My Big Surprise: A Petite Mum And A Nearly-4kg Baby

75noaki shares her induced labour story with us...

Here’s a birth story with a punchline in the numbers: a petite mother, so small that strangers didn’t offer her a seat until she was seven months along, delivered a baby just shy of 4kg. It’s kept below in her words, and underneath it, what a “big baby” means, since the surprise she describes is one a lot of parents get.

A reader’s birth story, first published on theAsianparent.

Both my husband and I are small, so naturally I was a small pregnant woman. The sad part was that nobody gave me a seat until I was about five months along. Most people couldn’t even tell I was pregnant from behind until I was over seven months. With my husband travelling in and out and the due date closing in, the anticipation wore me down, but Baby Dana wasn’t ready to see the world. So we decided to induce a week after the estimated delivery date.

I checked in around 9am, and once my gynaecologist, Dr Kowa, broke my water bag, the contractions started. Believing that so many women had done it, the superwoman in me decided I too would say no to the epidural. I tried to distract myself from the “cramps” with my favourite Jacky Wu show, to no avail. I tried Sudoku, and only made more mistakes. I was also trying to calm my husband, who I think was more nervous than me. At 7-plus I was still checking whether he’d eaten dinner, and the nurse thought I was insane.

Right after that, the real pain kicked in. I was pushing and the nurse kept telling me to hold up, as I wasn’t fully dilated yet, but I just felt it coming, so I kept pushing. An hour later I was still pushing, and Dr Kowa decided to use the vacuum. My big surprise, weighing 3.965kg, shocked everybody. Who would think it was in my small tummy? I was too tense to be stitched, so they had to put me to sleep before the surgeons came in. So much for no epidural. But I have no regrets. Baby Dana was worth it.

So what’s a “big baby”?

Doctors call a large baby macrosomia, usually defined as a birth weight above about 4kg (some use 4.5kg). Dana, at just under 4kg from a petite mother, is exactly the kind of surprise that lands often, because, reassuringly, the mother’s size is a poor predictor of the baby’s. A small woman can carry a big baby and a large woman a small one; the bump you see from outside says little about the weight inside.

The fuller medical picture is in the dedicated guide linked below, but here are the headlines:

Most big babies are simply healthy big babies. Genetics, going past the due date, and gestational diabetes are the common drivers, and the first two are entirely benign.
Gestational diabetes is the one to rule out, because it’s manageable and because it’s the reason antenatal screening for it exists. A consistently large bump or a big baby on a scan is one reason doctors check.
A big baby can make for a longer, harder pushing stage, as Dana’s story shows, ending in the vacuum assist that’s common in exactly this situation. It’s a recognised, well-handled scenario, not an emergency.
It doesn’t automatically mean a caesarean. Plenty of big babies are born vaginally, sometimes with assistance; the decision is individual and made with your obstetrician.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as a big baby?

Macrosomia: generally a birth weight over about 4kg. It’s common, and most big babies are perfectly healthy; the size is often down to genetics or simply going past the due date.

Does a small mum mean a small baby?

No. The mother’s build is a weak predictor of the baby’s weight, so petite mothers regularly get the surprise this story describes. What you see from outside says little about what’s inside.

Is a big baby dangerous?

Usually not, though it can make the pushing stage longer and raises the chance of assistance like a vacuum. The main thing to rule out is gestational diabetes, which is manageable and is one reason antenatal screening exists.

Will a big baby mean a caesarean?

Not automatically. Many big babies are delivered vaginally, sometimes with help. It’s an individual decision made with your obstetrician based on your whole situation.

What to take away

A petite mum, a nearly-4kg surprise, a vacuum assist, no regrets, kept here as she told it. Your size doesn’t forecast your baby’s, most big babies are just big and healthy, and the one thing to check is gestational diabetes. A large baby is a well-handled scenario, not a cause for alarm.