Another weird question

[Mumita]

So, my mother and my grandmother weren't able to give birth vaginally because apaprently they didn't have the pelvic measurements for it.  That doesn't make sense to me but my mom keeps telling me to "prepare" myself for a c-section and I absolutely no way want to have a c-section unless its an absolute necessity.
Will the midwife/doctor measure my pelvis at some point before delivery to see if I can give birth vaginally or do they not do that anymore.  It seems like such an outdated practice, something that they used to do back in the day because they were all MALE doctors that had no clue how women's body work!
Anyway I'm more of the "natural" approach so I don't buy it.  I totally 100% believe that my body was designed to be able to give birth and that interventions or c-sections should be done if there are complications or its an emergency.

So how do they measure you and measure the baby to see if I'll be fine for vaginal delivery?

[NicMom]

Well you know they can measure the size of the head so maybe if they're looking at a 5'2 woman who has a baby on board with a 15 inch head they put two and two together. I don't think there is an exact measurment for you.

A gf of mine was induced at 39 weeks because the baby was measuring big and her frame was on the smaller side. In her case they did an us at 38 weeks and estimated the baby to be at 7lbs already.

Tell your mom to stop making you paranoid and good luck!

[jenkaye21]

They cannot get a completely accurate measurement, they can only estimate.  Just like with the baby's birth weight, there is a margin of error.

I agree with you and NicMom, think positive, chances are you will be able to have your baby naturally like you wish!

[ziggysgrl0724]

Hmmmm...well, sometimes your body just ISNT able to have a baby vaginally unfortunately.  That's my case anyway.  When I was having my first DS, She did his measurements and all that and everything looked good, and I was all prepared for my normal birth.  Well, I labored and labored and he was in the right place and I was fully dilated.....no baby.  They had to do a c section, and from what I remember, they told me that me tail bone(or something) sticks to far into my pelvis, and it basically "trapped" my son from getting through. He was so stuck in my pelvis during the csection that she had to use force and tug a couple of times before she could get him out of my pelvis, and he was born with serious indention's on his forehead from being wedged against my pelvis bones.

I am not telling you this to scare you, this is probably not the case for you.  I've never heard of this for anyone but me anyway, lol.  Just wanted to give you a perspective from a woman who's body was not built for normal delivery, haha.

[Mumita]

ziggy- I totally understand that you couldn't give birth vaginally, I am sure that complications like that happen all the time but that's not the norm although my mom seems to think so, she never researched it on her own she said "well that's what the doctor says then ok"  If my pelvis isn't big enough, at least I know that I've tried, instead of jumping into a c-section without trying.

My mom is also the type that rathers skip labor altogether and get the c-section so she wouldn't have to go through the pain.  I am more of the philosophy that the pain is there for a reason and I'd rather let nature take its course unless it become too dangerous.
I'm just wondering if they measure you somehow so I can tell my mom to shut up, or change my mind altogether.....she's driving me crazy.

[tiredbuthappy]

is it the norm? i guess not. But it is more common than you may think.
think of the maternal and fetal fatality rates before c-sections and other interventions. Of course other complications contributed to it, but complications due to the baby not fitting certainly contributed to those numbers. I know several women on this forum and in real life that labored and ended up having to have c-sections because the baby simply didn't fit. And they weren't all giant babies either.
Of course, that doesn't mean you will have problems. But i do think you are more likely to have that problem if your mother did.

[Mumita]

tiredbuthappy- my mom didn't even try, that's the thing, her doctor did a pelvic measure using some sort of measuring tool (not even a u/s!) and he said "she wasn't able to deliver vaginally".  
I just wouldn't blindly accept going into a major abdominal surgery without substantial evidence that I absolutely need it.  But I don't know if the doctors measure or not.  I guess I'll ask my midwife in 3 weeks.

[chantal21]

I didn't even know they could measure your pelvis for that. I know u/s aren't always accurate either. I had a big boy, and my midwife knew he was going to be big. The only problem I had, was he was coming down extremely crooked. My labor stalled for almost 6 hours at 9cm, and I think reg. docs after a couple of hours knowing that the head is coming down crooked would immediately send you for a c-section. My midwife was being patient and also my son's heartrate never dipped or spiked, so he was okay. I think that is very important, if the heartrate seems erratic, then obviously you need to get the baby out quickly. I delivered him fine after an hour and 20 min. of pushing. Every doc handles situations differently. But there are obviously cases where the baby does indeed get stuck and won't come out. The best thing to do would be to definitely give it a try and if things for some reason didn't work out, at least you know you did everything you could in the beginning. That's what I would do. And it seems like your mom just went along with the doc without even giving it a try, so maybe you will be just fine! =)
I think it's a fear a lot of women have. I know I did. Once I started pushing, I kept thinking, what if he gets stuck?? I was so terrified. But it worked out! And different positions help the baby come down better as well.

[JoyRenee]

Some women do have small pelvises and can't birth large babies. My doctor didn't measure my pelvis but he did say, "You have a nice, wide pelvis" just from observation during a pap smear.

So you could ask your doctor what they think. And just because your mom and g'ma had small pelvises doesn't mean you will. I'm SHORT (5'3") and as I said, I have a wide pelvis. My youngest daughter was 8 lbs 8 ounces when she was born.

[Mumita]

Its scary to think about when you've never gone though this before :P
I feel like they are doubting me before even seeing if I'm capable of it or not and I hate when they do that because I'm pretty emotionally secured and balanced and I don't doubt myself before trying.  If it doesn't work out then I know that i've tried.  I can't tell them to just shut up and let me experience it on my own.  
Some people just don't want to see outside of their own experiences.

Joy- I'm 5'6" and I have a small frame and boy hips, not wide hips at all, except they are getting wider now.  And I wear a size 8 1/2

On a natural birth show that I saw, they linked the shoe size with the weight size of a baby that you can deliver.  So if you wear an 8 1/2 shoe then you can birth a baby 2 pounds over 8lbs.  I don't know if that's true but I'd looooove to find out who made that study and if its real or just some myth.

[Mumita]

oops I wear an 8 1/2 size shoe.  I used to wear size 3 clothes :P

[Wendy80]

Lol... I have never heard of this shoe size connection to delivering a baby... that's interesting.  Not-so accurate for me though... my shoe size is anywhere from an 8 1/2 to a 9 and I was not successful in delivering my 9 lb 6 oz baby vaginally!  =)

Since (like you said) you can't really tell them to shut up and let you handle it the way you're going to handle it, I'd say just nod your head when they harp on you about it and in the back of your mind KNOW that you are going to do what you want to do (at least in the beginning... once delivery gets going, sometimes it's entirely up to your baby and how he/she wants to come out).  

My OB never actually measured my pelvis, but we knew that she was going to be a big girl based on all of the ultrasounds, and we knew that my hips/pelvis were somewhat small (I'm 5'4" and I have a pretty smallish frame) and yet my doc never once told me that I should automatically get a c-section done.  He warned me that I might need one if pushing was not successful, but he let me give the "natural" way a try at least.  And I did try.  I labored for about 15 hours and pushed (at 10cm) for 2 hours before the doc told me I had to throw in the towel.  After 2 hours, she was only barely crowning (not even... you could just barely see the top of her head) and although I wanted to keep trying, the doc recommended that it wasn't going to happen and we might as well get the baby out via c-section while everything was going smoothly (ie: blood pressure and heart rate were perfect at that point).  So I did end up delivering by c-section... sometimes you can plan and sometimes you can't, but if your doc doesn't specifically tell you to skip vaginal deliver, then I'd say you do what YOU want to do... your mom and grandmother already had their delivery moments, now it's your turn!  Good luck!  =)

[Mumita]

i've been looking and it seems like its an old-wive's tale... I'd love it if it were true through because it means that I can comfortably deliver an 8+ pound baby :P  But unfortunately most of those old wives tales are not true.

[chantal21]

Wow if the shoe size thing was true I wear a 9 1/2 -10 so I would be able to deliver a 10+ pounder...oh boy...I don't want to think about that right now....lol. I have actually never heard of this before...but it sounds like an old wives tale. =)

[blueeyedtabbycat]

Haha the shoe thing is funny! I dont think its true though. I measure at size 6-6.5 but I like to wear a size 7 because my feet a wider and my largest baby was 7lbs 9 oz. I am very short 5'1 and I would assume I have a wide pelvis because I have never had problem pushing out any of my boys. Although my DH was 10 plus pounds at birth. I was always afraid of having a huge baby. The fact that I was only 6 pounds at birth my self predicted the weight of my children. Babies are "generally" fairly matched to the size of the mother. I think unless your doctor suggest diffrently you should plan on labor. You never know what your body can do untill you try. If it doesnt work out then have the c-section. But I wouldnt just assum c-section because your mother and grandmother had to have one. Did they ever try to give birth vaginally or did the doctor just assume they couldnt?? And if you want as little intervention as possible try going with a midwife. Like Chantall said they work with your body and are pretty patient. Good luck:)

[cmoretti]

Women's bodies were meant to birth baby's. Our hip bones will spread to allow the head to pass. It is amazing that they put women on their backs in the worst possible position for birth and then wonder why some women can't do it. Look into books about natural childbirth and you will find positions that help the pelvis spread. Use them and birth in a position YOU want and not what the doctor wants. They prefer women on their backs because it is easier for them even though this position makes things more difficult. I love the book "the birth partner" it has lots of info and positions.