Anyone carrying a baby with a tiny head?

[sh77]

Following on from the massive head thread, is anyone carrying a baby with head measurements around the 10th centile? I have been told not to worry but can't help it....

Hi sh77. How far along are you? At my 20 wk scan, bubs' head measurement was in about the 5th centile while the other measurements were about 50th centile. Had to go back for another scan at 24 wks and were really worried, but by then he'd caught up to more like 35th centile. As hard as it is not to worry, do try to remember that 10th centile is still in the 'normal' range, and if the sonographer/doctor/midwife aren't concerned there's unlikely to be an issue - they tend to err on the side of caution.

I don't know what my Ds1's head was when he was in utero, but after he was born his head was on the .9th centile. His height was 50th, weight 25th and as I said, head .9th. (this was one of his early checks)

You wouldn't look at him and think OMG that baby has a small head, he was just petite. He is nearly 4 now and his head is probably still smaller than his peers but it certainly isn't noticeable. I probably had a thread on it on here at the time. The HV and the GP were not remotely concerned about this, the Dr did a face when I tearfully asked him about it.

DS, is quite clever amongst his peers, so it appears he does have a brain in there!

HTH

Here is my original thread.

DS had a 9nth centile head at birth. He's now 6 and wears adult sized hats

Thank you so much for your replies.

At 20 weeks head was below 10th centile and everything else pretty normal. Consultant (not my normal one) said it was "very abnormal", which freaked me out and told me to come back at 23 wks for a follow up.

I couldn't wait 3 weeks so went for a private scan at 21 weeks - all head measurements were bang on normal. I had it with a world specialist in fetal medicine (Kypros Nicolaides - highly recommended) so that put my mind at ease.

Went for my 23 week scan yesterday. Again, head measurements were near 5th centile (everything else normal). I was told not to worry as this was still in the normal range and that baby's growth was progressing well and on same centile). I think both hospitals must have been using different growth standards. My usual consultant wasn't worried.

I am very slim and so am not expecting a big baby. But, I have a very difficult obstetric history (i neo-natal death and 2 miscarriages) and so a normal outcome seems far away for me.

Thanks luna

I can very much see why you are worrying then and don't want to offer you a platitude, but I bet there is nothing to worry about, and yes the 5th centile is normal.

Lunafire just reminded me that my DS is also wearing an adults hat .

Fingers crossed he/she will make the journey down the birth canal a bit quicker with their teeny head

Good luck x

Hi, my baby is small too - its head and abdominal size at the 20 week scan barely scraped in to the "normal zone". Bizarrely, the femur length is bang on the middle of "normal".

I'm not worried. I guess I'm naturally a pragmatist but I fail to see what I can do to make it grow. I'm making sure I eat well and take my vitamins and otherwise what will be will be.

I don't think stressing about it will help my baby or yours. They'll check at the next scan (I have an extra one at 24 weeks like you). But I just wanted to let you know that you aren't alone.

I'm not going to tell you that your baby will "catch up" although it may well, or that "it will be fine", although it probably will. But I bet you'll love it and look after it whether it's tiny, average (and that's all the middle of the "normal" range means) or huge.

Both of our children will spend the rest of their lives being measured up against some theoretical framework and told that they are over or under achieving. Our job as mums is to love them and support them anyway. I'm not trying to criticise but maybe give you a different way of thinking about and accepting your child.