Large baby weight head and abdomen

[KMwills]

Hi All- I am a first time Mum to be (and a worrier 🙄) I’ve tried my hardest to eat well, take the vitamins I should, only use products with very little chemicals etc etc to try and curb any worry I had even paying for private scans (mostly to see the baby haha) during my 20 week scan (I found out the baby was a boy yipeeee) his head and abdomen were in the 91st centile which I had to get explained and went on my way. I’ve just had a private scan at around 27 weeks and he is now in the 95th- his predicted weight is now above the 95th and the sonographer suggested I speak to my midwife as soon as I could.

I am now panicking and upset that I have caused some sort of problem with my baby, either by my eating habits or something else, stupidly I’ve googled about his large head and it’s come up with hydrocephalus and lots of other things, I’ve had UTI’s during my pregnancy which I’ve managed to spot quickly and sort but now I’m wondering whether it’s caused anything to happen?!
Has anyone got any advice on this I am worried sick and upset... which I know may sound daft to some 😢
Thank you xx

Congratulations!

Honestly - babies come in all shapes and sizes. A higher centile doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong; just that baby is one of the bigger ones. Just like grown ups - some of us are tall, some of us are wider etc.

Both of dcs were on the 90s for head size. They’ve just got big heads like their parents.

You should be seeing your midwife regularly anyway?

If everything is roughly the same size, that sounds like a good sign doesn't it? The scans aren't even that accurate, my baby was 2kg lighter than they predicted he would be.

I didn't even eat particularly healthily, I certainly didn't avoid any particular chemicals (it's not like I'm working in heavy industry or anything so...) and my baby is perfectly fine. A lot of this stuff is really overplayed to be honest. I see a lot of women torturing themselves because they ate a McDonalds during pregnancy or gave their baby white bread instead of wholemeal and honestly, it's really all fine.

I read somewhere recently that a baby is not a machine that you put perfection into and get perfection out of. You can do everything perfectly and still end up with a psychopath baby lol. It's best to just try and let go of the need to control everything a little or you will end up driving yourself crazy.

Phillippa Perry is great on this kind of stuff.

Thank you both, I’ve deffo eaten what I’ve wanted with the added good stuff as well hahaa I just don’t know what’s normal during this whole process it’s all a bit confusing and google never helps!!!

Thank you again xx

Have you been tested for gestational diabetes? That’s usually something they’re concerned about when a baby’s tummy is in the higher percentiles.

That’s what I have to call the midwife about today- haven’t had my test for that as of yet, so that may be the issue 🤷🏼‍♀️ X

These scans can be easily out on sizes, my last baby measured similar and gestational diabetes kicked in within the last trimester, diet controlled and born at 8 pounds 7. She is still a chunky monkey but no need to worry about her not gaining enough weight like my first born!
I'd just eat wholegrains instead of white stuff, higher protein based snacks and smaller portions but more often for now and then you'll probably have a gtt around 28 weeks

My baby had to have regular checks as his head was so big- I was reassured at every stage that it was most likely genetic. He was a big baby born- over ten pound, and had creases over his head where he'd been crushed a bit to get through the birth canal. Then over the next few weeks it all smoothed out into a head like a bowling ball!

He's absolutely fine, though. No problems at all.

My nephew was just off the scale for weight and AC.

SIL was advised to have a c section due to size. So many extra scans etc.

He was born at 8lb 4oz and looked perfectly beautiful.

Really wouldn’t worry. Congratulations on baby.

Thank you all so much!!! It’s just such a scary process isn’t it? Congratulations on all the happy babies! I can’t wait for him to get here with all his chub 😂😂

Two of my children measured big in the abdomen and head all through pregnancy. As a result I had a few extra scans to keep an eye on it and a gestational diabetes test. But the nurse who did it told me that such a small percentage of people actually have gestational diabetes but they test lots of women as a precaution. They were more relaxed the second time I was getting the big measurements as the previous child with them had been fine. Measurements in utero can also be misleading. My sons came out and were completely average and I know quite a few women who were told they had big babies and they weren’t once they came out. Best to check out all eventualities of course but try not to worry, it’s very normal to get these kind of measurements.

You can never really tell too much from scans. With DD a scan at 35 weeks indicated that her weight had shot up, there was talk of inducing early as she was 'so big'. In the end she was born 2 weeks overdue at 7lb12. With DS I had the opposite - restricted growth, multiple extra scans and talk of getting him out early again. He was born a week early at 7lb4.
Ultimately if he's measuring 95th centile then 5% of babies are bigger than this, so it's not that unusual. Try not to worry, babies come in lots of sizes!

I’d look back at yours and your partners records if you can.

I had my 20 week scan last week and my baby has a small head, 30th percentile and a small abdomen 35 percentile but had very long legs!! 85th percentile.

Tbh that is the exact same body shape as me. I wear a child’s bike helmet and am tall but like a bean pole. People and babies come in all shapes and sizes x

They told me my son would be over 10lbs and he was 6.5lbs. They told me dd was roughly 8lbs and she was 11.4lbs.

Scans are not accurate whatsoever.

My first measured really big on a scan, they said that they were so concerned about his stomach and head circumference that it might lead to shoulder dystocia and wanted me to seriously consider a C-section. He was born 7lb4oz, so not the monster baby they said he would be!!

I wouldn't worry at all. I know that's easy to say, especially when it's your first and it's normal to worry about everything, but the scans aren't an exact science at all and are frequently wrong - as you can see from the other replies on this thread!!

The scans can be very inaccurate. I had upteen growth scans with DD and was told repeatedly I was having a small baby. She was born at 40+1 at 8lb 3oz.

Yes speak to your MW but try not to worry too much.

Babies tend to grow head down so head circumference and abdomen tend to be on a higher percentile than the rest of the body.
Also the measurements can be way off

My DS measured like this all the way through. I was induced at 38.5 weeks (not just because he was big) and he was born on 99.6th centile at 9lb 10oz. I did wonder what on earth he would have got to if I'd gone a few weeks overdue as he was putting on about 8oz every 2 weeks. Speak to your midwife if concerned but they won't do a lot, they don't tend to induce for large babies now, they're no more difficult to squeeze out.

Thank you all again for your advice and helpful stories! Spoke to MW today and she didn’t seem concerned and said this is the problem with private scans, I would’ve been none the wiser if I hadn’t had this done- and explained every lady and every baby are different, they’re testing me for GD anyway so we shall see! This has really helped what a lovely place to be able to vent/share concerns 💛

Glad they're testing you for GD, that should've reassuring and also glad that you're finding MN useful