Worried, baby too small at 25 weeks - any advice? experience with this?

[Samraves]

Hi there,

Just got back from my visit to the midwife, and feeling a bit upset. I am sure there is nothing to worry about, my baby has a strong heart beat and is a constant wriggler... but,
my blood pressure is low, and due to nausea I have only just got up to the weight i was before i was pregnant, and now the midwife thinks that they baby is too small - measurement of 21cm when apparently she should be around 25cm. I have been referred for growth ultra sound scans, but I have to wait 3 weeks for the appointment and 4 for an appointment with the consultant.

Just wondered if anyone else measured small, and if their baby was fine or had any problems? I don't really know what the implications of this are...

Any advice etc would be very welcome,

Thanks :(

I measured small throughout last pregnancy, was sent for numerous growth scans and told baby was fine. My midwife always said it was my build I am 5ft 10 and was a size 8, and she was adament I would have a small baby.
My DD was born 39+1 and weighed 5lb 13oz and she was healthy. She is tall now (age 3) but still on the slim side.

I am currently pregnant again and have been told they don't do measurements here now until 28 weeks, so I will have my first set next week.

Samraves - I was small for dates at 28 and 30 weeks with DD. Sent for scan and all was fine. And all continues to be fine, DD now 20 months, well over 8lbs at birth and now the biggest in her toddler group.

View was that because I was tall the baby simply had more space so the bump didn;t need to be so big. Bumps also seem to change shape and size depending on how the baby is lying, whether you've had lunch, exactly where the MW puts the tape measure etc etc

Anyway, yes, it is scary and yes there might be a reason for it. But then, it might just be One of Those Things.

Fingers crossed for you.

PS - stay away from Dr Google! (in case you were tempted...)

yes, it's worth knowing that the way the midwives measure your bump can be VERY inaccurate! Mine was 'very worried', and was booking me for scans, when my bump appeared to have got smaller. But then she re-measured and found it had miraculously grown by 2cm again...

So don't worry until you know there's a reason to - and of course, I hope there isn't: your baby is probably just fine. Good luck

Thanks for that... I am pretty small anyway, 5ft 3 and was size 8 before I got pregnant - but the midwife seemed to think that my size shouldn't make a difference.

I will take some deep breaths and try not to worry to much until the scan and see what they say. And she was moving about a lot when the midwife was trying to measure her, so maybe she is a bit bigger than the midwife thought.

I have tried not to google... but not sure how long I can last out!

Hey
I measured 4cm small for dates at 28 weeks and started to worry but the MW said that it was likely to just be down to the baby's position and my build and to just see how it went. I have slowly made up the ground and now the measurements are OK. But it's really a pretty hit and miss means of assessing you and the baby. I hope it's all fine for you.

This is why I don't like fundal height measurements, I think they cause a lot of worry, and can be inaccurate.- I have been told the opposite- I am measuring big. Last Friday, 31 weeks, was measuring 32 (and she measured me quite loosely due to spd)- by Monday the consultant measured me- and said i was 36!! So someone can't use a tape measure!.

Had a scan, all was normal.

Please don't worry, and good luck with your baby

I've never understood fundal measurements - babies come out different sizes???? I measured big throughout my preg and DD2 was 6lb 4oz.

I measured 5 weeks small for dates pretty much throughout my pregnancy. I did worry quite alot (I had numerous extra scans) but the baby was always very active which reassured me. I was induced at 35 weeks due to IUGR and my daughter was born weighing 4lb 12oz, but she was absolutely fine and is now a very healthy & happy 14 week old (albeit on the small side). Try not to worry; I'm sure that your baby will be fine!