OMG
SuperMom Delivers 12+ Pound Baby Via Natural Water Birth
A mom in England named Naomi Turner must have special powers (or at least superhuman strength) after giving birth to a 12-pound, 6-ounce baby girl -- naturally. As in no drugs or epidural or anything else that might've helped ease the pain of bringing a baby the size of a 3-month-old into the world.
Naomi was already two weeks overdue when she went into labor with her daughter, but she still had every intention of delivering her baby in a birthing pool -- which is exactly what she did. "Little" Bethany Jane Turner arrived safely, and Naomi didn't even realize she'd just had a whopper of a baby until they weighed her on the scale. In fact, Bethany is the third largest baby ever born in Britain.
And I can't stop scratching my head and wondering how Naomi didn't manage to notice any difference between this baby's birth and the births of her other two children. Because something tells me it would be pretty hard to ignore a 12-pounder trying to make her way out.
My son wasn't enormous or anything, but he did weigh in at 8 pounds, 1 ounce. My doctor actually wound up inducing me 10 days early because she didn't want him getting over 8 pounds. She figured I wouldn't be able to deliver him vaginally if he got any bigger than that -- and she was probably right.
And I know one thing for certain -- there's no way I would've been able to make it through my 24-hour labor and delivery without the help of an epidural. If they'd stuck me in one of those birthing pools? I would've been thrashing around like a fish being attacked by a shark and soaked everyone in the room for sure.
That epidural was my lifeline, and the only thing that made me remotely enjoy my son's delivery at all. And if I ever were to have a second baby, I'd ask for one the minute I got to the hospital. But I guess everybody has their own idea of how they expect their birth to play out, so I have to give major props to Naomi for sticking to her guns and hopping into that birthing pool. And even though her natural labor and delivery was probably pretty exhausting, the 12-pound, 6-ounce reward she got at the end was more than worth it.
Are you planning on giving birth naturally? How about if your baby winds up being larger than expected?
Image via Markus Reinhardt/Flickr
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regenbogenpilz
PROOF that a woman's body is NOT broken and with proper support we can birth normally!
TorranceMom
@regenbogenpilz
100% true!!!
Fondue
Ditto!
Lynette
a friend of mine had a 12lb baby AT HOME. No stiches! Why??? Because she was not induced(induction leads to much harder labor for both baby & mom, it also increases your risk of csection by 50%), it also leads to longer labors. She was on her hands and knees(on your back your pelvis is 30% smaller) and she was able to do the gaskin manuver when he got stuck(hands & knees, but with one knee back like a runners stance). She pushed as it felt right, not with people counting to 10 etc. I personally had 2 hospital births w/ my 2 smallest children..in fact I had 3rd degree tearing w/ my tiniest baby(5lbs 14oz). But my 2 larger ones I had home waterbirths. I did Hypnobabies for pain management(it's amazing, google it). No stiches! My biggest was 7lbs 14oz.
jagamama0710
She figured I wouldn't be able to deliver him vaginally if he got any bigger than that -- and she was probably right.
Why? Just because he was 8 lbs?
jagamama0710
Thank you Lynette. You said everything I was thinking.
My first was born in a birthing tub. I spent my entire labor in that tub except 2 times to pee. It was a million times worse out of the water. I just wanted to float. I had back labor so the tub was a life saver. lol Water is usually (not always, some women won't want it in labor) very soothing. It relaxes your body and your mind and that in turn eases the pain. The more tense you are, the more your body will be fighting against labor, the more pain you're going to be in. Fear tension pain cycle. Relax, go with your contractions, make gravity work for you, and it's really not that bad.
Unecessary inductions are bad deals, ladies. I wish they wouldn't allow them.
Freela
I had three babies without epidural- none of them were that big, but bear in mind that I am 4'11 and about 100 lbs when not pregnant. The youngest was a full pound heavier than the other two children, and I really didn't notice a difference at all. Regardless of the size of your baby, you are still pushing a large object through a small orifice, whether it's an 8 lb large object or a 12 lb large object, kwim? For myself, positioning was a bigger issue than size... my son was posterior for much of my labour and that made for a much tougher labour than his significantly larger sister who was better positioned for birth.
sweet.lil.mama
navywife0204
My great -grantmother had 4 boys at home...all of them were over 10 lbs, my grandfather being 12 at birth.
dynomitesmall
SOO Happy to see such positive comments about birthing here. There is no sure way to know what size a baby is until he or she is born. Ultrasounds can be off by pounds. Just as they can help misdiagnose medical issues. I don't trust them.
Jagamama, I was thinking the same thing. You don't know until you try. And unfortunately, women are not adequately educated on the dangers of induction and epidurals. Why would docs want to do that. Whatis it like, $800 for an epidural? Hhmm