I like big butts
In doing some research on “Big Babies” since I found an interesting study in AJOG where doctors predicted a large baby (larger than about 9 pounds); and compared these to births with actual 9 pound babies (ones that weren’t given the predicted label of Macrosomia “big butts”).
Inductions in the suspected big baby group were 42.1% vs. 13.6% in the control group. And C-sections were 57.1% in the suspected group vs. 16.7% in control. That’s a huge difference. But what’s even more interesting, when they compare the maternal and neonatal outcomes of all babies – there is absolutely no statistically significant data in health of baby or health of mother between the suspected big babies, and the actual big babies.
Essentially – if you are getting the label of “big baby” you’re more likely to receive an “unecessary” medical intervention. And even with a big baby, there are better outcomes in having natural spontaneous labor than a medical intervention based on a macrosomia diagnosis alone. Food for thought.
http://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378%2804%2901574-1/fulltext
