Short women and Natural Births

[Bonita928]

Hi,

Just wondering if there are any women on here under 5 feet tall that have been advised that a natural vaginal birth may not be possible?

My consultant has booked an additional scan at 28 weeks to check the size of the baby and confirm if a vaginal birth will be possible or if I may need to be induced early or have a caesarian instead due to my height - 4’10’.

Any experience in this?

Thanks,

Bonita

[amazed]

First point to remember is that no one can force you to do something that you don't want to do.

Secondly, if short women couldn't give birth then there wouldn't be any short women. whilst I understand that in very few EXCEPTIONAL cases there can be an issue with the size of the opening in the pelvis(which can't be deduced from an external examination) and abnormally large headed babies, most women can give birth to their own babies, naturally. Whilst we are all grateful for the medical care that we can access if necessary, this is likely to be an unnecessary intervention.

If I were you I would speak to AIMS who can offer advice and statistics and then you can make your own decision about whether you want that scan when the time comes.

Was your mother short? Did she have trouble?

My friend who's your exact height was so scared because she'd been told her baby was'huge' that she was 15 days overdue and ended up having an emergency caesarean to give birth to her 7lbs1oz baby son- totally unnecessary.

Anyway, for her second she told the doctors firmly that she wanted aVBAC and this time her amazing body went into labour 2 weeks early and her 5.5lb daughter was born without a single intervention.

I don't know how determined you are, and I don't know how much you want to try for a natural birth- obviously your recovery time and stress to your newborn will be minimised but you'll have to be extra strong!. Not only to get through labour and push your baby out(btw, we ALL feel like our babies are too big to get out, in case you do get your natural birth and worry at the end!😉) but also to insist that you don't want that scan or the interventions that they may try to push on you after you have it.

Short women can give birth- in fact every short woman in your ancestry has successfully birthed at least one baby all the way back to the beginning of the human race!

Good luck to you❤

[Hidden in reply to amazed]

^ This 100%. Short people would have been bred out generations ago if it wasn't possible to naturally deliver if the mother is short. Growth measurements are not accurate, they are an estimate at best, I was expected to be having a 5lb ish baby by the growth scans, and he was 7lb1oz and tall!

If you want to deliver naturally, don't let the doctor push you for a C section unecessarily xx

[Munyze]

Hello! Congrats on your little one! I don't think height influences the way you can give birth, my grandma was 4'11" and she had 12 kids, and was at home and in a time where we weren't that advanced in medicine... of course if your baby is too big they will try to make it easier on you. Keep in mind that the recuperation period is also different from natural birth to cesarean, if everything is going well I don't see why not having a natural birth... what might influence is the width of your pelvis...

[Georgina_D]

I know that the NHS will pressureyou into a vaginal birth to save money. The fact that they are offering a C Section means it might be better for you! Being short or small framed might make you more likely to need episiotomy, have a severe tear to your anus and possible become incontinent.

I wish I had a C Section. Recovery time for tears and episiotomy can be longer than recovery for a straightforward c section.

Good luck whatever you decide x

[Hidden]

If you are in UK, you will be given choice. You can decide to have a trial of labour and if anything changes they can do a c-section. You will have to deliver in a hospital where they can perform emergency c-section. When you go in labour doctors will most likely want to have a continuous monitoring of your baby's vital signs. Next time you see your consultant/midwife you should let them know what kind of birth you would prefer, and if there are no medical reasons why you wouldn't be able to have a birth you wish, they will try to respect your wishes. To make sure hospital staff knows your preferences, you should write a birth plan but do remember that labour and birth of a baby can be unpredictable and it might not go as you planned.