Growth scan due to small bump- what is it actually looking for?

[fuckityfuckfuckfuck]

I know it sounds a ridiculous question. I'm 38 weeks and at my routine appointment today the midwife measured me at 33. I've been consistently 3 or 4 weeks behind on the measurements but I assume the scan is now booked as the measurement's dropped below the lower line on the little chart on my green notes. It's tomorrow afternoon, and now I'm worried that as the appointment came through so quickly there must be something wrong. The baby has always had a good heartbeat, has always been a good mover, and, most importantly, has always been small! I presume they'll look for any obvious problems with the baby, and the placenta? But what if a problem is found? Would they induce at 38 weeks? In a way I'm glad of the scan as he's been moving about a lot and changing position which has been worrying me more than his size, so at least I'll get a definate answer on which part is presenting.

A similar thing happened to me at around the same time. I think my bump dropped and the measurment reduced then.

In the scan they measured the baby's length and circumferences like her torso.

I remember them checking the blood flow from the placenta to the baby.

Please don't worry, you could just be having a smaller than average baby.

My daughter was fairly small, 5lb 11oz - but perfect. She gained weight pretty quickly after birth and quickly got to the 50% percentile and as far as I know is around about that now at 3 years old.

Are you/ parner/ family small?

Please don't panic. I got sent straight from the midwife to the hospital for an urgent growth scan. It scared me. All was just fine and afterwards I was glad they were taking my (and ds's) care seriously.

Not particuarly small tbh. My other dc were 7.14 and 8.9 so not tiddlers, but I put on a lot of weight with both of them and ended up about 16 stone and enormous. This time I have only put on just under 2 stone and am still a size 12 so I wonder if it's just that I've not been such a pig this time round? Both midwives I've seen throughout my pregnancy have commented there's not much fluid which is probably a factor too. But it's not like growth has stopped, the baby's just been consistently small. I know my mum had problems with my sisters placenta that weren't picked up so that's been on my mind now, though she was much older than me when she had her, and was already overdue. I think it had started to die from what she's told me, came out grey So at least if there is a problem in that respect it'll get picked up.

In our situation, neither me or my DH are tiny. I'm 5ft 3 and he's 6ft 2. But the babies in his family seem to be around the 6lb mark.

I think I've heard mentioned that the fundal measurements are not all that accurate when predicting baby size...you may just be slim. I also found that different midwives came up with different results.

In my case, I had slight pre-eclampsia as well but when they looked at the placenta on the scan, everything was working well.

Oh and they told my sister that she was going to have a 10-11lb baby and he was only 7lb ish. So they can get it wrong the other way too!

I could have written your post! I'm also 38 weeks and have my check up tomorrow and i've been pre warned i'll prob be sent for a growth scan as have always measured 3 to 4 weeks behind. To be honest i'm not bothered as baby is and always has been extremely active and i've always measured behind so prob just a small baby. Plus they told my best friend she was constantly measuring small and her baby would be no more than about 7 pounds. He was closer to 10 pounds so i'm not falling for that one. Hope all goes well. Maybe post an update so I know what i'll be in for at my growth scan!

Ten pounds! I shall be very surprised if this one isn't the smallest of my lot. I've been getting the 'ooo you're small' comments for months now, but it all seems so much worse this close to the end. A mum at school asked me today how long I had left and I just felt shite watching her reaction. It does make me worry, though I know logically that he's just been following a small line of growth. I'm sure once he comes out and starts feeding he'll fatten up nicely just like ds did. I think a lot of it is to do with him being back to back. All you can feel is limbs, and when I lie down my bump practically disappears so I think he's just well nestled in there. My big fear is a cesarean, I've been worrying about it for a few months now, and I'd hate to think that somehting will show up on a scan that means I have to have one. But equally, I've been worrying about the length of the cord (blimey, does the worry never end ) as ds's was incredibly short, the shortest the midwife had seen, and as I'm hoping for a waterbirth I'm worried if it happens again he'll be stuck under the water iyswim. I've also wondered if all his flipping about changing position has tangled his cord. So at least I can ask them about that. I'll be back to let you know how it goes tomorrow, I'm sure we're both just worrying about nothing. If anything, it's been quite nice not to have that 'god, I'm huuuuuge' feeling. I've not been breathless, have had no SPD this time and am walking just as much as I usually do, which was impossible with both previous pregnancies as I really did resemble a beached whale.

I am measuring 3 Weeks behind and had a growth scan at 32 Weeks. They checked the placenta, blood flow and all measurements and said baby ia small but healthy. Try not to worry, I think it's just routine to make sure baby is growing ok in there.

Hi all, I don't want to worry anyone unnecessarily but can I just suggest you chuck your hospital bag in the car when you go for your appointment. I had two very small babies (4lbs 9 and 3lbs 10) both of whom were born after I was sent to the hospital for check ups on their size as I was measuring small. Both times I was completely unprepared as I had no other pg complications and I'm 5'10" and my DH is 6'1" so neither of us are small so we weren't expecting small babies. It was scary at the time but I'm happy to say that I've now got two strapping 6 and 9 year old boys and I'm pregnant with number three.
Good luck
Fan. x

What do you mean they were born after you were sent to hospital for checks? Were you kept in and induced?

I had one of these scans based on a small bump, the midwife phoned up then and there and got me an appointment one or two days later. The scan showed that everything was fine. When baby was born one day after her due date she was 9lb 11oz! So being offered the scan and getting a quick appointment don't necessarily mean there is anything to be concerned about. It's not nice waiting but hopefully the scan will put your mind at rest. Sending you good vibrations.

All went well :) We were scanned by a midwife rather than a sonographer first, but she was having a problem with the machine so we got the top sonographer to come and give us a more detailed scan afterwards which was very reassuring. They said at this late stage it wouldn;t be a 'growth scan' as such, more a look at fluid levels and placenta function, getting a snapshot of the bloodfolw through the cord. Both of those are fine. The second woman to come in said that as we were there she'd take some measurements anyway, and she estimates that he weighs 6 pounds 5 so not really that tiny at all (I was gearing up for him to be 4 pound or something). He's very definately head down, face out, so we got a good look at his squished up face :) and what I had been worried was a head is actually his incredibly strong and big feet . He has his hands up by his face which also explains all the jabbing I'm getting in my hips. Overall I'm very reassured, I hadn;t realised that the growth chart is in part plotted in relation to the birthweights of my previous dc, one of the first things they asked was their birthweights, and if I feel smaller this time, which I definately do. They didn't pick up any problem so this one is obviously just meant to be a bit smaller. I do have to go back at the same time next week though to do another check, which I'm determined not to worry about, but she said if any problems do get flagged up then, I'll be 39 weeks and it may be a simple case of breaking my waters. Fingers crossed it won't come to that though. Good luck with yours feekerry :)