IUGR Rant....

IUGR= Intrauterine Growth Retardation



I dont know if this is one of those times in my life where I realize how fearful people are about birth, or another confirmation of, "That midwife is heartless, insecure, ignorant, and angry." Years ago I remember vividly sitting in a room with a pregnant mama. A very healthy vegetarian pregnant mama who trusted her body to birth her baby perfectly. I was the student midwife. I dont remember exactly how many weeks along this mom was but I am thinking somewhere around 38. She had her baby shortly after this appt. Anyways she was measuring about 5cm too small. Textbook= 1cm per week of pregnancy give or take 1-2 cm. As you know EVERY woman is within textbook range. NOT!!! Hello people.... EVERY single one of us have a different build, pelvis, waist etc. Why are there certain expectations on each of us. We are all so different!



So back to this amazing mama. I remember her leaving that Prenatal appt crying. CRYING!!! I would NEVER let one of my clients leave crying. NEVER. That midwife had placed so much fear and doubt in her (from my point of view) or maybe she was thinking.... how did I find this midwife? That midwife was trying to convince this amazing woman that she had IUGR. Dont get me wrong TRUE IUGR can be very dangerous and should not be taken lightly. But smaller than normal fundal height tells you NOTHING!!! She went on to have an amazingly beautiful little 6+ pound healthy baby girl!



Yesterday I attended an amazingly beautiful homebirth that the mom measured 34cm. IUGR?? No, not even close. The week before she measured 31cm. Why? Well one reason was her baby was posterior. Baby's position plays such a big role in fundal height. Another is she is tall and has a deep pelvis. Was I afraid of IUGR... NO. I trusted her body, I trusted the fact that it would do exactly what it was supposed to. She had a beautiful baby boy just shy of 7 pounds. PERFECT!! She was a whole 123 pounds 10 months pregnant. This was the one birth that was not traumatic, it was peaceful and "easy" in her words. This was her 3rd baby.

My point for this blog... I guess its to get people thinking that its not all "textbook".... and as a matter of fact, its RARELY "textbook" when you trust birth. I love what I do... people think I am out to prove a point. No I am not but, with what I do, it ends up proving a point.