Beth's Story- 9 lbs., 4 oz.- Birth Center

9 lbs., 4 oz.

Birth Center

Mother's height: 5' 6"

Hi my name is Beth and I had my 2nd baby 11 months ago. I'm 5'6 and135 without the baby weight. Normal healthy build. I had an okay pregnancy but I was in pain, my diaphragm was killing me. I couldn't eat much because if I did I had a sharp pain in my chest, (my diaphragm.) I had a midwife and she told me that he was a small to average size baby about 7lbs.

I went into labor and had a nice smooth labor. Painful but moved well. I went from 2cm. to delivery in 3 1/2hrs.When I was pushing out my son, (in the tub at the birth center) I thought everything inside me was going to break, I had no pain relief by the way. I pushed and pushed and he was just taking forever, (about 30 mins.) My daughter came out in 2 contractions about 5 min of pushing so this was an eternity to me. Anyway he came out and it was such a relief. They weighed him and he was 9lbs 4oz. I thought well no wonder that was so hard to get him out. And now I knew why my diaphragm was so pushed up there was just no room in there for him he had to take up all the space he could.

My daughter was 7lbs 14 oz. It was definitely a big difference. I had no tears or rips and healed very quickly. My vaginal area didn't look stretched or anything. I also shrunk back down to normal size within a week, except with a little fat around the middle. My midwife told me that everyone at that birth center in the month of November had babies over 9lbs. Must have been something in the water. She told me that a lady 5ft had a baby 10lbs the week before me. It's more work having a big baby but no reason that you would have to have a caesarean or an episiotomy.