WHATIT’SREALLY LIKETOGIVEBIRTH TOA10-POUNDER...
‘NONE of my scans showed cause for concern throughout my first pregnancy. The midwife said it would be a healthy weight but it was nothing to worry about, which was a relief,’ recalls Gemma.
But in fact, Gemma went on to endure an agonising 28-hour labour as Amelie’s size (9lb 6oz) and position made the birth very difficult
‘Her shoulder was stuck and it was all a bit panicky. They gave me an episiotomy before trying to get her out with forceps but she just wouldn’t budge,’ says Gemma.
Gemma was rushed to theatre for an emergency caesarean.
After such a difficult first birth, it’s no surprise that when Gemma became pregnant again, she worried about the baby’s size. But the fundal measurement, again, showed nothing out of the ordinary.
‘The midwife actually said: “We don’t think this baby’s going to be as big as his sister,” ’ recalls Gemma. Thirteen days past her due date, Gemma was induced and after 15 hours in labour and a ventouse, her son Luca, now 15 months, was born weighing 9lb 13oz and leaving her with a third degree tear which took nearly six weeks to heal.
‘In a way, I’m glad I didn’t know he would be that big, as I would have panicked, but the idea of having to go through another difficult birth has put me off having any more children,’ says Gemma. ‘I’m stopping now!’ ‘IT came as a shock to me, never mind anyone else’ laughs Emma of the moment she was told of Henry’s weight. ‘My previous two babies, were 8lb 5oz and 8lb 10oz respectively. I did have a huge bump with Henry though and I couldn’t go out without people asking me if I was having twins.
‘To be fair, the midwives did say they thought Henry might be bigger than my first two but they weren’t unduly worried.’
Amazingly, despite Henry’s size, the birth was trouble-free. ‘Henry’s was the easiest birth of all three of my children’ recalls Emma. ‘I had contractions for about 24 hours but once my waters broke he was born within 20 minutes with just a little gas and air. He was the easiest of all my children.’
Henry, now two, was so hefty he skipped newborn clothes entirely and Emma had put him in clothes for three to six month olds. ‘ He felt so substantial and always felt much older than he was from the start.’
He’s levelled off now, however, and is an average size.
‘Henry was the biggest that one of my midwives had delivered. A very experienced midwife who helped me in the final stages of labour said if I had another it would probably be even bigger. I’m not going to test that theory!’ ‘I HAD a huge bump but I was genuinely naive about it, thinking it might just be excess water or that I over-indulged a little and put on too much weight. Nothing was mentioned at any of my midwife appointments or scans about the size,’ says Jenna, who’s just 5ft 4in and a size 10.
Jenna was induced 13 days after her due date and the birth was very stressful. ‘The pain became intense very quickly so I had to have an epidural,’ she recalls. ‘I remember at one point in the labour ward saying to the midwife: “Am I having a big baby?” and her changing the subject.
‘I wasn’t able to push the baby out myself and as she was starting to get stressed I had to have an episiotomy — a medical cut to allow for more space — and a forceps delivery. When they announced her weight, everyone was shocked. None of us expected it.
‘My husband Tom was 9lb 6oz when he was born but I was just over 6lb. It does scare me to think of having another big baby. I’d rather have a caesarean than have to go through that again.’