Why are Women SO Terrified of Birthing a Big Baby?

Ever heard a "big baby mum" telling her birth story? heard the sharp intake of breath and the "ouch, bet that hurt" mutters when she tells everybody the baby's weight?

The female pelvis is PERFECTLY designed for birth.....no matter the size of the baby.....it is designed to open up to make more space for the baby.

....and a baby's head is PERFECTLY designed to gently mould, to make it smaller, so that it passes through the female pelvis with ease. Babies know how to get into a good position for birth, tucking their head tightly so that the smallest part presents first... The following article, by midwife Gloria Lemay, is a MUST read for anybody worrying about birthing a large baby and wondering whether their pelvis is "big enough" Pelvises I have known and loved.

But when a women reduces her pelvic capacity, by being immobile on a bed, perhaps due to an induction - for a "big baby" or an epidural, because of the pain caused by the induction, or the fear caused by the constant "big baby" conversations everything gets a lot harder, words like "cephalopelvic disproportion" (CPD) - where the baby's head is too big to pass through the pelvis and "shoulder dystocia" - where the baby's shoulders get stuck - get used - needlessly. On the subject of CPD, this video is just amazing and totally inspirational - full of women who have been told their pelvis was "too small" to birth their baby and that they needed a C-Section. Well, they proved them wrong delivering their subsequent babies naturally, often *much* larger!




If a woman enters labour free from fear and anxiety oxytocin (the hormone of labour) will be free to flow, her uterus will contract efficiently, endorphins (natural morphone like pain relievers released during labour) will flood her body, adrenaline will be kept to a minimum ensuring that her uterus is well oxygenated and making her as comfortable as possible.

She will move instinctively into positions which freely open her pelvis, such as a squatting position (where the pelvis is said to have up to 30% more capacity) or perhaps on all fours - both superb positions for birthing a big baby.

The size of a baby in a normal, physiological birth - where anxiety and "big baby" talk is not present - is largely irrelevant, it doesn't make it more painful and it doesn't make it harder!