Fundal height - how accurate?

[anchovies]

Just wondering if anyone knows how accurate the fundal height is? Midwife has scared me half to death today as I have just gone way above the 90th centile (36 cm at 31 wks) and has referred me back to the consultant and for a growth scan on thursday. Seems to me like the way they measure is pretty inaccurate however the midwife was talking about excess fluid, induction, c setion etc. Last baby was big (10lbs) so I was hardly expecting this one to be tiny but should I be worried? I personally would be inclined to put the increase down to mincepies!

Kayzed that is certainly the kind of information you want after the event...I would have been very freaked had they told me Superman was about to exit

My fundal measurement varied wildly from midwife to midwife, always "too big". My suspicion was that everyone expected a big baby 'cos I'm overweight, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I was referred for a scan around 36 weeks as I was reluctant to go but went because everyone was worrying. Scan said that DD was in the 99th percentile, all the midwives shook their heads with consternation about what a whopper this one was going to be. I got somber lectures on shoulder dystocia and why it might not be wise to have a home birth. DD arrives bang on due date and weighs in EXACTLY on the 50th centile. Don't believe the hype.

Glad this thread is here cos i've been concerned with fundal height this time round. Bump is definatley smaller and has measured 2cm smaller all way through.
With 1 st pg you don't know what to expect and no-one mentioned i would have biggish baby but ds was 9lb 1 1/2oz and 57 cm long.
Dd was 8lb 4oz but i knew she would be smaller but i think i am even smaller this time but midwife did say not to compare pgs and that because i am tall bump is spread over larger area , iyswim.

GP is particularly bad at measuring fundal height, doesnt seem to like going too near the pubic bone!

Now 39 weeks pg and measured 34cm last week??
Hopefully means baby is just very low. You still can't help worrying that everything is ok though.

Measuring fundal height is only a way of alerting that it is worth doing a scan - it doesn't tell you anything in itself. There is loads of room for error, and midwives measure differently so if you're seeing different people it can go all over the place. I'd say don't worry, but do take up offer of scan.

My fundal height went high at one point, and the midwife reckoned I was going to have a super-big baby. She came out at 40 weeks, weighing 7lb 2oz.

at 29 weeks my fundal height was 34/35 and I was referred for a re-dating scan too. However, the scan team decided that they would not redate me and I was just having a biggie. He was 8lb12

Hm. I do agree that if it worries you, you ought to go for a scan. Just remember that scans can also be very wrong, as mine was. 49 centiles wrong, which is no small margin.

I have no idea what a fundal height is!

Thanks everyone.

Went to see the consultant who said there is no point in me having a growth scan as we'd already decided on an elective c section anyway (have a funny shaped (bicornuate) uterus, failed induction last time with a big baby).

Strangely though when I was measured again, I came out 4 cms smaller! Whether this is due to my bicornuate uterus or just general change in position I don't know!

At 40 weeks with my first baby I was under the most senior consultant at one of the Country's biggest teaching medical hospitals (I had DSP). He esimated that my baby was about 7lb7oz and thought this was very underweight so decided to induce me immediately. I am slender but tall at just under 6 foot, no hips (so I think therefore narrow pelvis). It turned out my baby was 6lb3oz. Looked absolutely bang on with my due dates, ie not premature or skinny etc but she was very long. She is now 6 and a half years old and from being a new born has always been slender/long but tall. Like me, she wears clothes a size or two bigger to fit arm and leg lenth. I wear 36" length jeans. So even one of the most experienced/ senior guys was out by 1lb4oz. Big difference.

I have been measuring WAY big since the beginning, but my conception dates are accurate. I was 18cm at 15 weeks, 23cm at 19 weeks, 31cm at 23 weeks... and am now 24 weeks and measure myself at 33cm.

My doctor was concerned in the beginning but the first ultrasound came back totally normal with just a larger than average fetus (not by as much as the fundal height was off though). He has ordered another ultrasound for 27 weeks to check again.

I am not overweight or tall at all. I am very average size and don't have a lot of fat or anything in the middle to obscure the measurements. This is also my first pregnancy, so I have no idea if it'll be a really large baby or not yet. I think some fetuses just have different growth spurts at different times. Just like kids.

We'll see how big he ends up being come late October. Hah! - Alison

I consistently measured 5 weeks ahead on fundal height. Was referred for a growth scan (showed slight polyhydramnios and a large-for-dates baby) and the consultant tried to move my dates up by a month(!) but I stuck to my guns. DS was eventually born at 10lb 5.5oz two days before his due date (by c/s eventually - 98th percentile head, plus never engaged and only got to 0 station after an hour and a half or so of pushing, plus was posterior and had the 'Superman' hand).

Changing position can definitely lead to big changes in fundal height.

That's not another Arfy is it

This will get very confusing!

There are more than one of us? gasp Where has the other posted?

I was arfy for quite a long time! (with a small 'a')
however I changed because everyone was confusing me with arfishymeau, so be warned! I was thinking of changing back, but I won't now

Hi There,

Im 38weeks + 5days my fundal height was 33cm yesterday!

it has dipped 2 cm since last visit 2 weeks ago, being sent for scan next week, so near my due date!
Bump has been very tight the last 2 months very square looking and painful, solid.

dont seem to be carrying alot of fluid, i am small frame and 5ft 5. very worried.

Fundal height concern at 37+2 too (due Sept 21st)... been really healthy pregnancy. But a 3rd diff midwife at my local birth centre checked me this afternoon and reckons my measurement actually gone down 1 cm to 34 cm. I am small, partner small so we're not likely to have a whopper ... and I've been feeling great with wiggly bump. But she insisted I go to local hospital for blood flow scan. No such scan available there on the weekend ... they put me on heart monitor for full hour and heartrate perfectly fine ... plus a local midwife who saw me a lot in the early stages thought I had grown nicely and had no concerns. Has booked me in Tuesday for more heartmonitoring and then scan if necc, but I know I'll just fret till then. Perplexed especially by different styles of communication and urgency between the MWs now and don't know what to do ...

Reassured by this thread - at 28 weeks I measured 29 cm and at nearly 32 weeks, measured 30cm even though I've had to let out my trousers in this time and bump seems to have got bigger. Different MW measuring too....

My baby is causing a difference of opinion between the sonographers and the Midwifes and Consultants. The Midwives and Consultants believe that the baby is growing very large and continues to do so. They are suggesting that I go into hospital to deliver the baby as they are concerned about the babies shoulders getting stuck in the birth canal. The sonographer has scanned me and says that the baby is big but is not concerned. I am booked for another scan this Friday.

The tape measurements have gone from 18.3 cms at 18 weeks, 27cms at 24 weeks, 30cms at 25 weeks to 36cms at 29 weeks. At 28 weeks they told me the baby should weigh approx. 2.3 pounds and it cleared 3 1/2 pounds, predicted by head circumference and diameter, stomach, and thigh bone measurements with the sonographer.

Subsequently, I had a dream about the birth with the medical staff arguing over which course of action to take. Hoping they sort it out soon.

Fundal measurements in my opinion should not be used!
I recently went into the doctors for my 36 week check-up. Like usual I have gotten much bigger and had nothing to worry about. The doctor did his routine check and noticed that I was only measuring 31 cm. immediately he ordered a "STAT" or "URGENT" ultrasound to check baby?s weight. WOW. You have no idea how freaked out I was..all I could think was "what have I been doing wrong" "Am I eating enough for two" "Should I be eating the hamburger instead of the carrots". I was a complete mess for 4 days until it was time for the ultrasound. I went in, the technician took all the pictures she needed for the exam, and then when I asked how big the baby was she told me between 6 and 7 lbs....I was so happy!!!! all I need to worry about know is that extra 3 lbs that baby is supposed to gain in the next month..ouch
This is for all the women out their that are small in frame and can't find a single article on low fundal measurements...before I wrote this there was nothing I could find on the web that would have made me feel better. Always think positive

At what stage do midwives start taking fundal mesurements? I'm 23 weeks along and have had one ultrasound, haven't been measured or weighed so I'm curious as to how they determine growth of the baby.

Morgan I am concerned because I am almost 39 weeks and I have not been concerned with fundal height because I assumed it a nonissue unless they bring it up... I say,"she is growing properly?" and they say "yes". In my records, the docs have documneted - 23wks=23cm; 30wks=30cm; 35 wks=35cm, etc. At week 36, I felt decreased fetal mvmt. I had a nonstress-test done and it was reactive - or good - so they sent me home. Also, that same week, I had an ultrasound they said the baby was now 5-1/2# - which they said was normal. The baby is breech. however, I have been looking at my stomach and it just doesn't look like it has grown over the last 2-3 wks. I decided to do a fundal measurement myself this morning... I am not even close to 39 or 40 cm... more like 33-35 cm. I am now worried that my elevated blood pressure has effected the baby over the last 3 weeks. I am also concerned that the MDs were just putting down a fundal height in the record just to match gestational age because it is too weird that they happen to get the fundal height every week - the same as the gestational age? like they were trying to get the number to fit normal. If that were the case I should be 39 cm... and I just found out myself that I am nowhere near!!!!

What did your doctor say when you found out the baby was a healthy weight on the ultrasound? What did they say about the credibility of the fundal height? (I have bigger issues beacuse I am concerned about teh credibility of my doctor at this point and if we are missing some fetal distress).

my friend was told she was very big for her dates and all that, until they discovered they'd measured her from her breast bone instead of where they where meant to! she was panicking for weeks.

my wife and i just went to the midwife and she told us, after taking a fundal height measurement, that she felt that the baby was too small for 31 weeks. my wife cried and i got rather worried...we are seeing the doctor next thursday and my wife is having an additional scan to check this out. she is japanese so it figures that the baby could be smaller...anybody has any ideas?

in my experience (pg with #4 at the mo) fundal height drops at the time the baby's head engages and it can be quite a large drop - If you think about it, up until then the baby is bobbing about above your pelvic bone(can be quite a bit above) and then can drop 2 inches or more which is where the 5+ cm decrease in height comes from -so don't panic, your midwives aren't all incompetent(unless they're measuring from the wrong end of course )
As for ultrasound scans as a measure of growth - total pants , they can be out by a couple of pounds either way, measuring bones does not tell you how heavy a baby is going to to be, it just tells you how long it will be. I was scanned late on with #1 and #3 and was told to expect #1 to be about 8 pounds 7 , he was 7 pound 5 and #3 to be just under 7 pounds, she was 7 pound 10, my eldest was long and skinny with a big head and my DD looked very dainty when she was born but felt all her weight.
If you are being seen by the same midwife all the time, they are the best at telling you about growth, because they get to know your bump and can tell the differences between visits, if you see a different person each time then thats when disagreements happen.
LisaX
Ps biggie - half of babies who get stuck are small for dates - it all depends on how you are made and how the baby is presenting - the best way to avoid it is to stay off your back !

Thank you Jamila and thanks for the advice on getting a good presentation. My wife has never been seen by the same midwife...can midwife's accurately know where the baby's head and bottom is by just touching the bump? In scan number 2 the baby was showing a breech presentation...