No, they are frequently wrong.
And even if your OB is right, 8lb is not exactly enormous! Overall size isn't an indication of much - it's more the head circumference that's an issue. Babies can be long and skinny, short and fat, skinny with a boof head... :)
I'm sure things will go just fine for you. I'm sorry your OB has worried you.
What a shame you have been made to worry over mere size... 8 pounds at that (which is not a big baby). When I think back over all the births I have heard and read about it seems to me that births to bigger babies on the whole seem to have been less painful and traumatic. I've heard of quite a few challenging births involving small babies... nowhere near as many big baby births (I'm talking of above 9 pounds). I've had 3 babies: 7, 8, 9 pounds in that order. My 7 pounder was the most painful. There are often stories in the newspaper about very petite asian women giving birth to very large babies... I think the largest was 14 pounds to a Chinese woman... and she birthed vaginally, no problems. There's a thread in the General News forum area... i'll give it a bump for you... go have a read.
If you look on the growth charts for babies, 8 pounds is actually the 75th percentile.
Meaning that 8lb babies are still well within the realms of "normal" for a newborn.
An 8, or even 9lb baby is not a "huge baby". It is a normal sized baby.
OB's frequently do get this wrong and trying to guess just by looking at you...well I don't think I really need to point out the accuracy of that method ;)
Annabelle, Just incase you can't find the thread i bumped... here's the newspaper article that it contained:
The Herald
Fiona Hudson in London
August 12, 2007 12:00am
It was a natural birth with quite unnatural results.
With the help of four midwives and some gas, British mother Amanda Ellerton calmly delivered a 6.5kg (14lb 7oz) boy.
As a mother of two other children, she had no idea her newborn would be almost as big as a six-month old.
"The other two were both average weights and I didn't expect Shaune would be any different," she said.
"Once his head appeared I could see the surprise on everyone's faces. It was very painful, but it was all worth it for our big bundle of joy.
"We had bought some baby clothes, but they were no use. (Husband) Robert had to rush out and buy clothes for a six-month old instead."
Robert Nicholson said Shaune took after his grandmother, who weighed 5.9kg (13lb) at birth.
Britain's heaviest newborn weighed 7.1kg (15lb 8oz).
The world's heaviest, surviving baby was born in Italy in 1955. He tipped the scales at 10.25kg (22lb 8oz).
...my 7 pounder was also "very painful" LOL so much so I thought I was going to pass out... but I'd rather a few hours pain as opposed to a few days pain recovering from a c/s. I guess at the end of the day you have to have faith in your body to get you through that because it's designed to!
You might find this interesting:
Too Small?
Elvira's First Home Birth
Warning, the pictures are graphic.
Saša
My OB said I would have a big baby and definately wouldn't go past 39 weeks. I had a 9lb'er at 38.5 weeks XD
I think there's lots of guess work in size guesstimation- my obs called DS at 6-7lb several times (and at 32 weeks he was saying "around 6- healthy but a bit smaller than average") and DS came out (the usual exit) at exactly 8lb. Incidentally, for boys 8lb is right on 50th centile, so actually not that big! In my case my fundal height was always a bit less than gestational weeks so that's where I'm guessing the discrepancy came from. This time round it's the same (and now obs is saying 7-8lb, whatever that means), so I suspect my uterus just has room to expand out rather than up making my fundal height a bit less.
I recall reading about research analysing methods like CT scans and other "accurate" measurement that predicted baby size and pelvis size, and they were remarkably inaccurate in predicting anything- during labour there isn't any way to tell how much the pelvis can stretch, and a lot depends on how the baby is positioned.
I would just let trust in nature taking its course and be confident that if things aren't going right your obs will intervene appropriately.
my girlfriend who is quiet small in stature gave birth to her son on Thursday just gone, she was induced at 39weeks. She was told for most of the way along that her baby was going to be big and even tried talking her into a c/s which she said no too.At around 32wks they estimated he was already 5lb's. Anyway he was only 7lb 12oz of 3505grams so not big at all.
She is so glad that she said no to the c/s (she also has 3yr old so would be a lot harder recovery) and she would have felt pretty ripped off if she did opt for c/s based on that information and he was actually smaller than his older siser was born vaginally (she was about 8lb 6oz)
My Ob for my first pregnancy always told me i was bigger than average and my son was born at 33wks weighing 5lb 1oz, so maybe he was right, who knows if he would have been 9lb+ Full term or maybe he would have slowed down toward the end. My second (diff OB) I was also told bub was bigger than average but a scan at 27wks estimated him to be 2lb 2oz which was spot on for gestation then he came at 38wks weighing 7lb 10oz
Ob told me the same thing and DS was nearly 9 pounds at 38 1/2 weeks.
Thank you again for all your advice again :D
Guesstimation - that is a good term to describe what they are doing - sometimes I think all this technology is great - but it is a double edged sword - too much information = too much worry - well for some types like mwoa !!
Bathsheba - thanks for the article :o
I guess weight is not the be all and end all - you only have to consider nappies and how they fit on different bubs etc.. tthere is more to size than weight.
Head circumference on my bub was around 50th percentile - but that could be a guesstimate too :lol::lol:
sunshine_sieben - umm my cycles on average would be about 26 days give or take - - I was charting at the time of TTC and reckon we conceived day 13-16 of cycle.
I am a bit neurotic about what my OB said cause I am 160cm tall and pre pregnancy weight of 50kg ...people actually get a surprise when I tell them how much I was at birth - I get a bit of a giggle out of it.
csab - hey thanks I keep up with how you are too xx
Overall I am glad I posted this thread cause I certainly feel more at ease and dont take it to heart...as it looks to me they can get it right or wrong in either direction so guesstimations ...well take them with a grain of salt!!
Anna :D
Anna, if you're a small-ish woman, then you definitely need to have a look at the links I posted earlier. He's a male midwife who worked with Tijuana (Mexican women) who are very very tiny. However, they delivered healthy average sized babies at home. One of the girls on his site was only 12!!!
Even head circumference is not much to go by. Baby's heads are soft. Your pelvis is soft. There is no way to tell how much the head will be able to be molded during birth and how much your pelvis will be able to stretch.
This article on Belly Belly is also really really interesting: https://www.bellybelly.com.au/birth/...nown-and-loved.
Seeing that you have a fair idea of when you ovulated, there is probably a considerate accuracy in your dates, rather than the u/s dates. I would definitely go by your dates rather than by theirs.
I had long irregular cycles (45 days+) but I also knew when I conceived. Originally, with my GP, she thought I was 2 weeks further along and wouldn't believe me. When I went to see my MW, I mentioned the charting/long cylces. She just asked me: So, what due date do you want me to write down? I loved her for this. It is so great if they believe your instincts. I did end up having a dating u/s at 6 weeks and that confirmed my estimate to the day.
All the best and try not to worry.
Saša
Your baby will be the perfect size for you :)