VBAC after a surprise 9.5 pound baby?
Q: For my first child, I had a NP/former midwife at my OB’s office tell me that my hips could only handle an 8lb. baby. (i’m 5′2″, 122lbs, slim hips normally) I ended up in a long labour, over 2 hours of pushing, forscips, vacuum, the works… ending in a c-section and a surprise 9.5 pound baby. None of the 3 doctors who saw me predicted he was so large. Now that I am pregnant again (6 months along), I am struggling with the fact that I probably make big babies and that a VBAC is a slim possibility. But I want a natural birth… can I even consider it as an option?
A: Your question is a good one. The decision is really yours, at the start. Knowing your past birth experience, how important is it to you to potentially go through that again versus planning surgery. No one can answer that for you. Once you have an answer, you can proceed accordingly. If you decide to go for a VBAC, it is critical to discuss your plan with your health care provider as soon as possible. Certain birthing institutions have protocols that may prevent you from attempting to VBAC or your provider might argue against it. You need to be sure about your decision to either find a different place or provider with which to birth.
As for your anatomy and making big babies, we do our best to judge these things and we, including sonographers, are often wrong. Surprises happen - a 10 lb baby ends up being 8 lbs or the reverse. Although you have some cards stacked against you with your birth history, it is arguable that you could have a successful VBAC. Every baby and birth is different. The threshold for when to call for surgery will be lower, but, if all else is normal, you are within reason to try, if that is what you decide.
Good luck.
Hilary
Becca says:
It is entirely possible that your baby was in a funky position that would have made vaginal birth difficult. NOT that he was too big for you. I fully believe that our bodies don’t grow babies we cannot birth. And 2hours of pushing isn’t really that long, esp. for a 1st time mom.
There are some questions that you can answer to figure out what kind of position your son was in.
Did you ever hear the words Posterior or Sunny Side up during labor? Did you have back labor? If so your son was likely in the Occiput Posterior Position which makes labor and delivery difficult and sometimes requires a c/s but does not mean that you can’t deliver babies vaginally in the future.
Did your son have any funny bumps or lumps on his head? This is called “molding” if the bump/lump was off to one side or another that would indicate that he was likely asynclitic where the head is tilted slightly, that makes delivery difficult (and if baby doesn’t turn his head darn near impossible!)
Size isn’t the only issue at all. For more information on planning a VBAC VS planning a c/s go to http://www.ican-online.org there are discussion forums there will other women who have had c/s and are planning vbac or have had vbac (some who vbac’d babies BIGGER than their c/s babies)
Liz Creditor says:
Hi,
I has a c/s with my first baby. She was posterior and I pushed for 4 hours with pit, and epidural and every medical intervention you can imagine. Three years later I had a vbac, same size baby- 7 pounds 10 ounces, not posterior. I pushed for 5 minutes.
23 months later I had a vbac again, this time my baby was 9.6 pounds and posterior. I think if you go drug free, you can manipulate your pelvis for the baby to fit. I believe in evolution and I think our bodies grow babies to fit our vaginas. I think bigger babies may come from a diet low in protein and high in empty carbs and sugar. Anyway, good luck, you can do it. Also, check out ICAN. It is a great resource for vbac moms
Liz Creditor, MSEd LCCE Berkeley CA