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Fundal height - over cautious midwife?

6 replies

Flamingo84 · 26/05/2018 23:18

Hi all,
I had my 25 week midwife appointment at 25+5. The midwife wasn’t the usual one I see and she was a bit odd to be honest. During the appointment she measured my bump and it came out as 25cm.

I was under the impression that anything between 23cm and 27cm was fine. But she looked at the chart and said I was measuring small and needed a referral for a scan.

Does this seem right?

OP posts:

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rubyroot · 26/05/2018 23:24

I cant remember what it should be, your graph will tell you.

the measurements are hardly ever accurate anyhow, but go with the extra scan- will be great to see your baby again :)

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TellMeDinosaurFacts · 26/05/2018 23:27

Almost everyone I know has ended up being referred by a midwife at some point in a pregnancy because their bump was to small / not growing fast enough / too big / growing too fast (the latter was me and I blame the mince pies as it was over Xmas). I really don’t think they’re very accurate. But as the pp said, go and enjoy the extra scan!

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user1488622199 · 26/05/2018 23:30

Happened to me. Midwife was a different one to my usual midwife and said it was probably because she measures in a different way but better safe than sorry! It doesn’t seem to be the most accurate measurement but as others have said, nice chance for a look at the baby. My perfectly healthy sized son is snoring away beside me

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OneBiscuitAtATime · 26/05/2018 23:32

The graph will show the percentile for your week and that is how they make the decision. With DS1 I was measured by two midwifes two days apart, the first said small, the second was a bit firmer at finding the pubic bone and said I was normal. This time I was measuring small according to the midwife’s measurement a couple of weeks ago but the scan showed a perfectly average baby, bag on the 50th centile.

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Bluebirdsky · 27/05/2018 00:20

If you have a personalised growth chart then the measurement will be specific to you rather than just '23-27cm' I am not saying this means there is definitely a problem, fundal measurement is notoriously inaccurate but she was probably following protocol by referring you.
Having said that I think it's policy in a lot of Trusts to not even start measuring until 28 weeks.

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Flamingo84 · 27/05/2018 09:44

Thanks everyone! I’m not going to worry about it then and I’ll just enjoy getting another scan.
I get the impression that it’s not the most accurate way of doing it and I was surprised she measured me this week as some other pregnant friends weren’t measured until their 28wk appt. It also wasn’t a personalised chart, just the NHS one and I’ve always been petite which probably hasn’t helped!
Thanks for the advice.