Version/C Section/ Big Baby

I had a version with my 2nd baby and it was very quick and although it was uncomfortable it wasn't painful. They monitored the baby the whole time plus used ultrasound to see what they were doing. It went VERY well and I delivered her 2 weeks later, on her due date, vaginally. She only weighed 7lbs 9 oz though.
Good Luck!

Congratulations! You're almost there! A lot of breech babies turn on their own, and versions by a skilled and knowledgeable practioner often help.

There are a lot of pluses to a vaginal birth. A c-section is major abdominal surgery and carries all the risks of that. It affects your options with future births. You'll have a faster recovery time with a vaginal birth--which would help with two!

Weight estimates before birth are estimates--they are always guessing wrong! Ultrasounds have a 20% margin of error. A ten-pound estimate could be 12...or it could be 8! It does sound like you grow big babies, though.

Even thought it's been in thenews, dystocia is a fairly rare complication, even in larger babies (5 percent I think). And there are ways of handling shoulder dystocia.

My second baby was 9lbs 8 oz and the doctor on call used the "McRoberts manuever" just in case of dystocia (there was no indication). I was squatting and he basically had me slammed on my back with my knees up as far as they would go for the last push. I still don't get it, because it was the exact same position as the squat, just on my back. The general idea though, is to be in a position that moves your pelvic bones apart. (They move anyway, just some positions help them move effectively.)

The Gaskin manuever is also fairly successful. Ina May Gaskin delivered something like 3,000 babies with a 2% c-section rate, so it must work!

I think it is great that your doctor is advising you and letting you make decisions about your medical care. I think it's great that you're educating yourself! You might consider talking to a doula or childbirth educator (Bradley or Brio) in your area. Most of them would talk this over with you as a courtesy, and explain in more detail what it all means and what your options are. In the end, you need to be comfortable with the option that you choose!

And I know plenty of people who delivered big babies with no problems at all--my mom had two that were 10 lbs+, my sister-in-law had a ten pounder and there was my "little" guy, all just in my family!

Personally I would try everything under the sun to avoid a c-section. VBAC is endangered these days. Try some of the poses mentioned already. Accupuncture has had some success as well.
Good luck. no one truly know the weight till baby comes out.

My advice is to not be induced and not have a c-section bc the baby is big. They told me my son was 10 lbs (I'm very small) and was so huge they needed to induce me. It was a disaster! My body was just not ready. I ended up w a c-section. It turns out he was only 8 lbs - they get the baby size wrong so often I hear. I have met so many people with the same story. I am now a believer in not listening to the doctor when they are estimating the baby's size. On the other hand, both my sisters delivered large 10 lb babies vaginally just fine. :) I think it is worth a try - and then you don't have to have major abdominal surgery. I had complications with my c-section and it was truly awful. I had a hematoma (they accidentally cut a blood vessel), my incision stayed open due to coagulating blood, AND I got infected inside. It took FOREVER to heal properly and it was very traumatic. I will have an ugly scar and an extremely droopy weird looking stomach for the rest of my life now! Oh well. :) Good luck with whatever you decide, but I just wanted to give you my thoughts on this. If I could go back in time I would ignore my doctor!

I am a midwife. You have already delivered a big baby so your body can obviously handle bigger babies. So, I would not worry about that. Typically your body will not grow a baby bigger than your body can handle. Also, it is very important that you be allowed to deliver in whatever position your body tells you to. Laying on your back giving birth is the worst position for you. Birthing in a squat position or on hands and knees helps open your pelvis and let the baby through, this is especially important to avoid problems with the shoulders. When we encounter sticky shoulders at a home birth we immediatly have the mother get on her hands and knees and this almost always resolves the problem.
A couple of years ago I had a mom deliver a 13.8lbs baby. She was in labor for only 2 hours. Did not even tear. Delivered her baby standing up. And she was not an overly big woman. So, you can deliver a 10lb baby. Just trust your body.
Check out the spinning babies website, see a chiropractor and if those don't work then go for the version. You DON'T want a c-section. You put yourself at great risk for a whole host of other problems including death. And I am not being dramatic. C-sections are major surgery and women die every day from complications resulting from that surgery. Our society has made it seem like a c-section is no big deal and will tell mothers; "oh just go get a c-section." But it is a big deal with major complications if something goes wrong, which happens all the time. I have seen it first hand when I worked in the hospital.

Good luck to you.

I had the option of having a c section because they thought my 4th was gonna be too big and said she was over 10 pounds but she wasn't she was 9 lbs. 4 oz and i'm glad that I decided not the have one cause the recovery time is terrible and if you decide to have another child they will push you into having a c section rather than a natural birth.

My biggest baby was 9lbs and 15oz and I had her natural and everything worked out great.

My first child was vaginal birth, 8lb 12 oz. I as in labor for more than a day - but when it came time to push she delivered pretty quickly 40 minutes after I got to the hospital - I never had a chance for pain medicaion or an epidural. Until about 36, 37 weeks I was told she was breech - but she turned around. My childbirth instructor suggested that I get on all fours with my tummy hanging down and wiggle my butt and shoulders back and forth - not sure if that's what did it - but she was a normal delivery after all.

My second, a boy, seemed perfectly normal until the last week - when his head seemed to be lodged in my crotch - between my legs. It didn't hurt but I could tell he was in an odd position - I can't explain it any better. When I got to the hospital they determined that his head was tiltled all the way back and instead of the top of his head being in position to come out first, his pointy little chin was trying to come out first. His neck was bent all the way back and his spine looked like a question mark. I was told if he was delivered vaginally, with his chin coming out first, there was a significant risk of serious spinal cord damage to him and significant internal tearing for me which would require extensive surgical recosntruction.

My doctor attempted a version - yikes!!!! I saw stars. It was the most painful thing I've ever experienced! Now, keep in mind I was 40 weeks PG - there was no room to move him around since he was 9lb 15 oz and 22.5 inches long. So to attempt the version was them trying to push him back up and move his head abck into the correct position - but there was just no where to push him to - that's why his head was between my legs that last week! I ended up having a c-section and I didn't regret it for minute.

The next day my doctor told me he had done a little research since he had never delivered a baby who had presented chin first before. Ends up that it's not uncommon for big babies who are second babies, to have their forehead hit the pelvic bone and get stuck and the pressure of the baby pushes down and so their heads tilt back. Man oh man...

Meanwhile he was the biggest baby in the nursey for those few days - people would stand by the window and say stuff like "holy cow look a the size of that one - he's ready to play football!" He was twice the size of some of the babies - never wore newborn size and only wore 3 month size for a few weeks. He's the sweetest kid you can imagine, he's always the tallest kid in his grade - even now that he's in middle school and there are 4 grade schools combined. He's been playing football since 2nd grade and in baseball he can hit a ball over the fence. He is the funniest kid - just a gentle giant.

Good luck mama - I would just go full term and see what happens.

I have no idea about the shoulder issue. BUT, I have a baby that keeps flipping - he was breech at 34 weeks, flipped at 36, breech at 37, back at 38 and then flipped again at 38 weeks and 2 days. I've been doing all the things on spinning babies, seeing my chiropractor, going to the acpuncturist....they are estimating him to be over eight pounds right now so it isn't like he is a tiny thing and he's still making it work. I go today to see today if he is in the right position yet. I'll be 39 weeks tomorrow so I think he will stay put because he is getting ready to come!

I will say this - I declined the version because of the risk of emergency c-section and I didn't want him born at 37 weeks if that happened. When he turns, it is really painful - at 38 weeks 2days, his turn woke me up and kept me awake for 4 hours. A version would obviously be faster, but I'm pretty sure it would hurt a lot.

Good luck to you! I'd call your practioner and see if they are okay with any of your alternative methods of turning and for sure try the methods on spinningbabies.com (they are all body position things so they won't hurt the baby, just help your body open up).

My DD was 9lbs 12oz. During delivery her clavacle did break, but it was healed after a couple of weeks. It didn't really seem to bother her all that much, we just had to put off giving her tummy time until she healed.

I know delivering big babies and issues with dystocia is a problem with OBs only - Midwives seem to do just fine with large babies being birthed WITHOUT SHOULDER DYSTOCIA, EPISOTOMIES AND LOWER CHANCES OF TEARING - maybe you should discuss the Gaskin Manuever with your OB and ensure she is knowledgeable about that technique and has done it before.

Estimates on baby weight are just as nebulous as the estimate due dates. They are simply guesses and are not usually correct. Getting MAJOR abdominal surgery with severe complication and death risks simply due to a guess is a bit overboard. Do not let the OBs training in abnormal pregnancies and birth create fear in you, also never forget OBs are surgeons and will always recommend a surgical fix to a normal situation.

My doctor gave me the option of a version also. Since it can be really painful and there is a small chance that it will work and there is a chance that you'll need an emergency c-section, I choose to have the c-section.
Let us know if you choose the version, I'd be interested in hearing if it works. Good luck!

I have no firsthand experience, but one of my very close friends delivered her 11.5 pound baby boy in her bathtub after being in labor for less than two hours. He was her second, she had a horrible 36 hour labor with her first.

I am interested though, to see how much negative feedback there is on c sections...not really surprised, but interested. Your doc shouldn't pressure you into a section unless there is some serious medical reason for it, but they don't have to be as negative as peeps make them out to be. I had an unexpected c section with my first, and am glad I did so because we had an extremely rare placental condition that could have been catastrophic to both of us had my water broken or if I continued laboring naturally. My recovery was fine, I was very fit and healthy to begin with. I am scheduling with my second, next Thursday is the date! My doc would've let me do vbac if I wanted to, but based on my previous labor, non existent cervical progress, I'm going with what I know. I expect to heal fine again. I know there are totally risks associated with major surgery, but I happen to trust my doctor and my own sense of what's best for me and my baby.
Good Luck!

I feel like your doc is putting this on you and they should be the one advising you what is best. My 2nd baby was 9.11 and there were no shoulder issues and I delivered natural. My friend delivered the same with a 10.10 baby (yikes) and had no issues either. Not saying this is the norm, just throwing it out there.

Good luck!

I agree with rosanne and estimate on the weight is an estimate. They estimated my daughter(my first born) to be a 9 lb baby and she was only 6 lbs 10 oz. with my son he measured small the whole pregnancy and was 7lbs 4oz. as far as delivering naturally. I don't know what that is like because I have had 2 c sections due to health issues. My grandma on the other hand delivered my uncle vaginally and he was almost 11 lbs at birth. She had no complications. My friend delivered her son vaginally and he was 9 lbs 8oz. and she had no issues. Not being experienced I would say that it just depends on the person and what they feel comfortable doing. Your baby should move into a normal position by the time you are 40 weeks.

Best of luck to you