Measuring bump...what if you're...cuddly.. you begin with?

[HeidiHole]

Hi, I have my 24 week check up next week and I think she is going to measure the bump.

Just curious but how does this work, I'm a size 18 so plenty of fat on the ol' stomach anyway.

Surely my tummy plus baby is going to equal a hell of a lot more than a size 10 tummy plus baby?

Just seems like it will be wildly inaccurate? I'm imagining her tape measure not being long enough to fit :)

Anyone know how this works that they expect to be able to make a direct comparison between someone who started off with a big tummy and someone who started off with a wee tummy?

[HeidiHole]

oops title should say to begin with not you begin with

[igggi]

I don't know the answer, but am in much the same position myself so keen to see what others come up with!
Midwives seem to be able to feel top and bottom of baby when they are poking in there, so I don't think they just go by the circumference!

[staylucky]

Midwife is feeling for your uterus so will measure from your public bone to the top of your womb, it generally measures about the same for most ladies as far as I know and is a good indication that growth is as it should be.

[NorthernGirlie]

I worried too (I'm a size 16) about this but they just 'push down' a bit hard to find the top of your uterus / pubic bone - wasn't an issue :)

Had a few coments from the sonogropher about my 'high BMI' making it difficult for her to scan me though - just be prepared with gritted teeth if that happens :)

[BillyBollyBandy]

I have been an 18 with both my pregnancies and have measured bang on throughout, and had 1 baby on 50 percentile and one on 75th.

Have no idea how it works as such, but each midwife will measure you slightly differently so it isn't an exact science anyway.

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

I don't buy this at all. I was a 20-22 before I got pg both times. I know from the amount of flab left on my belly that it wasn't just uterus she was measuring. She might well have measured from top of uterus to pelvic bone but unless she went in through the skin she would have had to incorporate that flab into her measurements. There's no way round it.

[goingmadtrying]

I've been big with all my pregnancies and never had a problem, once your bump gets established your extra will be stretched over the bump, i still had a little flabby bit at bottom of bump but never had problems with measurements. I've always been a size 18-20! also I've never had problems with scan just realised mmyself pics not as clear as skinny Minny friends! don't worry :)

[heartmoonshadow]

Im large and my consultant has said that measurements on any woman can be unreliable so she has booked me for a 35 week scan. However weirdly she has said scans are often out a 1lb or so either side so all in all it is guesswork/estimates until the baby is born.

It amazes me with all the technological advances in science and medicine how there are so many unknown variables in pregnancy in general. I suppose its because they can only observe and not actually test on pregnant women.

[Caudy]

I am having a couple of growth scans to accomodate this. My community mw dudnt see the point as she reckons ii measure fine. But hospital organised it. Im not complaining i get to see baby wiggle about on screen some more

[Biscuitsandtea]

I asked a mw about this just last week (how she could tell away was baby related and what was mince pie related ) and she said that the beauty of the tape measure method is that it doesn't make any difference how big you are to start with. She said something like they were measuring how much the uterus had risen? But like someone else said, I'd have thought they are still going round the outside of my ample tum? But then again I guess my bump doesn't feel flabby round the main bit of it. My flabby bits are still hanging around at the bottom of the bump, waiting to be called back into action once the baby is out, but everything across the bump seems pretty tight / spread out.

I was measuring ahead according to this hospital mw and my community mw last time she measured me, so they did a scan and the baby is indeed measuring a bit big so the 'big bump' was baby not chocolate and biscuits.

[Hajdeby]

I was a size 16-18 for my second pregnancy and if it caused any problems I was unaware of it, they didn't measure me any differently than they did for my first when I was a size 10-12.

Though a colleague was about a size 26-28 for her pregnancy and she had to have extra growth scans because of her size making it hard for the MW to properly palpate and measure her bump.

[cutegorilla]

I'm fat and I did measure big for all 3 of my pg. 1st one I wasn't as fat and measured 1cm ahead (got sent for scans), 2nd was fatter and measured 2 cm ahead (nobody batted an eyelid) and 3rd I was fattest and measured 2-3 cm ahead (nobody was bothered again). 1st and 3rd babies were 50ish centile, 2nd was bigger. 3rd had loads of water though.

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

Well there is that I guess. The glorious image of my fat being shunted to the sides of my bump! :o

[melliebobs]

Well the chart they plot on is based on the height/weight/BMI you were at booking/dating scan so it will be relevant to you. An I don't know about anyone else's midwife but I found it quite uncomfortable as she really pressed down hard to get my uterus which was hiding under the fat!

Saying that though I've had 8 different mw measure me so there will always be inaccuracy so I take it with a pinch f salt

[BelleRomford74]

I have had this same query for past few weeks.. My MW said I was measuring about 2 weeks ahead & wanted me to have a growth scan. I personally did'nt feel I was that big, I know I am not carrying a neat little basket ball bump but as a generous 14 previous to pregnancy I did'nt expect to. The following week she said she was still measuring me big so I agreed to have a growth scan.. (I did say, I could'nt see how measuring bump with a tape measure was at all accurate, as bump is different shape every day & as she was probably including my fat in that measurement!!) & I was right!!!!! Growth scan revealed a Mr Average baby!! Weight & length is totally bang on the middle of average!! I think you will know by your own body if your carrying a whopper!!

[Caudy]

Yeah my scans so far have all been on or around the 50% so i aint worried and just taking advance of extra scans :)

[Emsgale]

id say measuring of the tummy is pretty in accurate to be honest my tummy measures spot im on 29+2 but my growth scans all measure the baby at about 25 weeks size wise.
my friend was sent for a growth scan as bump measured small she was told in tbe scan that the baby was actually v big 95th centile could be about 13lbs at birth!!!
ems x

[Oeisha]

A lot of what they're looking for is an increase or decrease in the centile chart (so, if you've been bang on 50% and then drop to 40 or up to 60 between appointments they'll be concerned), but yes, otherwise, it's partly witchcraft guesswork, and yes, they may adjust according to flabby bits (but not usually) or if you'e reporting significant weight gain/loss. But, it's mainly to track growth, so each individual measurement should be taken in context of the others in a trend, along with taking a decent history on every visit.
Take into account that the centile charts work on average populous, so if DH or you is tall or is naurally very big, then this may bias baby's centile due to inheriting those traits. DH is very tall, and I'm measuring at 65th-68th centile, and baby heas measured with long legs at 12 and 20wks, so this will be biasing things, but have stayed between 65-68th centile (and am currently waiting impatiently for her to come out).