Your doctor does not have to induce your labor early if you're carrying a large baby. Early induction of labor doesn't necessarily prevent complications or birth injuries. However, your doctor might want to get your labor started if you are a week or two past your due date.
Treatment will depend on your child's symptoms, age, and general health. If ultrasound exams during pregnancy show that your baby is very large, your healthcare provider may recommend early delivery. You may need a planned cesarean section.
Research indicates that inducing labor at this time reduces several risks, including risks of having a stillbirth, having a large baby (macrosomia) and developing high blood pressure as the pregnancy advances. It's important that women and their providers share in decisions to induce labor at 39 to 40 weeks.
Giving birth to a large baby
Labour may take longer and be more likely to involve complications. There's an increased risk of having a forceps or vacuum-assisted delivery or a caesarean, and of birth injury to the mother or baby. There is a link between fetal macrosomia and shoulder dystocia.
conclude that induction of labor at ≥38 weeks is 'a reasonable option' for women carrying a singleton gestation with fetal macrosomia based on three factors: (i) a 9% nonsignificant increase in vaginal delivery ('nonsignificant' means there is no difference between the groups); (ii) a lower incidence of birt weight ≥ ...
So, in the U.S., most people have an ultrasound at the end of pregnancy to estimate the baby's size, and if the baby appears large, their care provider will usually recommend either an induction or an elective Cesarean.
Babies who are very large (or macrosomic, weighing over 4000 g when born) can have difficult and occasionally traumatic births. One suggestion to try to reduce this trauma has been to induce labour early, before the baby grows too big. The estimation of the baby's weight is difficult before birth and not very accurate.
Currently, the evidence tells us that induction for a suspected larger baby does not decrease your baby's likelihood of a stay in the NICU. The most recent evidence indicates early induction (37-38 weeks) can increase your baby's risk of needing treatment for jaundice (which can sometimes mean a longer hospital stay).
However, just because you are carrying a baby who is suspected to be macrosomic does not mean you should automatically sign up for a C-section. In general, most obstetricians will recommend a scheduled C-section if your baby is estimated to weigh at least 5,000 grams (or 11 pounds) if you are not a diabetic.
Vaginal birth is still recommended is your baby is estimated to weigh less than 5,000 g (10 lbs) if you don't have diabetes. If your baby is estimated to weigh more than 4,500 g (8.4 lbs), and your labor stalls in the active stage or the baby doesn't descend, this is an indication for cesarean delivery.
Genetic factors and maternal conditions such as obesity or diabetes can cause fetal macrosomia. Rarely, a baby might have a medical condition that makes him or her grow faster and larger. Sometimes it's unknown what causes a baby to be larger than average.
Contractions help push your baby out of your uterus. Your provider may recommend inducing labor if your health or your baby's health is at risk or if you're 2 weeks or more past your due date. For some women, inducing labor is the best way to keep mom and baby healthy. Inducing labor should be for medical reasons only.
If ultrasound exams during pregnancy show that your baby is very large, your healthcare provider may recommend early delivery. You may need a planned cesarean section. After birth, a baby who is large for gestational age will be carefully checked for any injuries that happened during birth.
Australia's heaviest baby was Stephen Lyttle, weighing in at 7.399 kgs (16 lbs 5 ozs), born at Kempsey hospital NSW. The average baby weight in Australia is 3.35 kgs (7.4 lbs).
Your body goes through exactly the same process of labour regardless of your baby's size. In fact, the size of your baby has no influence whatsoever on the first stage of labour.
Overall, infants born by caesarean section lost more weight than those born vaginally, but due to the small number of studies included, more are needed to look at this difference and why it may occur.
“Upon birth, the newborn weighs relatively more after a C-section and has therefore more fluid to urinate out resulting in greater relative weight loss,” Paul said.
“This study shows that babies born by C-section are more likely to be overweight or obese later in life. We now need to determine whether this is the result of the C-section, or if other reasons explain the association.”
This is particularly important for women known to be at risk for preeclampsia. Of course, while the study showed that induction at 39 weeks is safe, some women may still prefer to let nature take its course and allow labor to begin naturally. It's a personal choice, but women have the option to decide.
When a woman and her fetus are healthy, induction should not be done before 39 weeks. Babies born at or after 39 weeks have the best chance at healthy outcomes compared with babies born before 39 weeks. When the health of a woman or her fetus is at risk, induction before 39 weeks may be recommended.
Does my huge pregnant belly mean I'll have a bigger baby? Not necessarily. While some babies are macrosomic and truly are just measuring larger than average, showing early or feeling like you have a huge pregnant belly doesn't mean you're destined to deliver a bigger baby.
Consider a prophylactic cesarean for suspected fetal macrosomia if the EFW (estimated fetal weight) is > 5000 grams in women without diabetes. Consider a prophylactic cesarean for suspected fetal macrosomia if the EFW is > 4500 grams in women with diabetes.
A fetus larger than 4000 to 4500 grams (or 9 to 10 pounds) is considered macrosomic. Macrosomia is associated with an increased risk of several complications, particularly maternal and/or fetal trauma during birth and neonatal hypoglycemia and respiratory problems.
Fetal macrosomia is a condition in which the fetus is larger than average (between 4,000 grams [8 pounds, 13 ounces] and 4,500 grams [9 pounds, 15 ounces]). There are many causes, including diabetes or obesity in the birth parent.