Large fetus during pregnancy: causes and consequences

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Among our grandmothers and mothers, there is an opinion that a child born with a large weight is a "hero", "strong man" and so on. In fact, this is not an indicator of good he alth. A large fetus during pregnancy is one of the pathologies that can lead to a number of complications for the he alth of a woman and a child, as well as problems during childbirth.

What is a large fruit?

In order to dispel the fear of expectant mothers and define the concept of this pathology, we clarify that a large fetus (or macrosomia) is the intrauterine development of a child, which differs from normal development in terms of indicators. With macrosomia, the development of the fetus is ahead of the norms established for a specific period. At birth, children with this diagnosis will weigh more than four kilograms. In addition to weight, the height of the child also increases. Normal is 48-54 centimeters. Children with macrosomia are over 56 centimeters tall. Sometimes they are even born with a height of 70 centimeters.

If at birth a child weighs five or more kilograms, then this is called giantThe birth of a giant baby is a very rare occurrence that occurs once in several thousand births.

A large fetus comes with a number of risks that you need to be aware of and that can be prevented in time.

Signs

Symptoms that make a woman suspect that she has a large fetus may appear in the middle of pregnancy. The circumference of the abdomen of the expectant mother is noticeably increasing every day. It is worth noting that this may not always be a large child. An increase in the circumference of the abdomen can be polyhydramnios, which is also quite common.

During pregnancy, you need to clearly control your weight. That is the indicator of a large child.

Normal weight gain for a pregnant woman

Up to 20 weeks	700 grams per week
20 to 30 weeks	400 grams per week
Weeks 30 to 40	350 grams per week

In addition to your own weight, you should monitor the growth and weight gain of the baby. Modern ultrasound machines provide this information.

The rate of increase in height and weight of the child

Pregnancy term weekly	Baby weight, gram	Child growth, centimeters
20th week	320 grams	25cm
24th week	700 grams	32cm
28th week	1300 grams	38cm
34th week	2700 grams	46cm
40th week	3500 grams	52cm

The gynecologist can make the most accurate diagnosis only closer to the beginning of the third trimester. It is during this period that one can judge by the circumference of the abdomen: if the waist of the expectant mother already exceeds 100 centimeters, then the doctor assumes the presence of a large fetus. After that, the pregnant woman is sent for an ultrasound to rule out polyhydramnios. In addition, a few more activities need to be done a few weeks before the due date:

• find out the weight of the child on ultrasound;
• pass a blood test for glucose tolerance and a mandatory visit to an endocrinologist;
• limit or stop taking anabolics (drugs aimed at enhanced formation and renewal of new cells and tissues);
• get rid of flour, sweets and other foods that have carbohydrates and fats;
• do therapeutic exercises every day.

Important advice for all moms-to-be! You should not start to panic and get upset if you find out from a big baby. It is important to correctly analyze the possible causes of a large fetus during pregnancy. If the reason is nutrition - exhausting yourself with diets is very dangerous for the baby and for the mother. At the same time, excessive nervousness can lead to premature birth, which can also lead to a lot of consequences.

In addition, frequent nervous situations can affectfurther psychological state of the child: he can be born very restless. In this situation, you need to trust the doctors and impeccably adhere to all recommendations.

Reasons

It should immediately dispel the myth for people with a large physique. You can often hear that if the parents are not small, then why would a child be born a three-kilogram baby. In this case, heredity does not play any role. The general type of figure is passed on to the child much later. Therefore, if the doctor said on an ultrasound scan that a woman has a large fetus, this is not because of the full physique of her or the father of the child. A baby cannot inherit a dense constitution even in utero.

The causes of a large fetus during pregnancy can be several factors, knowing about which in advance, you can prevent the risk of falling into this category.

Wrong food

One of the main causes of a large fetus is precisely overeating during pregnancy. Increased appetite is quite normal. This is due to the fact that the child is growing and also requires food. In utero, the baby receives the necessary substances for growth from the mother's food.

Very often pregnant women face the problem of constant hunger throughout the day. Trying to drown it out, the expectant mother constantly eats. This is what contributes to the weight gain of both the baby and the mother. As you know, after giving birth, it is very difficult for a mother to get rid of extra pounds.

Therefore, forso that the child does not rapidly gain weight, the expectant mother should follow a diet. And with a feeling of hunger that will occur between meals of the main meal, you should choose low-calorie snack foods. It can be vegetables, diet bread, yogurt, cottage cheese or fruit.

Medicines

Due to individual characteristics during pregnancy, some women are prescribed certain medications. If during pregnancy there are problems with the preservation of the child or with insufficient uteroplacental blood flow, special drugs are prescribed to preserve the pregnancy. It is these drugs that can cause a large fetus to develop. When using various drugs, the expectant mother is observed by a gynecologist, so any changes are recorded and canceled if they have a negative effect on the development of the child.

Number of births

If a woman does not have her first birth, then each subsequent child is born larger than the previous one. Although a large fetus in the first pregnancy also occurs.

Sedentary lifestyle

If a pregnant woman leads a sedentary lifestyle, this also causes excess weight for both her and the child. Of course, expectant mothers need a lot of rest, but in moderation. There is fitness for pregnant women. This is a great way to lead a moderately active lifestyle, keep fit, while not harming the child.

Diabetes

BSome women develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy. It may be due to heredity. If someone in the family had diabetes, then this can be passed on to the expectant mother, since during the bearing of the child the body experiences severe hormonal disruptions.

Also, the cause of diabetes can be frequent viral and autoimmune diseases of the expectant mother. They affect the pancreas, which is responsible for the production of insulin in the human body.

Another cause of gestational diabetes can be the birth of a child in the past over 4.5 kilograms or stillbirth for unknown reasons.

Location of the placenta

If the placenta is attached to the back wall of the uterus, then the supply of nutrients is more active. Also, if it is thickened in its condition, it requires intensive intrauterine nutrition of the baby, which can cause a large fetus during pregnancy.

Postterm Pregnancy

Postterm pregnancy refers to when a woman does not give birth within fourteen days after 40 weeks. It is during this period that the child is most actively gaining weight and increasing in height. In addition, at birth, the baby has dry skin, long fingernails and toenails, no primordial lubrication, and already hardening skull bones.

Rhesus conflict

If the mother-to-be is Rh-negative and the baby is Rh-positive, there can be many consequences. One of them is fluid retention in tissues.fetus, which affects the weight of the baby.

The cause of the Rhesus conflict may be the inheritance of the father's blood type by the child. It can also occur if the mother-to-be has had a procedure such as a blood transfusion.

Consequences of a large fetus

Not in all cases, a large child can cause serious complications. But clearly the causes and consequences of a large fetus during pregnancy are accompanied by the peculiarities of bearing a child. The most severe complications that a woman may face will be in the last weeks of pregnancy: fainting, digestive problems and heavy breathing, constipation. The heavier the child, the more discomfort it provides to the mother. There may be pain in the ribs and lower back, as well as varicose veins and fainting in the supine position. In addition, the appearance of stretch marks on the skin of the abdomen, unfortunately, is almost inevitable.

Based on the causes and consequences of a large fetus in a pregnant woman, the question is raised about the method of delivery. If the expectant mother has a narrow pelvis, and the child is large, then natural childbirth is not recommended. With a large fetus, a caesarean section is the best choice.

If the baby is large, then during natural childbirth, many consequences can appear: birth injuries in the child, fistulas and tears in the mother. If the fetus is only slightly higher than normal, then you should not insist on a caesarean section. Mom will be able to give birth on her own. Moreover, with a timely identified reason why the baby is ahead of development in utero, by the end of pregnancy, its growth can becorrect.

The most important thing for a future mother is her child. Therefore, she must be calm, reasonable, listen to doctors and undergo all necessary medical examinations. Then the baby will be he althy and mom happy.