Growth Scan at nearly 40 wks - is there any point?

[YummyMummy1208]

After measuring (slightly) above the 95 centile chart ever since 28 weeks i was refered to my hospital which is a good 45 min drive from us for a general check up with one of the head midwives there, just so she could see me and sign me off as being ok.

So at the check up, which was pretty hard to get to being so heavily pregnant(38wks) and my partner being v.busy at work at the moment had to take the morning off for something all the mid wives just didnt seem too concerned about to take me there, all they did was measure my tummy again, then she sat me down and said she wasnt really too concerned as i was only measuring 39cm when the guideline says 1cm for every week pregnant you are and they allow 2cm either side of this mark which gave me a bracket of 36cm - 40cm which i was within!
But even so she said she would refer me to have a scan to rule out the possibility of too much water in there - i asked did she think there was too much water and she said no, but she wanted to be sure.

So now im due on Monday and up until now have just ruled out the idea of having to trapse all back over there for a scan which they all seem to think is unecessary but im just wondering what do you other pregnant ladies think i should have done and do you think i should have gone for the scan, i could ring them up today to arrange a scan but im thinking at this late stage what exactly are they going to do about it? they will be inducing me soon anyway if i dont go into labour and so it seems a rather over reaction for something so late on in my pregnancy?!

Advice welcome! :)

If it were me, I'd try and talk to someone (if possible the head MW you saw the other day) and get ask them the questions you've put above. How much more accurate is the scan at predicting water volume above palpation? If there is too much water, what are the possible consequences? What are the risks of those consequences happening? How will they manage your care differently if you do/don't have the scan and if it does/doesn't show excess water?

I don't know enough about the condition (I think its called Polyhydramnios, but googling these things is rarely a good idea!) to say how big the risks associated with it may be - but I'd want to know before I decided whether to accept or decline the scan.

Hope everything goes smoothly for you, whatever you decide to do :)

There can be issues with too much water so if they want to check, let them check. How would you feel if they didn't make a fuss and you went on to have problems?

It might be a ball-ache to get there but better to be sure all is well. Best of luck with your little one :)

Personally I would love a scan at this stage - I would want the peace of mind before going into labour that everything was OK. I am not sure what the timescale has to do with it - I would rather an over reaction than for something to go wrong and end up in an emergency situation. You could easily be pg for another 2 weeks yet.

I am sure you and the baby are fine, but if it was me I would go, no question. Good luck!

I think it unlikely they would do an actual growth scan at this stage - it would be very inaccurate and difficult to do, but I realise policy vries from hospital to hospital. A scan for liquor volume is not as unusual and they can tell very quickly and easily via scan whether there is too much liquor.

However, it is your decision, you need to weigh up the hassle/stress etc of going for the scan with how you would feel if there was a problem they could have picked up but didnt (however unlikely). No one else can really tell you what to do... what is your instinct? I think it is a good idea ot discuss with the mw again, is there any other reason they are concerned about your LOs welfare? Such as reduced movements or anything? Sorry, probably havent been much help.

Also, could you not go on your own to the appointment if DP is busy at work? Best he saves his time for when you go into labour.

Am going to agree they are not going to glean much about babys' actual size at this late stage.

FWIW, they have always told me my babies would be huge, they said DS3 would be 11lbs after doing a scan - he was 8lb.

I dont really feel comfortable driving all that way with my 2 year old at this stage as if i went into labour im pretty stuck what with being away from home and with my toddler so i would want my partner to drive us there or i would have to (reluctantly) drive there with my mum if needs be. I just feel that they could hugely over react and end up scaring me by saying they need to induce me or worse go for a c section if theres too much water when i could go into natural labour any day now.
How does too much water affect baby anyhow do you know?

With my first I was booked for a growth scan at 38 weeks as I was measuring 43. I hadn't wanted to go and told DH he didn't need to come as I had a previous growth scan which had turned out to be fine. I ended up having an emergency section and was dx with polyhydromnious. I would always advise to go to every check recommended and err on the side of caution.

Ok now you have totally scared me from wanting to go now! My worst fear is that il need a c section. i mean measuring 43 weeks at 38 i suppose is a cause for concern but i was only 1cm bigger than what i should have been measuring so i really dont think anything will be wrong but now im panicking about them whisking me off for a EMCS! eek!

Better than the alternative. My baby would have died without the scan. The day before he had no movements. Would rather scare you into being checked and nothing being wrong than saying I am sure all will be fine when it isn't. A check might find something wrong, it might not. Best to get checked.

Its not really that too much liquor adversely effects the baby but more that it indicates a problem with the baby i.e. the circulation of the liquor isn't what it should be so it is building up.

No one on here can tell you what you should do, but I agree with others that you should get checked out. Just ring the mw to discuss your reservations first if you want but remember she has already given you her advice so if you are wanting someone to absolve you of the responsibility of the decision she is unlikely to do so... but it might help you understand why she wants the scan.

At the end of the day the decisions about your care are up to you and you dont have to have anything done you dont want. The health professionals can only advise you and you can choose to ignore their advice. It is better they are overcautious (which they usually are) than miss something isn't it?

I hope this post doesn't sound mean, I didnt mean it to be, but I think you need to decide for yourself what you want. I wish you lots of luck and I'm sure everything will be fine whatever you decide to do.

I am sure they would not do a c-section unless it was absolutely necessary. The scan is just a precaution, isn't it - I don't want to scare you at all, it's just that if it were me I would get checked out.