[donkey]

Hi has anyone have experience that you planned for a natural birth all the way and towards the end of your pregnancy your doctor told you that your pelvis is a bit small for the baby's head to come out, and that's why the baby is not engaging. Therefore the doctor suggested c-section as he/she thinks it is unlikely for the baby to come out naturally. Has anyone with this experience ended up with a natural birth? I am in this situation but from my research the pelvis size may change when labour begins. So there may be a chance that the baby can fit in the birth canal. Am keen to try natural birth so am a bit disappointed when doc told me this.

[HappyV]

Sounds like your doctor wants the convenience of a CSection. Ultrasounds are very reliable, but no doctor can tell you with 100% accuracy the size of your 'pelvis' (which does open up through labour!) and the size of baby's head (which is also designed to fit through a small space.

If this is his reason, it's really only a decision that can be made after the due date - you need to give the baby the chance to engage......

Good Luck.

[carang]

i would get a second opinion.

personally, i would HATE to struggle through hours of labour only to find that the dr WAS right and i needed i c-section.

welcome to parenthood, rarely does everything go "according to plan"!

[bekyboo44]

I too was set on a natural birth with my son....only to have to have an emergency c-section....but by that point all I cared about was that my son was born well and healthy, I no longer cared about how he came out!

Personally I think you have to trust your DR...and if you don't, then by all means get a 2nd opinion. I personally would go with the DR and whatever they thought was the safest option for baby and Mum!

[Matty]

If you really would prefer a vaginal birth, go for a 2nd opinion.
There are dr's in this town that are notorious for looking for any excuse to perform a c-section.
Go and see Dr Robert Dawkins, who is known for his belief that it is rare for a woman to grow a baby that won't fit through her pelvis (excluding medical reason such as diabetes).

He will give you an honest medical opinion.

Also, it is not uncommon for a baby's head not to engage before labour starts.

[donkey]

Thanks. Have been doing a bit research and I think the fact is that you don't know not until the moment you are in labour.

On one hand we are supposed to trust our doctor, but on the other hand, I have reservation on the recommendation.

[nyonya35]

Several points:

1) Go talk to Dr Dawkins, he told me that his emergency C-section rate is about 2%, or get 2nd opinion somewhere.

2) I just read a book about natural labor, and it said something like that... out of 20 women who are told that they have small pelvis, only 2 or so may indeed have the problem.

3) The book said that laboring on all fours may help

4) Your pelvis matters only in respect to your baby and doctors (with all ultrasound) cannot measure the weight of the baby well (e.g. my baby was predicted to have weight of 3.6 kg, but came out 4.3 kg). Pelvis too cannot be measured well, since you are right it depends on your position.

[LittleLams]

Donkey, your situation brings back memories for me. With my first child, I told my doc that I wanted a natural birth all along and he supported it until I was about 36-38 weeks during which time he told me that the baby's head was not engaging and that I would need to consider having a c-section. My brother-in-law who is a gynae told me that that is nonsense as a baby can typically engage in labour. To cut a very very long story short, I resisted and told him that I still wanted to try for a natural birth. When I was in labour, he said that i was not dilating etc etc and when I asked for my water bag to be broken or for my labour to be sped up, he did not want to do so. In the end, my baby's heartbeat fell for a bit and he said that I HAD to do the c-section. On hindsight, I feel that he was definitely steering me to have a c-section. I would suggest that you go with your instincts and that if you feel that he is not giving you a good chance at having a natural birth, I would change doctors. It may be different for you to do so at this stage as you feel you doctor has been with you through the journey but bear in mind that the last step is an important one too.