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How To Treat Delay In Positioning Of Fetus During 38th Week?
I m 38 weeks 2 days pregnant my baby is measuring at 46 weeks she has been large for her dates for about a month. Doctors have done nothing they have said she has still not dropped far enough into my pelvis and with my low placenta it s a risk it could get caught if she does drop but they don t want to do anything yet. Also they reckon she is not in the right position too. They want to wait till after my due date to do something. My question is will she be safe and is it possible that she is to big for my pelvis and that s why she can t drop any further but also is it safe for her to be this big and to carry on waiting despite other risks.
Wed, 4 Nov 2015
Hello, and I hope I can help you today.
Even though your baby is large for gestational age (LGA) as long as the doctors who are monitoring her and doing her ultrasounds think she is healthy, early induction is not recommended. There are two reasons for this- for one, natural labor has an increased chance of delivering vaginally compared to induction, even for a large baby, and secondly- babies born before 39 weeks can have respiratory problems if they are delivered electively, so (in the US at least) it is not recommended to deliver before 39 weeks except for situations where the baby is in more danger inside you than out.
So even though your daughter is large, as long as she is healthy, it is best for you and her to wait for natural labor.
If you have a low-lying placenta, the placenta cannot get "caught" in the baby's head as it descends in the pelvis, rather, compression of the pelvis by the head can actually prevent bleeding from the edge of the placenta.
Now- the question if she is too big for your pelvis can only be known if you go into labor. The baby's head "molds", meaning the skull actually changes shape as it descends through the birth canal during labor. The fact that your baby hasn't droppped yet just means that you are unlikely to go into labor anytime soon. It is true that if the baby is really too big to enter your pelvis (called inlet dystocia) that she will not drop even in labor and your OB can feel this during labor and if it happens, you will need a c-section.
But in your case, your doctors are correct in waiting until at least 39 weeks to consider intervening. A large baby is not at increased risk of any problems as long as it is not due to diabetes or other medical problem. Many women can deliver 9+ pound babies without a problem, so there is no way to know in advance how your delivery will go.
I hope this answers your question and that my advice was helpful.
Best wishes for the rest of your pregnancy, and good luck with your delivery,
Dr. Brown
Even though your baby is large for gestational age (LGA) as long as the doctors who are monitoring her and doing her ultrasounds think she is healthy, early induction is not recommended. There are two reasons for this- for one, natural labor has an increased chance of delivering vaginally compared to induction, even for a large baby, and secondly- babies born before 39 weeks can have respiratory problems if they are delivered electively, so (in the US at least) it is not recommended to deliver before 39 weeks except for situations where the baby is in more danger inside you than out.
So even though your daughter is large, as long as she is healthy, it is best for you and her to wait for natural labor.
If you have a low-lying placenta, the placenta cannot get "caught" in the baby's head as it descends in the pelvis, rather, compression of the pelvis by the head can actually prevent bleeding from the edge of the placenta.
Now- the question if she is too big for your pelvis can only be known if you go into labor. The baby's head "molds", meaning the skull actually changes shape as it descends through the birth canal during labor. The fact that your baby hasn't droppped yet just means that you are unlikely to go into labor anytime soon. It is true that if the baby is really too big to enter your pelvis (called inlet dystocia) that she will not drop even in labor and your OB can feel this during labor and if it happens, you will need a c-section.
But in your case, your doctors are correct in waiting until at least 39 weeks to consider intervening. A large baby is not at increased risk of any problems as long as it is not due to diabetes or other medical problem. Many women can deliver 9+ pound babies without a problem, so there is no way to know in advance how your delivery will go.
I hope this answers your question and that my advice was helpful.
Best wishes for the rest of your pregnancy, and good luck with your delivery,
Dr. Brown
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