Too small to birth naturally?

[Evee]

I've heard that this one is generally a scare tactic used by Obs to coerce people into caesarians... not sure of the truth in *that*, BUT I do know that a woman's pelvis is designed to pull apart and stretch right out during labour. No doctor can really predict a woman's ability to stretch until she is right there doing it!

My midwife told me of a tiny woman, a size six, who looked barely pregnant. She was giving birth and the baby just kept coming, and coming, and coming - it was a whopper! 11 pounds all up. Both mother and baby were a-ok. I love hearing stories like that!

[Shanti]

I've heardBUT I do know that a woman's pelvis is designed to pull apart and stretch right out during labour. No doctor can really predict a woman's ability to stretch until she is right there doing it!

!

:yeahthat:

[nickle730]

I think it has more to do with the shape of the pelvis than the size of the woman. I've also read that nature dictates that most women will grow a baby that is of a size their pelvis is capable of birthing. Gotta love Mother Nature... the human body is such an amazing thing!

[~me~]

I thought it was all to do with Pelvis too?

I am 5ft 2 and 48kg (sz 6) and have vaginally birthed 3 children (no insides falling out).
My mother is smaller and had 6kids.

One of my boys was nearly 9lbs

I looked absolutely huge my last two pregnancy's and people would look at my like
Sounds like a scare tactic to me without knowing all the facts.

[~Raven~]

Yep I'm sub 50kg most of the time and was a size 7 with my first and had no problems. I know of much larger (framed, I don't mean weight) women that have had problems!

If a caregiver use the term "Tear her in half" then I'd be telling her to complain! That's awful!

Perhaps though she has embellished what was said because she felt she had to to justify the reasons why she elected to have a c/sect IYKWIM.

[Rainbow_Mumma]

I'm 5ft and was a size 6 when I had DS and DD1 and both of them were born vaginally with no tearing or anything as already said its all to do with the uterus and pelvis nothing to do with weight/height/size etc

[boomba]

Perhaps though she has embellished what was said because she felt she had to to justify the reasons why she elected to have a c/sect IYKWIM

Thats what I am thinking...plus this is second hand talk too...my brothers GF is friends with her and told me!

I am just sad that she might have been bullied or scared into it! Make sme want to be a doula/birth educator even more

[Traveller]

It is definitely to do with pelvis and not dress size. My sister has been told the same though and believes it after her first birth resulted in a c-section for maternal exhaustion after a long, posterior, labour. She is soon heading for her 3rd caesarean and will tell anyone who listens that size 4-6 women cannot birth vaginally if their baby is over 7lbs.