Lossing Wieght..

L., I wouldnt worry about the weight loss at all. With my youngest I intially gained 25 pounds in the first 4 months after that I was lucky if I gained a pound or two for the next 5 months. The most I lost at one time was 10 pounds and the doctors said that as long I wasnt feeling less movement or anything from the baby I was fine. I was induced 4 days early and she weighed a healthy 6lbs 15oz at birth. If the doctors show no concern I wouldnt worry one bit. Good luck.

I wouldn't be worried yet. I personally didn't experience this, but I have had friends that did in the last month and had completely normal and healthy babies. Personally I wasn't checked to see if I was dilating until 37 weeks. I think this is pretty normal unless your previous births were premmature. Good luck, how exciting that you are almost there!!

Its totally normal to loose weight at this stage in the game. Every pregnancy is different, even with the same Mom. Just make sure you are resting and taking care of yourself.

As far as the lack of internal exams and measurement on your belly. They wouldn't need to check you for dilation if you have a scheduled C-section. 36 weeks is a bit early for a conservative doctor to do an internal anyway because it could disturb your membranes or stimulate labor. Unless you have a history of pre term labor, I wouldn't be worried. Have you had an ultrasound lately? Or another diagonstic test to show baby size and activity? If so, don't worry! If not, don't worry! Most of the time they measure to make sure the baby is growing properly. At 36 weeks your baby is refining those lungs and gaining weight to get ready for the external stresss of birth and this world. If you have gained sufficent weight- and 36 lbs is on the upper end of the reccomended range (unless you were severly underweight), its fairly safe to assume based on your past deliveries and weight gain that your baby is a good size.

I am wondering if your c-section(s) were due of failure of labor progression, due to baby size, or due to breech presentation? All of these facotor into this too :)

I always got measured at every visit after about 12 weeks I think. Maybe it was a little later than that, but once they started, it was a part of every visit. They didn't usually start internal exams until 35 or 36 weeks I think. They usually did the first one when they do that swab test for strep (I think - that part is fuzzy now.) Anyways, they do that test so they can give antibiotics while you are still pregnant to prevent transmitting bacteria (which is perfectly normal and not a sign of disease in you) that can cause harm to the baby as it passes through. Since they are there, they usually check on dilating and such. But since you know you are having a c-section it sounds like, they probably don't need to do that test and may wait until 37 weeks or so to check for activity. If you are concerned, you should be able to ask them to check.

this is an unprofessional opinion of course, but I would say don't worry! I gained 4 pounds in one week late in pregnancy and i was stunned! i was on a diabetic diet, how could I be gaining weight? they said, it's probably just water weight and sure enough I looked at my ankles and they were swollen etc. so I think it's probably just a variation in the water you're retaining or not retaining.

good luck.

My sister is due next week and they have not checked her for dialating. I guess maybe they do not check like they used to? We were thinking with her it was because she is high risk.

I do not think that the weight gain/loss has much bearing on anything. I have my babies at home with a more than qualified midwife and we actually NEVER weigh ourselves the entire pregnancy. Your body will change as it needs to and how much you gain, or lose, can just be more a sense of stress than a sign of something important. As for not feeling the babies position, that is very worrisome, but unfortunately, "normal" for the doctor and hospital world. My midwife always talks about how sad it is that doctors do not take this into consideration, since it may be the single most important thing in how your labor turns out. There are certain yoga positions, chiropractic care, etc that can correct your babies position the closer you get to your labor. I suggest you make some calls and its never too late to switch to homebirth. Many of my midwifes clients have switched to homebirth in their last weeks of pregnancy becuase they are uncomfortable with how their doctor is handling things or have had a c section in the past and are planning for one again, but once they approach the end of their pregnancy are not so sure they want to go through that again and decide to deliver naturally, which is not a hospital option. Goodluck!

Your OB will wait as long as possible before checking you for dilation. Each time he or she goes down there to check for dilation he or she is possibly introducing bacteria/germs into that area which can be dangerous.

The weight loss is normal. If it wasn't, I am sure your OB would have dealt with it. He or she didn't go to 4 years of medical school, 4 years of residency and a 2 year OB/GYN fellowship for nothing!

there are two things you should consider trying:

1) Call your doc's office and ask to talk to the nurse. Tell her you noticed that you'd lost 3 lbs at your app't but the doctor didn't say anything, and you didn't think this was normal. Should you be concerned ?

2) If your insurance company has a medical hotline, which many do, esp for pregnant moms, call them and talk to the nurses they have on staff.

Regarding the dilating ? Well, some doc's check and some don't. It's not really important until labor starts. Some people dilate to 3 cm ahead of labor and some don't.

I definately think it's worth asking the weight question. As them if it's normal and if you should be concerned or not. You're at 36 weeks out of 40, but due dates are always plus or minus 2 . . . so it could also be a signal that your body is preparing for delivery. Some moms do lose weight before going into labor, but that never happened to me. I always had to lose the weight the hard way afterwards -- I don't even think I lost the baby's birthweight when it was born ! A real bummer.

Moms here can tell you their own experiences, but nurses can tell you whether to be concerned or not, because they have more knowledge and they have more experience dealing with a variety of pregnancies. So don't be afraid to ask. It's much better than having the nagging question in the back of your head and worrying about the baby. OK ? Make the call. :-)

Larissa,
I think this is normal. I lost weight a few pounds a couple of times during my pregnancy. My doctor was not alarmed. A friend of mine also lost weight during her pregnancy and was fine.

I had a somewhat similar situation, however I gained a total of 60 lbs in my pregnancy. From week 31-37 they thought my son was going to be outrageously big and I'd have to have a C-section. They were mentally prepping me for surgery and not willing to try a vaginal birth. Then around 37 weeks I started losing weight (barely, but some) and my son actually stopped gaining weight. (I was getting biweekly ultrasounds at this point.) So the last 3 weeks we both stopped gaining weight and just hung in there until he came 2 days late.

He ended up at 8lbs 12 ounces, and we were both fine after a successful vaginal birth.

Good luck and don't worry! Remember that your body will always forfeit nutrients and/or weight so that the baby is healthy... our bodies are smart enough to put the baby's health first... so if you're losing weight, it might be because the baby is just taking more from you.

I don't know that I would worry about the weight loss. Normal weight gain should be around 30 to 35 pounds. When I was pregnant with my son I was overweight to begin with but I only gained 20 pounds with him, and everything was great. He was a big boy too. 8 lbs. 8 oz. Maybe it's possible that you gained baby weight, but lost some other weight. Good luck, I hope everything goes well for you.

I think that the weightloss is totally normal-- could just be fluid. I was also not checked until 37 weeks for dilation, and since you are scheduled for a c-section they might not check you.

If you are concerned you should talk to your doctor. I think what they are doing is very normal, but they should be addressing your concerns. At 37 weeks they will do a step B test (unless they don't with schedled Cs). At the end they mostly just watch your weight to make sure you haven't gained a ton and watch your BP. It's like a 20 second visit. :-)

Don't worry about the C section-- you know much better what to expect this time and that will make it much easier.

I always lost a few lbs before going into labor. A drastic loose would be more concerning. They also didn't start checkin me for dialation till around 38-39 weeks.

Losing weight at the end of a pregnancy is VERY common. The baby is growing fast eating up all your nutrition. It is nothing to worry about.