Joy,
Interesting question... let me know if you get any private responses; a
simple yes -- the baby drops to normal curve -- or no will do!
One physician I birthed with suggested this was the case with many large
babies, as the mothers can have "borderline" gestational diabetes (i.e.
higher than normal blood sugar levels for the mother, but still in
normal range). Of course there are other reasons babies gain more in
utero than other babies, but do we really know why, exactly? Working
with mothers expecting multiples, I would love to have some research to
back up my claims that it is important to have babies grow as much as
possible because twins are not only more often born early but are
smaller than singletons even at term (and the weight differential
between singleton and multiples increases as gestation advances, if I'm
understanding what I am reading correctly)
An LC also made an interesting point. In order to "get back up to birth
weight" a large baby who loses, say, 5% of birthweight has more weight
to make up than a smaller one, and the amounts of breastmilk required
for maintenance and growth are also higher, because they are based on
body weight, right?
I don't know if all this is completely accurate, and/or if I have
understood things properly. But I know of a lot of mothers who have to
struggle more with getting large babies off to a good start than small
ones.
Jo-Anne

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