Does the Mother’s Size Affect the Size of the Baby?
Question by maegs33: Does the mother’s size affect the size of the baby?
I’ve always heard that the mother’s size dictates the size of the baby at birth, however I’m having problem finding studies that back this factoid up.
Is anyone aware of some studies that tell us how the size of a baby is determined?
Best answer:
Answer by got2bhap_p
I couldn’t point you to any studies…I am sure it can happen that way though. BUT I can also name several people who it did not happen that way for, including myself. I started out overweight, and I was a big baby myself at 9 lbs some odd oz. My husband was 11 lbs some odd oz when he was born. I gained a ton of weight (couldn’t stop it from coming on, no matter what) and expected to have a large baby. My first daughter was born the day after her due date at 6 lbs 4 oz…so not only was she not big – but she was downright small.
This time I am on track to be having a bigger baby according to an ultrasound estimate at 31 weeks though – we shall see….
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4 Responses to Does the Mother’s Size Affect the Size of the Baby?
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Yes & no if a woman is heavy due to eating bad foods then the extra sugar intake can affect the size of the baby If she is naturally big then there is not a genetic disposition to the fact
NO way I was 97 pounds when I got pregnant and I gained 60 pounds and My son weighed 9 pounds at birth. And I lost ALL the weight within a month.Some families tend to have larger babies run in the family??
Hi’
From what I know, nobody can say for sure what determines a baby’s size.
From my personal expirience I had three: girl 6lb 7 oz, boy 9lb 4oz, girl 8lb 4 oz, all different as you can tell. I think it’s a mix of different factors: parents size, diet, lifestyle,also boys tend to be bigger than girls. I’ve added some information from the site yourbabytoday.com
“Which determines the size of a newborn: genetics or environment (meaning the intrauterine environment, or what the fetus experiences in the womb)?
Both. There’s no easy answer here, say obstetricians. Certainly the size of the baby’s parents is a factor… but only one factor. Some research even suggests that the weight of the baby’s mother at birth may be predictive of a baby’s size… although that’s still unproven.
Of course, environment plays a powerful role, too. A mother who smokes, abuses drugs, or doesn’t maintain a good diet during pregnancy, or has uncontrolled high blood pressure may deliver a smaller-than-average baby. A woman with unrecognized or uncontrolled diabetes may deliver a larger-than-average child. Illnesses and medications during pregnancy may influence a baby’s size, too.
“Our predictions at estimating fetal size are only right about 50 percent of the time,” admits obstetrician/gynecologist Richard W. Henderson, M.D., who practices in Wilmington, Delaware. “Even ultrasound isn’t accurate, so it’s a lot of guesswork. And all of us have been startled to deliver babies much larger or smaller than we’d expected them to be.”
Good Luck!
Not necessarily but possibly. A big mother that is overweight do to her eating habits may have a bigger baby because the extra calories eaten by the mother go also to the baby.
If you are overweight you have a higher chance of developing gestational diabetes and this has been a known cause for bigger babies.
I do this. That an overweight mom is at greater risk if the baby is large. A C-section on a big mom is more difficult and dangerous then on a smaller mom.
http://www.babyfit.sparkpeople.com/articles.asp?id=698 Here is one of many articles I have found