Any thoughts from those of you that have gone before me?
Thursday, August 27
Oh the Dilemma
Went for another doctor's appointment yesterday. I'm 33 weeks, measuring a healthy 37. The doctor is fairly confident that due to the baby's measurements (on ultrasound) that she will be quite large. Well, large for me. 8.5 pounds does seem big when you've only ever had a 6 pound baby. She is encouraging me to schedule a c-section a week to ten days early. I was hoping to go VBAC this time, but am now questioning that decision. I have two weeks before I see her again. What to do, what to do?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
I'd hold out if a vbac is at all important to you. I think there is quite a bit of room for error on the weight estimates and for them to suggest a c-section this early just because you might have a big baby seems .. weak. Sounds like it will just be easier for them to schedule it and be done. Just think about Katie N. - she just delivered a nine pound, five ounce baby the old fashioned way with not a glitch. Not that it works out like that for everyone, but just because a baby is big does not mean that it needs to be surgically removed.
Just my two cents. :)
I'm sure you and Matthew will make the right decision for your family.
melissa - thank you for that encouragement. that is the direction that we are leaning. while having this baby surgically removed right now sounds like a GREAT plan (my pregnant weakness speaking) i think i will always wonder, what if?
I'm surprised you found a doctor that will do a VBAC - those are rare to non-existant in Cincinnati. Did they measure your fluid levels? You might ask them to do that as well. The fluid could also be a contributing factor to measuring large. At one point during this last pregnancy, I was measuring 6 weeks large. It was both a large baby and lots of fluid. If you are really wanting to do a VBAC, you could just give it a shot and see what happens. If you try to deliver the baby and it turns out that the baby is too large for your pelvis, they will just do another c-section anyway. There is no way to know whether the baby will fit until you try. Lillie was nearly 9 1/2 pounds and was an easier delivery than my others, who were 5 1/2 and 8, if that helps.
Another consideration is that if you are measuring that large, you may not make to to a week or 10 days. I delivered 10 days ahead of time and I'm not quite sure how I made it that far.
There is something to be said for a c-section when things are uncertain. I had the same questions about induction with Lillie too and considered it several times.
I'm with Melissa...although I am all for medical intervention when needed, but like she said, those estimates can be way off, and the reasoning seems weak.
I would wait and see what happens on your own. And an 8 1/2 isn't HUGE, I know women who have had 10 pounders! Elliot was 8 1/2 pounds.
Will be praying that you and make have wisdom...and like Kate said, you won't know until you try.
oh, and if it was me, I would like 34 weeks was really early!
I agree with the above comments. At my 36 week ultrasound, Alina was measuring large and I was freaking out until the tech said it was usually off by a few pounds. Then I said why bother measuring?? I delivered an 8 lbs 10 oz baby naturally. If you do get to have a VBAC, I'm sure we all would like to hear about it since they are rare around here.
Great comments above !
my sister gave birth to her 10 pound 4 oz. boy with no drugs !!! whew you could do it :)
and yes they are always off on the measurements. i could have done VBAC with alex but just decided to go for round 2 of c-section and i have been happy with that decision. go with what you really want.
I don't really have any advice other than just do what you really want to do and be firm to your Dr. about it. I'm discovering that with Drs. lately and we've seen a lot:) I'll be praying about your decision and for a healthy delivery either way! Love you guys!
I had an estimate given of a baby over 8 lbs and he was only 6 lbs 13 oz when born. Also, my friend Sarah just had a baby and via ultrasound they predicted he would be huge, but was only around 6 lbs. If you feel pretty confident you want to do the VBAC then go for it.
You need to read Jenny Muth's blog. I "met" her through Kelly Glupker, and she lives in Midland. Her first was a c-section and she had a terrible recovery time. Her second was born last summer- AT HOME with a midwife. She has posted several times about articles she's read on the whole VBAC issue.
I have her linked on my sidebar.
My two cents...
My doctor advised me to have a second c section with Olivia and I, was and still am happy with my decision. The risks of doing a vbac and how much more risky doing a c section after hours of labor, swayed my vote.
talk to Casie Woiwode!! She goes to your practice and did a VBAC with Baxter.
Post a Comment