Always measured 2cm ahead, measuring 1cm behind at 38 weeks - should I be worried?

[rimsky]

Hello!

I have consistently measured big for dates all the way through my pregnancy. Saw midwife today and she measured me at 38 weeks and I'm measuring 37cm. This means my growth curve is almost flat at the moment. Surely this means my baby isn't growing?

Should this be a cause for concern? I'm not sure what to do! Keeping a very close eye on movements at the moment...

Surely your midwife would have said if there was any cause for concern? As I understood it it's normal to be 2 cm either side of what is average, so for 38 weeks anything between 36-40cm would be fine?

i think that if there was a cause for concern the midwife would have said

presume it was the same midwife that has measured you previously?

has baby changed position? i went suddenly small at around 37 weeks but baby was lying transverse that's why

a difference of 1 - 2cm is within normal range IIRC. if you are 38 weeks and measuring 37, you are sill within normal.. and palpation can be subjective so if it is a different midwife, that can be a reason and as =thisisyesterday has said, the baby changing position can affect fundal height/measuremetn

you would have been told if it was a problem

of course if you are concerned, called your MW

Hello,

I've got a similar issue atm, in that I've always measured bang on for dates up until 33 weeks, and all the way through with dc1, but for the last five weeks I've been falling behind. I'm now 35cm at 38 weeks (so maybe a similar difference as for you as you were above), and going for a growth scan tomorrow, but (and I am a bit of a panicker usually about this stuff) I really think that my fundal height is lower now because the bump has dropped and the head is more engaged.

That's a long way of saying - it seems to be a pretty normal thing to happen as they descend into your pelvis, but if you go too far off the norm I'm sure they'll look into it for you. They did say keep an eye on movements of course. Hope it's all ok.

Is the head engaged any?

I'm measuring 35 at 39 weeks, but this is within the scale for my customised growth chart (I think because I'm v tall)however it is 0cms growth since two weeks before when I also measured 35. Midwife advised that the head is now 3/5ths engaged which would account for a 'drop' in fundal height of a couple of cms so she was unconcerned.

In your situation I think I would be more worried if I continued to measure 2 cm's ahead all the way through as that could make for a big big baby! On the other hand my friend who had her baby just 2 wks ago was measuring big all along and then had a 6lb baby (full term) making a mockery of the chart/measurements, perhaps it was fluid?

Having measured well under the scale from about 25-30 ish Wks (got very very worried) then only to have a growth spurt through to 37 wks now static as explained above, I'm not so hung up about fundal height and week on week increases as I was.

Don't know if you're still following the thread, but I went for a growth scan yesterday with the similar issue to yours, and it showed that the baby is just a bit lower from being engaged, and on the small side of normal (6lb 6oz approx now), but projected to be born at just under 7lbs if at term. I'm now about 3cm behind dates. Don't know if this puts your mind at rest at all.

Thank you for all your replies! I don't feel too worried anymore as I do think the baby may have started to descend into the pelvis. The midwife seemed to think it might be, but wasn't too sure as the baby is "hard to feel". But my movements are definitely a bit lower down than usual and a bit more "central"!

Thank you for helping me through my silly fretting!