. But remember, you are now experienced with birth, your body is experienced with birth and there is going to be somewhat less stress involved in terms of knowing what the process might be - which can be counteracted by birth trauma I know... so do some research, relaxation and positive thinking, it will all help you to have a better second birth. Just because your first got stuck, it doesn't mean your second will. I don't think I have read a birth story where both the first and second baby has been stuck due to CPD.

Tell yourself you CAN do this, adrenaline caused from fear or stress in labour can slow or stop oxytocin production and you definitely don't want that to happen. Research some active birth positions, as well as some techiniques that help baby settle into a good position and if the shoulders do get stuck, there are several different positioning methods which can all be used prior to the hand going in unless it's an emergency of course. I'll be writing another article on that too with some of those.

But never fear, second babies are often born on the doorstep, so to speak

[widdly]

thankyou sooo much everyone for replying to my questions and totally putting my mind at ease =D> i guess its true what they say about taking other mum's stories and advice with a grain of salt

I said to DH last night that I can't wait to have this baby and get pregnant with the second one so taht I can feel more relaxed and at ease with the whole thing.

[Lucy]

it was shoulder dystocia. But i was made to believe it was because i had a small pelvis

Tegan, that was exactly what happened to me!

Both my OB's (one in the NT, one in Adelaide) had me worried. Whilst both had my best interests at heart, I was pretty determined to go with the flow to see how I went.......whilst I did have shoulder distocia with Olivia, I did still manage to still get her out OK, so I was pretty keen to make sure I gave my second birth my best shot!

As it was, after a lot of reassurance from lots of people, I went for a "managed labour" (induction), and Charlie did indeed shoot out in less than 2 hours!

I ended up giving birth to Charlie from a standing up position.......not really squatting, but standing up, legs apart & only slightly bent, after having laboured on a fit ball, which apparently opens up the pelivis nicely?

Either way, small pelvis or not, I managed it no probs second time round due to, I think, the position I insisted that was most comfortable for me, and an OB and midwife who really listened to what I wanted.......

HTH?

[Melinda]

Christy - I agree, speaking from experience, recovery after a c/s is not easy. It took a long time for me to heal.