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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

How accurate are birth weight predictions?

49 replies

Potteryprincess30 · 04/03/2018 15:53

Just that really, mine is predicted as 7 pound 8 (due wednesday) but my last daughter was only 6 and a half pounds. ]

This is just from a scan last week and it does seem these measurements are fairy unpredictable, but how unpredictable?

Are we talking pounds different to reality or fairly close to predicted weight?

OP posts:

Happyland8 · 04/03/2018 16:52

They say the growth scans can be +/- 10%

My first DD was plotted on the 75th centile on 4 separate growth scans and was born (40+4) on the 9th centile, only 6lb 3oz. So in my experience, the scans were very inaccurate.

Original poster

Potteryprincess30 · 04/03/2018 16:58

@Happyland8 so was this off more then 10 percent? It's my second but last was 8 years ago so really don't understand what 'centile' is, I keep hearing it but not sure what it means!

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Original poster

Potteryprincess30 · 04/03/2018 17:01

I googled 75th centile and can see this means your daughter was supposed to be bigger then 75% of other babies so coming out just over 6 pounds (similar weight to my last daughter actually) is so much smaller!

OP posts:

Happyland8 · 04/03/2018 17:05

Babies are plotted on a chart. The 50th centile would be the average weight for a baby of that gestation or age. 100th centile would generally be the biggest weight for a baby of that age and 0 would be the smallest weight. My daughter was plotting on the 75th which would have made her quite a large baby (just under 9lbs) and she was only 6lb 3oz, so that's much, much more than 10% out.

ANother27 · 04/03/2018 17:08

My DS was predicted to be around 10lb at 36 week growth scan.... he was born 4 days before his due date from induction and was 9lb 3oz... we knew he was gonna be a big baby anyway cause he always measured big but obviously it was quite far out

Original poster

Potteryprincess30 · 04/03/2018 17:09

@Happyland8 yes after my google I estimated around 9 pounds. That is a big difference

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RandomMess · 04/03/2018 17:10

Told my baby was average and I measured small for dates, 10lb 6oz...

They are just a rough guideline and only useful to compare to your own recent scans I reckon.

BikeRunSki · 04/03/2018 17:13

DS was predicted to be “at lleast 9lb maybe nine and a half”. He was 7lb 10oz. Midwife also missed that he was footling breech.

Same midwife told me that DD was likely to be tiny. She was 7lb 3oz.

I do not have much faith in birth weight predictions.

M5tothesouthwest · 04/03/2018 17:14

I had a growth scan at 37 weeks as I was measuring 5 weeks behind.
They estimated baby weight as 7lb at that point and he was 8lb7oz when born at 40+3. They reckon baby puts on about 1/2 lb /week during the last few weeks, so it was pretty accurate.

lovewatchingrainfall · 04/03/2018 17:16

For me not very. I had a scan at 40+2 baby was meant to be 7lb 2 and she came out massive 9lb 8 a couple of days later

BarryTheKestrel · 04/03/2018 17:21

I was measuring small, at 39+3 growth scan they said 6lb7. She was born at 41+3 8lb7. So very far out in my case.

guessthisisnormal · 04/03/2018 17:22

My sister was told her baby would be tiny ( 4lb 3 was there estimate) and they induced her at 36 weeks baby weighed 6 lb 5 her previous were in there 7lbs and 8 lbs brackets.
We were told out last baby was going be averaged size ( even though I doubted this as I had hardly any bump) she was born weighing 5 lb 10.
Previous baby's weighed 7lb 13 lightest and 9 lb 6 heaviest.

happytobemrsg · 04/03/2018 17:25

3 weeks before I had DS he measured 5lb 10z. When he was born he weighed 5lb 5oz

Whatififall · 04/03/2018 17:28

I was told DD was measuring small, not small enough to worry about but I clearly remember the midwife saying she'll be lucky to hit 6lbs when I was at my 38 week check. DD was 8lbs13 and 91st centile.

Loyaultemelie · 04/03/2018 17:52

With dd2 she was predicted to be 9.5-10lbs at my 38week scan. I was surprised as my bump was small and dd1 has been a tiny preemie. I was having difficulty convincing consultant to go ahead with VBAC due to her size. Nope 6lb 13 born (induced) on due date.

RedPandaMama · 04/03/2018 17:54

I was told DD was 7lbs when I went for movement monitoring at 38 weeks, she was born at 42 weeks at 7lb 6oz so seems reasonably accurate

reallybadidea · 04/03/2018 17:59

They were almost 3.5lbs out with ds3 who was born at 10lbs 13oz and not the predicted 7lbs 8oz

nbee84 · 04/03/2018 18:01

I'd always thought the scans were quite accurate as at 40+9 I was told ds would be 3.4kg and he arrived the next day weighing 3.41kg. I've since read that they are often quite far out and realised mine was down to luck really.

daisydalrymple · 04/03/2018 18:05

I was induced at 36.5 weeks with dc3, as he was looking small, he was 7lb 2.5oz 3.5 weeks early.

Dd was 9lb 9oz and I’d been told she was looking to be average weight.

PastramiAndRye · 04/03/2018 18:14

DD1 was looking to be well over 10lb so I was induced at 41w. She was 7lb 10oz

Bear2014 · 04/03/2018 18:20

They can be out by 20%. I was told DS was projected to be 9lb3 at full term and he was actually 11lb1 at 39+4

Bigpizzalover · 04/03/2018 18:23

DS I was told was going to be 8-9lb, he was born at 39+6 weighing 5lb 13oz....

Because of a small birth weight I had growth scans in my next pregnancy where they estimated she would be like DS, maybe 6 and a half lbs at a push - she was born at 8lb 11oz

laurzj82 · 04/03/2018 18:49

Not very. DD was predicted to be at least 9 and a half pounds. She was 6lb 13!

Rainshowers · 04/03/2018 18:50

I had a growth scan at 36 weeks and it put DD2 at 6lb 13oz so I was terrified that she'd be 8/9lb by delivery, especially as I went 4 days overdue. She was 7lb 2oz so nowhere near the predictions! They're really not very accurate (didn't stop me worrying though!)

Original poster

Potteryprincess30 · 04/03/2018 19:07

@BikeRunSki I can see why you don't have much faith in these predictions (more like 'premonitions'). This just seems to be yet another worry created for pregnant women that encourages early inductions or interference. And yet the real concern of a breech was missed .

I can see there will always be a small amount of cases these things are necessary for the majority these predictions seems to create so much undue anxiety.

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