'big' babies, induction and weight gain stopping at 36 weeks?!

[_Nell]

Hi all,

I'm curious to know what others have been told re 'big' babies?

I measured at or over the 95th percentile on all measurements at my 30 weeks scan, I will have repeat scans at 34 and 36 weeks.

My Dr (UK NHS) said two things which i'm already questioning....

1) They would advise me not to go past my due date and to have an induction if baby is large - anyone else been told this in the UK?......I have since read the NICE guidelines for induction and it says if there are no other issues (eg GD) then induction is NOT recommended for possible large babies.

2) That my final scan will be 36 weeks because after that babies gain very little weight so the weight at that point will be the best guess of birth weight. I can find nothing on google to support this - anyone been told similar? The only thing I can find is that Mums weight gain sometimes slows/stops in thr last month.....but everything suggests baby still gain 1/3 - 1/2 lb a week from 36 - 40 weeks.

 

[Lissidoll123]

Unsure about the above but my friend was told the same that she was having a large baby ( doesn't have GD or anything like that).

She was induced on her due date and then they didn't have any spare beds to take her in as she went into labour!!

She has her baby at 40+3 and he was 8lb 1 which isn't that big really, pretty average! Xxx

 

[_Nell]

Thanks - was that in the UK?
8lb 1oz isn't very big really, especially considering she may have gone into natural labour just a few days later anyway.

I gather the weight on scans can be very inaccurate, but the measuremnts usually pretty good - I suppose baby could still be big, ie big head, tum etc but not heavy as such.

 

[Lissidoll123]

Yes we're in the UK! I know the way my friend was going on about it I was really expecting a baby at the 9lb and over mark!!! X

 

[Sproglet]

Doesn't make sense does it? I do have GD, but have been told they'd like to induce around 38 weeks so baby doesn't get any bigger. But if what you've been told is true, babies don't gain after 36 weeks, then it makes no difference if baby comes at 38 or 40 weeks! (I do know that the placenta can degrade earlier in diabetics so wouldn't want baby to come after 40 weeks, but that would give me an extra 2 weeks to start labour on my own!)

 

[_Nell]

It's very confusing tbh, I just don't think my Dr is correct saying growth slows or is minimal after 36 weeks....all I can find is that when the head is engaged it's v difficult to measure and therefore estimate fetal weight, hardly the same thing though.

 

[darcie]

Don't know if this helps but I saw my midwife the other day and she said babies normally gain 1/2 lb a week in the last 3 weeks, I understood the last weeks is when they gain the most? X

 

[_Nell]

Darcie - thanks, I think they gain about half a pound a week from 30 weeks.....well my baby seems to be doing that already against the last scan anyway!

I've been searching old threads and it seems in the US macrosomic .big bay is 9 or 10lb but here in the uk the nhs class macrosomic as anything over 4kg / 8lb 8 oz.

 

[skunkpixie]

I've been searching old threads and it seems in the US macrosomic .big bay is 9 or 10lb but here in the uk the nhs class macrosomic as anything over 4kg / 8lb 8 oz.

Are you sure about this? My babies were 9lb 2oz and 8lbs 11oz and neither were classed as macrosomic. I thought a baby weighing more than 9lbs 15oz was classed as macrosimic? xxx

 

[_Nell]

Are you sure about this? My babies were 9lb 2oz and 8lbs 11oz and neither were classed as macrosomic. I thought a baby weighing more than 9lbs 15oz was classed as macrosimic? xxx

Pretty much ....
https://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/gestational-diabetes/Pages/Complications.aspx
(ignore the fact the page is about GD it just mentions the nhs definition of macrosomic half way down).

8lb 8oz really doesn't seem abnormally large, although it could be for my frame!

 

[lj2245]

My son was measuring large and I was left to go into labour on my own, which I did at 41+1. I had been told to expect a very big baby and was told if I wasn't in labour by 10 days overdue an induction would be booked. I think that's pretty standard though for anyone overdue.

I'm not 100% certain about the gaining weight in the last 4 weeks but I know my sister had pre-eclampsia with her 2 and was given a c-section at 36 weeks with both and they were both healthy 8lb babies, she was told they would have been whoppers if she'd gone to term! I was always under the impression that 36-40 weeks was weight gain weeks.

My son was 9lb 11oz, incidentally A big baby but I had no issues giving birth to him, which I did naturally. I am only 5ft 5 so not exactly massive myself.

 

[skunkpixie]

Ahhh I see they mean 8.8lbs as in 8lbs 12oz not 8lbs 8oz. But still I was told by midwives that medically big means 10lbs+. xx

 

[_Nell]

Ahhh I see they mean 8.8lbs as in 8lbs 12oz not 8lbs 8oz.

D'oh! I totally hadn't picked that up and was thinking 8 1/2 lb.....somehow the extra 4 oz makes a more sensible weight for macrosomic.

Either way, 2kg/4lb 4oz at 30 weeks with 10 weeks to go.....unless baby comes early or really eases off I think I'm looking at a 9lb er?

It is really good to hear lots of positive birth stories though, many saying the weight helped natural gravity and quicken labour too!

 

[lj2245]

My labour was long....27 hours...but the pushing part was very very quick. A couple of pushes and he was out. I think his weight did help with that because he just kept moving down whereas normally its down a bit, up a bit, down a bit, etc.

I was told that labour would have been quicker if I had been more mobile, especially with the weight of baby, but I had SPD with crutches and couldn't really do much walking about!!

 

[rottpaw]

They re saying our son is already 5lbs 6oz, at 32 weeks! I am torn between hoping he comes early (but not too early) in case their measurements are right, because I'm already so uncomfortable that i FEEL like I'm carrying a 5.5 pounder lol. But then, with my first son, they kept saying how huge he was and he was over 9pounds etc. etc, and when I was induced (for preeclampsia) at 38 weeks, he was born weighing exactly 7lbs 8 oz... The perinatologist (whom we are also seeing for this pregnancy) now says when they told us he "was" already over 9 pounds, they meant that is what he would weigh if born at 40 weeks. that part wasn't really made clear to us - they just made it sound like he was already over 9 pounds when I was 37 weeks... A week before I was induced. So I'm trying to take what they are saying with a grain of salt... Tis baby has gained 2.75 pounds basically in 7 weeks (between my 25 and 32 week scans)... So if he is a little over 5.25 pounds now, at that rate of growth he would only be 8 pounds by 39 weeks. So I'm trying not to panic! I tested negative for GD, but am now trying to watch what I eat a bit more carefully just in case (was able to have ds1 vaginally and would like to avoid section this time around, too)...

 

[helenlough]

Hi, i went for a midwife appt around 36 weeks with my son and she thought he was feeling big so sent me for a growth scan to which they agreed he was big (guessed him at around 8.5-9 lbs) so i was booked in for an induction at 38 weeks purely due to him being a 'big baby' as i believe they thought it would increase my chances of having him naturally! i was given no choice really! .... ayways i ended up having him by emergency c section after 23 hours labour as he was just to big to come naturally, he ended up weighing 9lbs 10oz at 38 weeks! so god knows what he would have been if i was left to go another 2-4 weeks!

as for the not gaining in the last few weeks, ive never heard this and always been told thats when they gain the most! think the dr was talking rubbish on that one!
xxxxx

 

[Heidi]

I had a scan at 36 weeks with my 1st and was told she was around 6lb she was born at 40+10 weighing 9lb 3oz. X

 

[tillymint71]

I was just reading this post with interest. I am due this week.....36 week scan they said expect 9lbs as I've been measuring large. I am re-assured that you said you gave birth naturally! and that you had spd.....I don't need crutches but I do have a degree of spd and cannot walk well...(well I guess if I did want to go out I would need crutches!)
did you find the spd made labour more painful? cheers for any reply.

 

[lj2245]

No the pushing part was fine but labour was a bit difficult as I couldn't be as active as I wanted to. By the time it was time to push I was just desperate for some rest so just went for it!

I have severe SPD this time and also torn ligaments in my pelvis due to trauma and I'm still going for another natural birth

 

[Mazzle]

Really interesting thread- will be stalking this!!

Last week (34wks) my baby was estimated at 6lbs 6oz already, but this is still under 85th centile for what they expect for someone of my frame (6'2" and overweight). No GD, but I will need another scan at 37 weeks to see what they say re: induction etc. I'm hoping his growth will slow down and they will let nature take its course x