I know how you feel, Juju. Four of my five required pitocin even though I was 2 weeks post-due date (I suspect some women just have naturally longer gestation periods but that causes problems too as three of my kids were in the 9-10 lb range). And induced labor is awful. It took forever to reach full dilation. I managed to avoid C-sections but we all do what we can do. I'm glad your babies were okay!
These stories sound so familiar. My first boy was 3 weeks overdue when the doctor tried to induce. But he was a happy little camper in there, with apparently no intention of coming out. So when we had achieved an unimpressive 2 cm dilation after 8 hours of induced labor, the doctor said it was time for a C-section. Yes, please! The whopping 12-1/2 lb baby they pulled out surprised everyone. Especially the doctor, who apologized to me every time I saw him for the next few years for attempting the induced delivery. In the early ‘80s, most old fashioned docs still didn’t do normal deliveries after a C-section, so all three of mine were delivered surgically. C’est la vie.
Mine seem reasonably healthy now as well. Although number three got a somewhat rockier start when the doctor, relying more on his “superior knowledge” than my experience with my own body, scheduled the C-section 3 weeks early. The poor little thing spent his first few days in the NICU with too much fluid in his lungs. And come to think of it, he was the one with more doctor visits and health issues in his early years.
Same here. 3 C-sections, 3 healthy babies, breastfed, who have matured into healthy adults. In another time, the outcomes might not have been so positive and I am thankful for the doctor who chose to deliver that 1st baby surgically. I'm also a "Susan L." btw. :)
Agreed that my first one needed the C-section, due to distress affecting heart rate, etc. Not sure about the other 2, but that was the practice at the time….V-backs were not done to any extent if you had already had a Caesarean. Oh, and my nickname is “suze”! Ha!
When I hit 42 weeks with my third, I questioned my doctor about the size of the baby. He assured me, "this baby is maybe 7 lbs, at most. Your frame won't permit a really big baby" Hah! When he was finally born (with the assist of the vacuum), he weighed 10 lb. 6 oz. and the nurses all gasped. One said, "well, whoever told you this was going to be a small baby doesn't know what they are talking about." That person was holding my son :). Apparently I just grow big babies (and to answer the question I frequently get - no gestational diabetes present despite multiple checks during pregnancy).
I've known one woman who gave birth to an 11 lb. baby but 12-1/2??? Wow.
Yeah, in retrospect, I have to say, thank goodness the doctor didn’t insist on a vaginal delivery of that giant baby. I fear the lasting effects could have been serious for both of us.
Funny that your doctor gave you a guess of 7 lbs. When I asked my doctor at my last regular visit how big he thought the baby would be, he gave me what I later realized was probably his stock answer, ‘average size, 5-9 lbs.’ At the time I was guessing at least 10 lbs.
I’m pretty sure that 12-1/2 lb boy was just destined to be that big. Dad was 6’6” and mom, just over 6’. And boy, was his dad ever a proud papa!! He loved to stand at the nursery window and listen to people asking ea other, “have you seen that really BIG baby?” And he’d just smile and say , “That’s my boy!” That boy grew up to be 6’6”, just like his dad.
Sometimes it can’t be helped unfortunately 😕 But American doctors are mostly incapable of managing births without interventions because that’s how they’re trained. So a lot of times, C-sections and other measures might have been avoided but doctors don’t want to or don’t know how to. We have a pretty high C-section rate in this country and I am not sure it’s really justified. But again, there are definitely cases where that is the only option.
Well put Running Logic. My daughter made the right choice with her second child. The Dr told her so. The almost 18 year old would not have made it without a c-section. Sweetest grandchild. So considerate. Everyone is different and that’s what the medical profession needs to remember! Closer to 80 than 70 with a retired RN license because of the COVID debacle!!
ACOG guidelines and malpractice lawyers , can be an issue. Please , I’m an obstetrician, I do not do Csections unnecessarily. Yes, there are some bad ones, with high rates and they go in front of a quality and ethics committee. I don’t want to argue with anyone, nor can I speak for some of these healthcare providers.
As someone who works for a med-mal defense firm, I can confirm that the prospect of being sued for "failing to recognize and perform a c-section" weighs heavily on the minds of providers. In my ten years of experience now at the firm, the vast majority of providers don't treat c-section casually at all. There are patients, however, who actually request c-sections for convenience.
My first grand was delivered naturally by a nurse midwife. That little pumpkin had a knot in her umbilical cord but it was kept loose by God’s hand until after delivery when the midwife showed us the cord. Miracles happen every day.
Also , hospital reimbursements from the government, and Csection rates go hand in hand ( quality measure ) and hospital systems are required to report rates .
Thank God for you and your children! This is a situation that absolutely warrants a c-section. No question, modern medicine has its place just not in every place.
WOW, now that's gotta be a case study for OBGYN community!.. or is that not uncommon? You should wear Service Ribbons for Exemplary Valor on Mother's Day!
I spent 14-22 hours with each trying to first dilate with the assistance of dilation inducing meds given at the highest doses, and after 22 hours the most I dilated with my first was 1mm. They were shocked. Lol
The labor pain when you can’t dilate is beyond the ability to articulate. I think it’s less painful when your body operates like it’s supposed to and dilates naturally and properly.
By my third we just scheduled the C-section a week before the due date to avoid all that, but as Murphy’s Law would have it my body went into labor a day before 😆. They could barely tear me off the floor of the doctor’s office reception area because I was in such tortuous pain. And I have a high tolerance for pain physically. Nowadays I don’t have a high tolerance mentally after going through all that.
My wife also had a high tolerance for physical pain, but after 15 hours of labor and still only partially dilated, her vitals started heading south and the doctor called it... He let me stay by her during the resultant C-section, and I'll never forget seeing him pull our 11.5 lb "little man" up and out (and he was smart/skilled enough to open her up horizontally to minimize muscle damage, rather than vertically as her mother had been when she delivered).
But I'd never seen her so utterly spent, and she was a strong and very stubborn woman. I knew her well enough by then to recognize that, on some fundamental level, she'd truly had it and just didn't didn't care anymore; stay or go; come back or leave it all behind...
I knew they were concerned - the tell was having the anesthesiologist stop by every 5-10 mins to make sure everything was ok - and this went on for awhile, plus they'd whisked away our son almost immediately...
So I did what any loving husband would do, I'd prayed to Jesus like I'd never done before "Please Lord, Thy will be done, but Please let her live, and I promise to never do this again!" (Of course I meant getting her pregnant, I'm not that... well, I don't need to spell it out, do I?)
Needless to say, she lived, and yes, considered having another one, but I reminded her of my solemn promise and well time took care of the rest...
We used to think he'd set a record at the hospital, but one of the nurses blandly mentioned that they'd already delivered a 12 lb baby in the past, and had heard of even larger ones elsewhere :-o
🤦🏼♀️😖 All three of mine were C-sections because my body never dilated even a mm. They would have died otherwise.
I know how you feel, Juju. Four of my five required pitocin even though I was 2 weeks post-due date (I suspect some women just have naturally longer gestation periods but that causes problems too as three of my kids were in the 9-10 lb range). And induced labor is awful. It took forever to reach full dilation. I managed to avoid C-sections but we all do what we can do. I'm glad your babies were okay!
Similar story here with my 5 NAB. All inductions.
These stories sound so familiar. My first boy was 3 weeks overdue when the doctor tried to induce. But he was a happy little camper in there, with apparently no intention of coming out. So when we had achieved an unimpressive 2 cm dilation after 8 hours of induced labor, the doctor said it was time for a C-section. Yes, please! The whopping 12-1/2 lb baby they pulled out surprised everyone. Especially the doctor, who apologized to me every time I saw him for the next few years for attempting the induced delivery. In the early ‘80s, most old fashioned docs still didn’t do normal deliveries after a C-section, so all three of mine were delivered surgically. C’est la vie.
Same here. Disturbs me, though, when I hear new data on the microbiome not transferred during c-sections. My 3 seem fairly healthy at this point.
I believe in doing the best we can and leaving the rest up to God. Miracles happen every day and we should not fear the less than perfect situations.
Mine seem reasonably healthy now as well. Although number three got a somewhat rockier start when the doctor, relying more on his “superior knowledge” than my experience with my own body, scheduled the C-section 3 weeks early. The poor little thing spent his first few days in the NICU with too much fluid in his lungs. And come to think of it, he was the one with more doctor visits and health issues in his early years.
Same here. 3 C-sections, 3 healthy babies, breastfed, who have matured into healthy adults. In another time, the outcomes might not have been so positive and I am thankful for the doctor who chose to deliver that 1st baby surgically. I'm also a "Susan L." btw. :)
Agreed that my first one needed the C-section, due to distress affecting heart rate, etc. Not sure about the other 2, but that was the practice at the time….V-backs were not done to any extent if you had already had a Caesarean. Oh, and my nickname is “suze”! Ha!
Could it be Susan thing? Me too.
I would say not vaccinating would more than make up for it. Or at least reduced vaccination.
When I hit 42 weeks with my third, I questioned my doctor about the size of the baby. He assured me, "this baby is maybe 7 lbs, at most. Your frame won't permit a really big baby" Hah! When he was finally born (with the assist of the vacuum), he weighed 10 lb. 6 oz. and the nurses all gasped. One said, "well, whoever told you this was going to be a small baby doesn't know what they are talking about." That person was holding my son :). Apparently I just grow big babies (and to answer the question I frequently get - no gestational diabetes present despite multiple checks during pregnancy).
I've known one woman who gave birth to an 11 lb. baby but 12-1/2??? Wow.
Yeah, in retrospect, I have to say, thank goodness the doctor didn’t insist on a vaginal delivery of that giant baby. I fear the lasting effects could have been serious for both of us.
Funny that your doctor gave you a guess of 7 lbs. When I asked my doctor at my last regular visit how big he thought the baby would be, he gave me what I later realized was probably his stock answer, ‘average size, 5-9 lbs.’ At the time I was guessing at least 10 lbs.
I’m pretty sure that 12-1/2 lb boy was just destined to be that big. Dad was 6’6” and mom, just over 6’. And boy, was his dad ever a proud papa!! He loved to stand at the nursery window and listen to people asking ea other, “have you seen that really BIG baby?” And he’d just smile and say , “That’s my boy!” That boy grew up to be 6’6”, just like his dad.
Great story! Yes, it seems that baby was destined for bigness :)
Sometimes it can’t be helped unfortunately 😕 But American doctors are mostly incapable of managing births without interventions because that’s how they’re trained. So a lot of times, C-sections and other measures might have been avoided but doctors don’t want to or don’t know how to. We have a pretty high C-section rate in this country and I am not sure it’s really justified. But again, there are definitely cases where that is the only option.
Well put Running Logic. My daughter made the right choice with her second child. The Dr told her so. The almost 18 year old would not have made it without a c-section. Sweetest grandchild. So considerate. Everyone is different and that’s what the medical profession needs to remember! Closer to 80 than 70 with a retired RN license because of the COVID debacle!!
ACOG guidelines and malpractice lawyers , can be an issue. Please , I’m an obstetrician, I do not do Csections unnecessarily. Yes, there are some bad ones, with high rates and they go in front of a quality and ethics committee. I don’t want to argue with anyone, nor can I speak for some of these healthcare providers.
What do you consider “high rates”?
About 20% . The indication for section must be well documented. Some providers are higher some lower … documentation is key .
I find that interesting, since the average rate in the US is around 32%. Sounds like where you are is more conservative.
Some hospital systems have a more robust quality program for optimal government reimbursement for lower Csection rates .
As someone who works for a med-mal defense firm, I can confirm that the prospect of being sued for "failing to recognize and perform a c-section" weighs heavily on the minds of providers. In my ten years of experience now at the firm, the vast majority of providers don't treat c-section casually at all. There are patients, however, who actually request c-sections for convenience.
My first grand was delivered naturally by a nurse midwife. That little pumpkin had a knot in her umbilical cord but it was kept loose by God’s hand until after delivery when the midwife showed us the cord. Miracles happen every day.
Well put.
Also , hospital reimbursements from the government, and Csection rates go hand in hand ( quality measure ) and hospital systems are required to report rates .
The baby comes into the world the way it’s supposed to.. no need to beat yourself up 💐
Thank God for you and your children! This is a situation that absolutely warrants a c-section. No question, modern medicine has its place just not in every place.
WOW, now that's gotta be a case study for OBGYN community!.. or is that not uncommon? You should wear Service Ribbons for Exemplary Valor on Mother's Day!
I spent 14-22 hours with each trying to first dilate with the assistance of dilation inducing meds given at the highest doses, and after 22 hours the most I dilated with my first was 1mm. They were shocked. Lol
The labor pain when you can’t dilate is beyond the ability to articulate. I think it’s less painful when your body operates like it’s supposed to and dilates naturally and properly.
By my third we just scheduled the C-section a week before the due date to avoid all that, but as Murphy’s Law would have it my body went into labor a day before 😆. They could barely tear me off the floor of the doctor’s office reception area because I was in such tortuous pain. And I have a high tolerance for pain physically. Nowadays I don’t have a high tolerance mentally after going through all that.
My wife also had a high tolerance for physical pain, but after 15 hours of labor and still only partially dilated, her vitals started heading south and the doctor called it... He let me stay by her during the resultant C-section, and I'll never forget seeing him pull our 11.5 lb "little man" up and out (and he was smart/skilled enough to open her up horizontally to minimize muscle damage, rather than vertically as her mother had been when she delivered).
But I'd never seen her so utterly spent, and she was a strong and very stubborn woman. I knew her well enough by then to recognize that, on some fundamental level, she'd truly had it and just didn't didn't care anymore; stay or go; come back or leave it all behind...
I knew they were concerned - the tell was having the anesthesiologist stop by every 5-10 mins to make sure everything was ok - and this went on for awhile, plus they'd whisked away our son almost immediately...
So I did what any loving husband would do, I'd prayed to Jesus like I'd never done before "Please Lord, Thy will be done, but Please let her live, and I promise to never do this again!" (Of course I meant getting her pregnant, I'm not that... well, I don't need to spell it out, do I?)
Needless to say, she lived, and yes, considered having another one, but I reminded her of my solemn promise and well time took care of the rest...
We used to think he'd set a record at the hospital, but one of the nurses blandly mentioned that they'd already delivered a 12 lb baby in the past, and had heard of even larger ones elsewhere :-o
Yes, torturous. Very low abdominal pain + butt pain. I could only dilate 3 cm after 24 hours before agreeing to a C-section.
Sounds like a huge ordeal all around 😞
Mine too...
Me too, Juju. It’s not that uncommon.