- 08-17-2012, 10:48 PM #1Registered User
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Am I crazy to be still hopeful for a natural birth?
Hi Mamas,
My EDD is tomorrow (Aug 18) and baby#2 has not indicated he is coming out any time soon. Estimated weight: 9 lbs!!
I had a c-section for my first, because she was breech (and one foot under her bum, the other next to her face). This time I really want to try for natural birth. I put myself on waiting lists for c-section twice in the last 2 weeks and ended up giving up my spot at the last minute because it didn't' "feel right".
But now I have hit my EDD and my husband is only in HK until Aug 25 (we live in BJ and I am here for the birth), and of course I want him to be with me during the birth.
As most of you know or have discovered, HK is quite pro c-section, so everyone is looking at me like I'm crazy to want to try to push out a possibly 9 lb baby. Thoughts? Suggestions? I guess I'm looking for some reassurance that this is all possible!
- 08-17-2012, 11:13 PM #2Registered User
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I'm sure giving birth to a 9lb baby is definitely possible, but doing it to a schedule is harder. Have you tried all the various ways for bringing on labour (curry etc etc)?
- 08-18-2012, 12:34 AM #3Registered User
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Agree with Aquarian on this. Try sex? Or consider accupuncture as a way of "natural" inducement?
- 08-18-2012, 04:34 PM #4Registered User
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give it time until you feel right. that's indeed the right thing to do. my wife waited 9 days post EDD and no issues whatsoever.
by the way, it might not be 9pounds after all. that's just an estimated weight and can be very off.
- 08-18-2012, 07:53 PM #5Registered User
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- 08-18-2012, 09:17 PM #6Registered User
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A 9-pound baby is not really that big. Really. And there is no way to know for sure how much that baby will weight until he or she is born--despite a doctor's best guess (which are often wrong). I gave birth to an 8-pound, 6-ounce little girl in 2011 and her birth was far easier than her older brother's who was smaller at birth. You can read about my daughter's "upright" birth here (interesting to note that I recently heard from another geobaby mom who said she gave birth in the same posture I did and said that it was totally the way to go and made the birth a lot better--wished she had known about it with previous births). Back in the day before routine epidurals and c-sections, my grandmother gave birth to my father, an 11-pound, strapping baby boy (the fourth of five children--he was born when she was in her 40s) vaginally and naturally as well. It's quite a recent phenomenon that 9-pound baby was considered to be colossal.
A friend in Australia gave birth to a nearly 12-pound little boy in 2011 with a "freebirth" meaning that only she and her husband attended--no midwife, no nurse, no doctor and she had absolutely no problems--not even a tear.
It really all depends on how well you are prepared for a VBAC. Did you go through classes? Did you read up? Are you mentally and practically prepared? Is your doctor on board?
Going overdue isn't really all that big of a deal unless you have other major pressing medical issues. You may find this helpful.
So, no, you are not crazy to hope for and expect good things from your body when it comes to giving birth.
Here's a lovely quote from Ina May Gaskin and all the best to you in your upcoming birth.
“Remember this, for it is as true as true gets: Your body is not a lemon. You are not a machine. The Creator is not a careless mechanic. Human female bodies have the same potential to give birth well as aardvarks, lions, rhinoceri, elephants, moose, and water buffalo. Even if it has not been your habit throughout your life so far, I recommend that you learn to think positively about your body.”“Many women have described their experiences of childbirth as being associated with a
spiritual uplifting, the power of which they have never previously been aware …
To such a woman childbirth is a monument of joy within her memory.
She turns to it in thought to seek again an ecstasy which passed too soon.”
~ Grantly Dick-Read (Childbirth Without Fear)
Mother of Two
JMW, boy, born November 29, 2007, 9:43 pm, USA
MJW, girl, born March 17, 2011, 4:14 pm, HK
- 08-19-2012, 12:52 AM #7Registered User
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you've got a few days before your husband leaves, so you never know! I gave birth vaginally to 9lb baby with no pain meds, just gas and air, so i dont think you will have a problem, however i wouldnt recommend eating curry - i did that with my first and it worked however i spent the whole birth trying not to poo myself! (didnt work!!!)
- 08-20-2012, 12:30 AM #8Registered User
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Off topic a bit, but as I'm currently in my second trimester and wondering how my baby will turn out, totally curious - how do ladies grow babies that are so large (9+ lbs)? Is it because they're eating certain foods (high protein? lots of sweets)? Or is it genetics? Is it considered particularly good or bad to have a large baby?
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