fbpx

ask a question

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
product
Filter by Categories
Fun For Kids
IVF
Life
Marriage
Miscarriage
Parenting
Planning
Pregnancy
Recipes
Uncategorized

G5 On Notice

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
product
Filter by Categories
Fun For Kids
IVF
Life
Marriage
Miscarriage
Parenting
Planning
Pregnancy
Recipes
Uncategorized

Categories

keep in touch

sign up for our newsletter

G5 On Notice

A couple of weeks back I mentioned that I had to go in for a late scan due to a low-lying placenta. I was pretty much in denial, not thinking about it and hopeful that it had moved on its own and wouldn’t be anything to worry about.

That strategy worked fairly well for me until my midwife mentioned about a week before the scan (at a routine check-up) that I would likely need a caesarean at 38 weeks if the placenta hadn’t moved.

I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the news, but knew I couldn’t do much about it anyway so put it to the back of my mind for the rest of the week.

Finally, the day of the scan arrived and I was relieved when the first thing the Sonographer told me was that my placenta had moved and was in a good position.

She then went on the joke that G5 was rather large and would likely be taller than me by the time he arrived! I thought that was pretty funny but didn’t think too much of it, as I was just relieved that the whole potential caesarean scenario could now be put out of my mind.

Until the next day when I saw my OB.

It is not like him to say much unless completely necessary, so I was quite surprised when he immediately wanted to talk about the scan, G5’s size and what my options were from here.

He was very good at discussing all the possibilities but did stress the point to me that he felt that if I did not naturally go into labour within the next few weeks that G5 would be too large for me to birth naturally at full term (he was already measuring 3kg at the scan, which is approx… 6 pounds 7 ounces) so his main concern was what size he would be at full term (which at that point was still just under 6 weeks away).

I immediately queried the accuracy of the measurements at the scan as I have heard what feels like a million stories of people being told their babies are either “too big” or “too small” and their size is no where near the estimate of the scan prior to birth.

I got the strong impression that the recommendation was that I need to either go into labour naturally within the next few weeks or agree to book a caesarean before we reach September (I wouldn’t be 40 weeks until 8th September).

After discussing all possibilities, we agreed to “do nothing” at this stage other than monitor G5’s progress over the next few weeks to see if he starts to engage on his own with the knowledge that I may still need to consider the possibility of a caesarean at 38 weeks.

It’s not something I am particularly stressed about. At the end of the day, in comparison to all the stress we went through at the start with tests and scans in relation to the balanced translocation this doesn’t really hit that high on my stress radar.

At this stage, I am happy with the monitoring option and I think that if a caesarean is recommended in a couple of weeks I will ask for another growth scan for my own piece of mind that he really is this large size that they keep telling me (although I do acknowledge that his measurements have been ahead at every scan we have had).

Maybe he is a big baby and maybe not, I guess we won’t really know for sure until he arrives.

Until then… I would love to know if you have been in a similar scenario. Were you told your baby was “too big” or “too small”? Were they the estimated size when they arrived? Were you given a recommendation on what to do? Would you have don’t anything differently?

I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

share this post

6 Replies to “G5 On Notice”

  1. My daughters 18 now so I know that there weren’t the 3D scans that we have now, but I was told at about 32 weeks that she was really big and that I would most likely need a c section. I’d had a planned c section with my first due to her being breech so while I wasn’t too bothered, I really wanted to have a natural birth the second time.
    Well she was born on her own 2 days before her due date and was 6 pounds 13 ounces and 52cm, so not big at all!

    1. Oh wow, that’s amazing Jo! I guess this is the exact thing I’m worried about… the scan not being accurate and going in for a planned caesarean when it isn’t really necessary. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a crystal ball to tell us what’s going to happen??

      Let’s hope G5 does the same thing and just comes on his own a little early (if he is “too big” that is) 😉

  2. We were on the ‘too small’ scale. From about 28 weeks we were having weekly OBs appointments and ctgs twice a week from 31 weeks. At 34 weeks we had a growth scan which showed that the placenta wasn’t functioning properly which was why he was growth restricted. We were sent straight to the obstetrician who was coming in from home to meet us. We had the steriod injections to speed up his lung development, put on bed rest and daily monitoring with the advice if anything changed he was coming out. He was measuring less than 2kg at this stage. After another growth scan a week later not too much had changed so we kept up with daily monitoring. At 36 weeks we had another growth scan which showed further decline in placenta function and only measuring 2.1kg. Our obstetrician met us at our scan and took us straight over to the hospital to get him out. We had the scan just after 12pm and he was born via c-section 2 hrs later. We were so so lucky to have a healthy baby boy even though he was tiny measuring 1.9kg and lucky to have an obstetrician who montiored us so well.

    1. That must have been so stressful Kiera. Thank goodness you had a good OB who was monitoring you closely and your little guy arrived safely in the end xx

  3. My bub was estimated to be around 4kg at birth. He didn’t engage and was still sitting high 1 week before his due date. I was at high risk of having vaginal prolapse. A potentially life changing condition, not something I wanted to deal with. I chose to have a caesarean as this is the only way to avoid this. Many people have said to me I should have had a natural birth, the reason why I had a cesarean is because it was easier for my OB and I took the easy way out. I don’t think I should feel guilty for considering my wellbeing as well as the babies. I had a calm, enjoyable birth and my boy was born at 3.8kg one week before his due date – the scans were accurate. Listen to your OB and do your own research to make your own educated decision.

    1. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I think a lot of people who put pressure on others to have or say they should have had natural births really don’t comprehend the potential risks involved to both baby and Mum – these options aren’t presented to us as an “easy way out” they are for the safety of everyone involved. I’m glad you had a good outcome and it sounds like it was the right decision at the time!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *