diet during pregnancy and big babies

[Guest guest]

Hi ---

Congratulations!

I agree 100% with the person who posted that it is *very* important to

approach childbirth without fear, and with a positive attitude toward

natural childbirth --- but it is equally important to be very

well-informed about your own circumstances.

Personal experience here: I had three uncomplicated natural births ---

big babies, small pelvis --- so yes, I know it can be done. But it's

best to know everything you can about your own body beforehand: my

doctor noted that the internal opening of my pelvic area is notably

asymmetrical --- something I would never have known in a million years

until she went spelunking down there --- and that I really had just a

centimeter or so to spare for a good-sized baby's head to wind its way

through. My biggest baby was 8 pounds 11 ounces, and we had quite a

time getting that big old melon head of hers down and out. As strongly

as I believe in natural childbirth whenever possible, I would gladly

have consented to a C-section if the risk of not having one, in my

doctor's opinion, had been too high.

Natural, unmedicated, low-intervention births are the greatest, they

really are --- BUT they are not necessarily the best answer in every

single case. However, there is probably no cause for concern in your

case (except for the part where you and your midwife aren't thinking

along the same lines --- see point #4 below):

1) There are many factors that influence a baby's birth weight, and the

mother's food intake is only one of them. My (tiny, skinny,

narrow-hipped) mother told me that her doctor forced her to restrict her

weight gain during pregnancy to 12 pounds (yikes! they *starved* her!)

when she was carrying me --- and I weighed 8 1/2 pounds when I was

born. By contrast, each time I was pregnant I diligently ate as much as

I could get into me, lots of protein, all the fat I wanted (not exactly

NT, but a good, healthy diet, no junk food or empty calories), gained 30

pounds, and my babies were all between 8 and 9 pounds. Twelve pound

weight gain vs. 30 pound weight gain, similar DNA (she was my biological

mother), same size babies --- pas de difference.

2) You should definitely eat a healthy amount and make sure you are

well-nourished during pregnancy --- it's just common sense, and I think

you're surely on the right track with your healthy NT-style diet. Chow

down, mama! American doctors (are you in the U.S.? perhaps the doctors

in the U.K. or Australia were more enlightened?) used to believe that

limiting a pregnant woman's food intake (especially protein) might help

ward off a case of pre-eclampsia, but this theory was chucked out the

window decades ago. And remember: if you have only 2 months to go, most

of your weight gain should be behind you by now --- you're mostly just

adding weight to the baby itself at this point, beefing him/her up

another couple of pounds.

3) And birth weight isn't an absolute factor --- the baby's *shape* is

important as well: if one 8-pound baby is a long one with a

moderate-sized head and not very broad shoulders, you can push it out

way more easily than you can a stockier 8-pound baby with a big, fat

head!

4) If you don't feel comfortable with your health-care provider, you

should certainly try to work things out with her (or find another one).

You don't want to feel that you and your midwife are fighting each other

over your pregnancy and birth experience --- support and encouragement

are what you need. I took a very radical natural childbirth preparation

course first time around, and I admit I turned a bit green around the

gills when the instructor hauled one of her placentas out of the freezer

and plunked it down on her kitchen table so she could display it proudly

for us. I was the least radical mother-to-be in the class (I chose a

hospital birth, for example, whereas all the other couples birthed at

home), but yet I felt supported and encouraged by the instructor and the

others in the class, and this was important to me. At this late stage

in your pregnancy, perhaps you'd rather " dance with the one what brung

you " rather than switch --- could you discuss this openly with your

midwife? Will you be giving birth at home, in a birthing centre, in a

hospital? What sort of medical backup will be available in the

(unlikely) event that you need it? Perhaps if you two laid it all out

together, you could feel more supported by her, and she could feel less

concern about having to deliver a too-huge baby.

Best of luck to you!

Pat (not a medical professional --- just a formerly-pregnant person)