Hi everyone! So a friend of mine is about to give birth and a couple weeks ago her doctor said she might not be able to give birth naturally because her bones were narrow. I have never heard of this and because of the doctor's past behavior with having her come to many unnecessary appointments and other such things that resulted in more money for the doctor, my friend feels the doctor may be pushing for her to have a c-section for the money aspect (would a c-section pay a doctor more than a lady partsl birth?).
The doctor also told her a horror story about her own birth and how she was in labor for a long time and didn't dilate and then the baby was in distress and she had to have an emergency c-section. I really feel this doctor is putting her views and feelings onto my friend instead of letting my friend's pregnancy and labor be her own. This is the information that I know.....they did an ultrasound and the baby weighed 7lbs 9oz.
BUT I personally feel ultrasounds are not always accurate or the person doing them doesn't always know what they are doing, because my boyfriend's brother and his wife had a baby 2 months ago and the ultrasound showed the baby was 10lbs....when the baby came out, he was only 7lbs 6oz. So could a 7lb 9oz. baby be too big to come out of someone with "narrow bones"? I am probably smaller than her & I was able to give birth just fine....I also was dilated to 4cm before I went to the hospital. When I checked in with her today, she still hadn't dilated and she says she is 40 weeks. She is being induced today and from what I heard, it is going really slow and she still hasn't dilated. What I want to know is the question I asked above and if some people just don't dilate or do they not dilate because it is really too soon? I was wondering if maybe she wasn't actually 40 weeks and the conception date might be off more than she realizes. She kind of believes the narrow thing because of how skinny she is and because she hasn't dilated and because supposedly that is what someone she knows was told (but that woman did not dilate at all and that is why they did a c-section). I am just confused about the whole thing and since I am going to be in OB-GYN next rotation in nursing school, I was rather curious.
Any knowledge about any of this would be wonderful. Thank you in advance!
Squatting position has been mentioned a few times here, I'm curious - after watching that Business of Being Born movie, I noticed a lot of midwifes had the mom get in the squatting position to give birth. I am really curious, does this EVER happen in the hospital? Based on what that movie discussed, along w/ a few other times I've heard this said, it is really effective (gravity is on the mom's side). Just curious, maybe this is a really dumb question!
Unfortunately, I have never seen a pt. allowed to squat for a delivery. Granted I do not have the years of experience in the delivery room as many of our members. How often have you all seen it happen/allowed?
Specializes in Pediatrics, Lactation, Women's Health, Obstetrics.
We have women squatting during labor/pushing/birth with some frequency. The providers where I work are very accommodating to what position the woman wishes to give birth in. Both our Midwives and MDs will get down on the ground on their knees with a flashlight (often the labor rooms are dimly lit per request) to help the baby be born. Often though, people are squatting on the actual labor bed which has a detachable squat bar to help with stability.
Is this a common issue in people with small/narrow hips? My Mom and Aunts used to always tease me that I have such narrow hips, I was going to have a he** of a time when I had a baby. This is seriously one of my secret fears! Does this really happen a lot???? (Clearly I'm a pre-nursing student here!! :) )
When looking at a woman, the apparent hip size is related to how much the upper part of the pelvis flares out. This upper part of the pelvis has nothing to do with the birth cannal. It is the inside dimensions of the pelvis, the part that can't be seen that matters in childbirth. For some reason, older women who have given birth seem to enjoy scaring younger women who have not yet given birth. Ignore them.
When the doctor does his first internal exam he can estimate the size of the birth cannal and say if it's average or not. But as previous posters have mentioned, there are lots factors other than absolute size that are important.
And the problem is not usually with the pelvic outlet as some have mentioned. If there is a problem, it is usually with the midpelvis, the distance between the ischial spines. That's the smallest diameter in the pelvis, the outlet is typically larger than the midpelvis. Look at a picture of a pelvis and you can see how the hips are totally unrelated to the passage thru the pelvis.
Squatting position has been mentioned a few times here, I'm curious - after watching that Business of Being Born movie, I noticed a lot of midwifes had the mom get in the squatting position to give birth. I am really curious, does this EVER happen in the hospital? Based on what that movie discussed, along w/ a few other times I've heard this said, it is really effective (gravity is on the mom's side). Just curious, maybe this is a really dumb question!
Seen it @my hospital before... kind of interesting...
honeymist
64 Posts
Squatting position has been mentioned a few times here, I'm curious - after watching that Business of Being Born movie, I noticed a lot of midwifes had the mom get in the squatting position to give birth. I am really curious, does this EVER happen in the hospital? Based on what that movie discussed, along w/ a few other times I've heard this said, it is really effective (gravity is on the mom's side). Just curious, maybe this is a really dumb question!