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Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

So was your baby's estimated fetal weight accurate?

102 replies

doubleshotlatte · 07/03/2011 17:36

Did you have a 3rd trimester scan for fetal size and/or growth? The sonographer must have given you an estimated fetal weight. How accurate were they?

Please, I really need to know.

Been told bubs is average weight/size while here I am, at 39+1, with a ginormous belly, much larger than with DD and lots of extreme symptoms compared to 1st pregnancy. The fluid volume is normal too, so it can't be all water in there Grin

I've read a few posts where the baby turned out much bigger or smaller than EFW, in some cases causing unexpected problems at delivery...

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curlygirl4 · 18/03/2011 08:58

With my last DD l was told she was about 7 and 3/4 lbs ahe arrived 2 weeks late and weighted 10 and 1/4 lbs!!!

The midwife who delivered her asked if we planned to have any more and warned us that it would most likely be over 12lbs my hubby went to see the doctor 4 weeks later !

Interestly she is now nearly 13 and just under 6 ft tall and slim, do most big babies become bigger than average sized children?

memphis83 · 18/03/2011 09:04

at 34 weeks they said my baby was already 7 pound and by the time i gave birth he would he a 10-12 pounder, so i didnt get many newborn clothes and he came out 2 days overdue weighing 6pound 14oz

saoirse86 · 18/03/2011 10:12

loftyjen 6 months and 11lb? Wow! My DD is 6 months next week and is about 18lb! She's gone from the 25 centile at birth to the 75th centile. Confused

zippichamiknicks · 18/03/2011 10:19

I was told at a sizing scan at 36 weeks that DS2 was 8 and half to 9lbs at that point, so was very worried that I'd give birth to a fully grown man! He was 11 days late and weighed 8lbs.

Gottakeepchanging · 18/03/2011 10:20

My small- worryingly small baby was 11 ibs 7 oz

I kept saying he felt big. I had a 37 week scan as they said he was breech. I said he wasn't as I coukd feel a foot.

They Said he must have turned in the 30 mins I waited for a scan hmmm

everydayinMK · 18/03/2011 11:59

Bearing in mind that both myself and my husband are over 6ft and 'well-built', I was most suprised when I was told that I was measuring very small for my first child. But what do they know?

DS1 estimated at 5.5lb

DS2 estimated at 12.5lb

Both weighed exactly 8lb 2oz at birth!

It dawned on me that it's not an exact science.

mmsparkle · 18/03/2011 12:00

Well I had 3rd timester scan last time as measuring small. Scan people told me that she would be exactly average (I took that to mean 7lb sth).
DD came out 5lb 8oz...rather as the midwife had predicted with her tape measure. And this was 10 days late as well.

I have no faith now for my 2nd one, am booked for 3rd timester scan again. Pointless exercise. Baby will come out regardless.

MrsVictorUbogu · 18/03/2011 12:13

DD2 (breech) I was told 'at least 10lb' so they refused to try and turn her.....she was actually 8lbs.

DS1 (breech) I was told 'very big, 9-10lbs at least, don't buy new baby size clothes' . I was booked in for a C-section at 38 weeks, but he was actually born at 36 weeks after he tried to turn and got stuck (transverse breech) ......weighing a tiny 6.15 lbs, DH had to make an emergency dash to Mothercare for small enough baby grows!

AGCG · 18/03/2011 12:18

Really interesting reading all of this - due to general crapness routine of never seeing same midwife/health professional twice, I stopped being properly measured at around 34 weeks, despite mw putting in that my fundal height was 'equal' to weeks, how could she know the tape measure never came out?!!

AGCG · 18/03/2011 12:21

Oops accidentally posted before finished...

What I was going to say was that ds was 10lbs, plus enough fluid for an ECV to be successful at 38 weeks - noone picked up on my size, except for all the lovely people saying are you sure it's not twins, wow you're huge you look really weird...

I asked about it afterwards, and mw just said that they very rarely act on size as the estimates can be so far out...

Sure wish they'd come up with some kind of a consensus on this! What annoys me most is that people assume I ended with an emergency c-sec because of his size - when that had nothing to do with it. grrr.

OFGS · 18/03/2011 18:32

Not very accurate either time.

Was told first baby would be 'big - around 8.5 or 9lbs'. He was 10.5 lbs!

Was told second baby was also 'on the big side'. Weighed 7 lbs.

Mumlar · 18/03/2011 21:28

My consultant, (v. experienced), told me that scans in the third trimester are not really very accurate. Better to go on the size of previous babies, if they were big the next one will be big too. Mine were 8 lb 13, 9lb and 9lb 2 so they didn't increase in size too much. Think that scanning is a bit of an inprecise science.

Mumlar · 18/03/2011 21:31

Inprecise for size I meant no inprecise full stop.

loftyjen · 18/03/2011 23:45

Saoirse86 - yup, she's carried on with what I guess would be the 0.2nd
centile - she's not been measured lengthwise since 6wks but think she's carrying on the 9th centile so she's long & skinny like her Dad!!
It doesn't hold her back a jot though!

vicbar · 18/03/2011 23:50

I was scanned all the way through preg 4 as she was going to be small - I was huge and the she weighed 10lb 1oz (born on due date) and this was apparently with an inadaquate (sp) cord flow ??
Hate to think hopw big she'd have been with a normal one Smile

nestypirate · 19/03/2011 00:45

DD1 was going to be 8 pounds - ended up as 12 pounds 11. I had every test under the sun, through no desire of mine, including an x ray of my pelvis, and the one thing that was remarkable was the weight and nobody spotted that!

DD2 &3 were going to be 8 lb, ended up as 10,16 and 10,5.

Never believe a word of it!

MmeBucket · 19/03/2011 00:51

Neither were. They underestimated DS by about a pound, and overestimated DD by almost 2 pounds.

lilmamma · 19/03/2011 16:45

my 3rd they said would be about 10lb,as her brother before her was 9lb 2 and a half,she was 8lb 5oz..

Highlandgirl · 19/03/2011 17:46

I was told my DD (now 16 days old) was at 39 weeks 7lbs 11 oz...she was born 41 weeks and was a 9lbs 13oz...!!!!!!! Shock

Sandrina · 20/03/2011 21:43

ask ur midwife!!! mine predicted that my DD3 would be about 8 1/2 lb ish, and then 4 days later she popped out at 8"12. that was reasonably accurate for a quick belly feel!!!

emmanumber3 · 22/03/2011 23:31

I'm finding this thread really interesting - was told at my Consultant appt last week that I'll be having extra scans at 30, 34 & 38 weeks to check the weight of the baby as DS2 was considered to be "a little bit small". Given the results many of you have had I'm not sure why they bother!

StiffyByng · 13/05/2011 13:17

Just reviving this thread with a curious question. Has anyone had a post-dates scan that was out? I've just been told, at 41+3, that the baby is 10lbs based on abdominal circumference. The scan I had at 34 weeks was 50th centile for everything, so a due date estimate of around 7lbs 7oz. I notice most of the scans mentioned on here are more the 34 week time than later. Any other post date experiences?

MissCKitty · 13/05/2011 18:09

I had a growth scan at 36 weeks because I'm a type 1 diabetic. They estimated DD at 7lbs, she was born 2 days later at 6lb 12 so they weren't too far off Smile

JoInScotland · 08/06/2011 21:33

I was assured my son would be average - about 7 lbs - and my Mum who had 7 had relatively small babies, none over 8 lbs. Son came out 9 1/2 lbs, tons of water, etc. As they held him up during the EMCS, I thought, "He's huge, I knew it". My waistline had been 50 inches by that point.

cowboylover · 09/06/2011 20:36

Had a scan at 40 weeks and consultant said don't take any notice of the estimated weight and it was spot on at 8lb 10oz

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