When is it safe to deliver
I'm very petite. Is it safe to deliver my baby vaginally, or should I have a C-section?
you mentioned that you have a petite
frame and at your prenatal appointments
the doctors talk to you about still
trying a vaginal delivery and seeing how
it goes and you're wondering if that's
an okay plan and most definitely there
are I've been a labor and delivery nurse
for ten years and there are women who
surprised me with their ability to
squish a baby out you know I've seen
little four foot ten ladies deliver
seven pounders without a problem and
taller women have problems getting out a
six and a half pounder really what it
comes down to is the size of your pelvis
now if you see a woman that has large
hips you might say oh she should have
like ten kids she's got great birthing
hips but really what do we always hear
we always hear that it's the inside that
counts and your pelvis has an inlet
that's what the baby goes through that's
what they fit through there's no way to
predetermine the size of your pelvis and
compare it to the size of your baby and
decide if they're proportionate
the only thing we can do is try to
squeeze them through so this would mean
either letting you go into labor
spontaneously or by inducing you once
you get far enough along that the doctor
feels like there would be minimal risk
to the baby for them to be born usually
this is at 39 weeks and beyond so if
this is your first baby it would be
normal for labor to take a long time on
average first-time moms labor for 12 to
18 hours and this is without an
induction and it also doesn't include
all the hours leading up to labor when
you might have been contracting a lot
and feeling like you're in labor the
true definition of labor is actually
cervical change from hour to hour so
some girls say like I was in labor for
five days and really you're only in
labor for the hours leading up to the
delivery of your baby when your cervix
is actively changing from hour to hour
so basically what I'm getting at is if
you go into spontaneous labor or you're
induced expect it to take a long time
don't be surprised by that and then what
would clue the doctors into the fact
that the c-section is necessary is that
above and beyond the normal amount of
time that we expect your contractions
are strong enough that your cervix
should be changing and it's not and or
maybe the baby's head never comes down
your pelvis it is possible to just halt
progress altogether maybe you don't get
past 1 2 3 4 centimeters but there are
some women
who get all the way to ten push for two
hours and still need a c-section that's
determined when the baby just won't fit
through so there are different ways that
we can tell this we monitor closely
during labor and give you ample
opportunity to see if you can deliver
vaginally as long as your baby is
tolerating things and the heartbeat
pattern of your baby is showing us that
they're doing well while inside of you
we can be patient and give it some time
before we throw in the towel and say
it's time for a c-section now one thing
I want you to understand is that
c-sections are not the worst case
scenario so if you end up needing a
c-section just know that it's basically
like a detour our goal is a healthy mom
and a healthy baby and we're assuming
that that's yours too and sometimes
c-sections are necessary in order to
achieve good outcomes so I recommend
staying in close contact with your
doctor and make sure you make and keep
all of your prenatal appointments write
down questions that you might have ask
them and your doctor will be able to
give you the best advice based on their
knowledge of your circumstances and then
of course your nurses and your doctor
when you're in the hospital laboring
we'll be able to answer any questions
you have about what's happening at that
point good luck with everything and if
you have more questions in the future
for me please feel free to ask them on
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