To think our baby surely can't be THAT big??

[nextdoornightmares]

Posting here for traffic mostly but also feeling a bit 😬 and looking for people who have experienced similar (and can maybe tell me the hospital got it wrong)

Basically I'm 27 weeks pregnant, 4th baby, and have been told I'm measuring 30 weeks by fundal height which I initially disregarded until I had a scan today and they told me baby was measuring 2lb 10oz putting him on the 91st centile line. I don't have big babies generally. The rest of them have been on the smaller side although our twins were premature they were still just below average for gestation up until they were born and our 3rd baby was only 6lb 13oz when she was born at 39 weeks.

Is there any chance they've got this wrong?They only use abdomen and head measurements at this hospital. They don't also use the femur length for growth scans.
There has been some chat of gestational diabetes and I have a GTT on Monday!

Growth scans were very accurate for my baby (thankfully not a big baby). They were also very accurate for other women I know (one poor woman had a 10lb baby and her growth scans were accurate). Apparently the scans are less accurate when you're close to giving birth, but you're only 27 weeks.

I was told to expect 9- 10lb baby and had 7lb baby! Think they are notoriously wrong

I had a growth scan as measuring small. At the scan baby supposedly measured on the 13th percentile. He was born 2 weeks later on the 67th and has quickly made it up to the 96th!

Nah wouldn't worry. My surgeon for my c section held and poked the baby pre and post birth, said it was big, over 10lb, it wasn't. Its a finger in the air.. mine were bigger than yours though at 8.7lb, 9lb and 8.1lb. squishy babies are delish btw 😁 and it really doesn't matter at the end of the day. Congrats OP, you've got this (and thanks for now planting a seed that a 4th isn't an absent thing anymore...trying so hard not to be broody now my littlest is nearly 2!! 😀)

I think even by today’s standards that growth scans are to be taken with a massive pinch of salt. I was told my DS would be a huge 10lb+ baby and he was in fact 7lb 11.5oz and could only fit into tiny baby sizes. We had to go out and buy all new clothes as the rest absolutely swamped him because we thought we wouldn’t need to buy any newborn sizes.

I was told my DD was the 97th percentile and she was 7lb at 39 weeks.

Yes, I agree with most posters. Somewhat inaccurate. I have a 10lbs2oz boy (week late - 12 hours, but horrendous at end, ventouse, forceps etc.) a 9lbs girl (week late - never knew I was in labour 🙄1 hour labour once realised !) 9lbs13 girl (week late but induced so horrible pain, 3 hours labour) and 8lbs13oz boy (3 weeks early, induced due to previous fast labours and him expected to be 11lbs plus and not getting head down, weight issue was probably fair enough, again, hated induction, 8 hours labour (epidural)) All were a bit off the scale for weight, and in reality they were big babies.

I think the two things you have to watch are GD, must get that sorted, and also if they are channelling you down a road you don't want to go on. I resent being pressurised into being induced for the last two, but they put the fear of god in me. It was not a great process. It is 18 years ago now, but I had to stay in hospital the night before (no sleep) and once it gets going, the pain is continual for hours, and completely different to labour pains, which are painful but they come and go, and you can have gas and air to relieve them. I wish I had waited for both. You've been here before, so you will have a better idea than a 1st one. Good luck xx

I don’t mean this to belittle what sounds like an absolutely horrific experience in any way and I agree the OP should have the GTT to be sure about GD…but if she doesn’t have GD there is no reason to think she will grow a baby too big for her to give birth to. I was 9st at term with my son and I’m 5ft tall. He was 10lb6.5oz and I had him with no issues. My family just make large babies.

Your family might make large babies, mine almost killed me. The reason for that is because it was constantly swept under the carpet how big he was. It should be taken seriously. You sound like many people I know whose birth was fine and you just write off anyone else’s bad experiences. Good job my son also survived after 9 weeks in NICU with sepsis that almost killed him too. Like I said she should be checked for GD. I was 8 1/2 stone at term because I lost weight during pregnancy- again something I asked the midwives to look into and they didn’t. If I had known about more bad experiences I might of pushed more for investigation and had an ELCS - but I trusted the midwifery team and shouldn’t have.

I was tested for GD as my son was apparently massive, on the 98th percentile. I didn't have it and he was born at 37 weeks weighing 6lbs 12oz! He is a very tall two year old now, though.

Was told that my first baby would be no more than 8lbs, she weighed 10 lbs 14. I had to more children and they checked me for GD at least three times on each pregnancy as they were convinced I had GD, I didn't. Second DD was 10 lbs 7 and two days early and my son was 11lbs 8 and 8 days early. All c sections. Scans, midwifes, nurses, doctors all estimated wrong weights.

Great that you're having another scan. I'd heard people say they could be unreliable but didn't really understand what they meant until in one of mine the sonographer showed exactly how they do it and how the baby's position and other factors can affect it. We're talking of mm differences that can put you at opposite ends of the centile scale!

It was that sonographer who first picked up on the fact that DD was very small - off the chart by at least one measurement. A few days later I had a scan with a consultant at a much larger hospital that was better known for its maternity department. That consultant said DD was bang on average and even having repeated the measurements several times there was no way any of them were smaller than average.

Had another scan with the original sonographer a few weeks later and DD still very small, with growth slowing. I ended up delivering at 36 weeks with pre-eclampsia. DD was just about 4lb and the placenta was in a terrible way.

As far as I'm concerned, the more opportunities for scanning, the better! All the best, OP - I hope the remainder of your pregnancy goes smoothly 💐

Right up until the delivery of my son the surgeon and drs were all saying that my son was going to be big and at least 10.5 lbs. I was shi*ng myself . It turned out he was just 7lbs11 and they were amazed! My bump was enormous though and I could t put my arms around it so it did seem like he would be big! With my youngest child I had no real bump and lost weight in pregnancy but she was my biggest baby at 8lbs2!

as I said at the very beginning, this wasn’t meant to belittle, but to give balance that sometimes big babies are just part of your genetics, which sound be considered when making decisions about the kind of birth you want. I’m absolutely NOT disregarding bad births. I’m advocating for measured consideration based on each persons individual circumstance.

At my 37wk scan I was told mine was only measuring at 5lb so they wanted me to have an induction. I said no. Little one born at 38 weeks at 6lb7oz. Id take it with a pinch of salt, as you can see from all your replies, most have been wildly out😅

I was told to expect a baby of well over 9lb, she was a week over due and barely 7lb I think growth scans are scaremongering bullshit I've declined them with my subsequent pregnancies

Growth scans late in pregnancy are more likely to be inaccurate. OP was only 27 weeks when she had her scan so hers is more likely to be accurate. Babies also grow 1/2lb to a 1lb a week at the end of your pregnancy so your scan was only slightly off.

My consultant, at 35 weeks when I asked him how big this baby was going to be, said 9.1ilb

i asked as he was offering elected c section and I opted for VBAC

she was 9.1.5ilb at 39+2

For me the scans were completely inaccurate.
My first was predicted to be 7.7lb, he was 9lb (birth was fine)
My second I had extra scans and quizzed about my calorie intake because she was ‘too small’, she was 8lb 1oz.

Thought I'd pop on and give an update (not that it's remotely interesting to most people I'm sure 🤣)

I ended up having my GTT and growth scan quite a bit later than the initial appointments. But, I don't have gestational diabetes.

As for the growth scan. That was the other day and they're still saying baby is measuring on the 95th line for head, abdomen and femur and is currently about 4 and a half lbs so probably about double that when born. However, the midwife says I'm measuring right on track for the fundal height measurement.

So...🤷🏻‍♀️

My 2nd kid was induced in part because he was measuring under the percentile lines and we had lots of extra scans and worry during the pregnancy. Induced, then 12 hours and 7lbs 12 worth of baby later we agreed he was probably going to do ok.

I had this happen. First was around 7lb and overdue so didn't expect second to be much different.

2nd had a huge belly all the way from 20 weeks to 35 weeks then suddenly femur was too short and belly went backwards, another scan showed femur now okay but belly was all over the place and head was now jumping forwards several weeks.
So then I was told they wanted baby out at 37 weeks. Fortunately baby decided to evacuate of own accord at 37 weeks anyway and was just under 7lb - so likely would of been around 9lb by 40 weeks! But baby has no unusual growth issues, has always been big for age though! No GD either.

I'm 38 weeks and baby has been around 90th centile give or take depending on the sonographer since my 28 week growth scan. I had to have a GD test which was negative thankfully, but other than that they said it's not 100% accurate and they wouldn't worry unless you were over the 95th centile anyway

My daughter was on the 97th centile.. First born was on 75th...

At 32 weeks the consultant told me that DD would be over 10lb by 39 weeks based on measurements. She was born at 41 weeks and 4 days weighing 8lb 10oz. All babies cook differently and they didn't get the memo about conforming to "centiles" (that were no doubt thought up by men).