29 weeks and baby measuring in the 5th centile. May have to deliver early and I'm worried sick!

[toomanydinosaurs]

Hi. I guess what I'm asking is if anyone has experienced this, did your babies end up putting on weight and making it to full term (or close enough) or if they had to deliver early, how early and did it work out? The thought of having a premmie really terrifies me!

Any reassuring stories out there?

Thanks!

Hello. I had a similar experience with DD2. I had a single artery umbilical cord, so had another scan booked in for 34 weeks as can lead to growth issues. At 31 weeks there hadn't been any growth from previous midwife visit so went in for a growth scan - all measured fine.

Then went back for another growth scan at 34 weeks and didn't show any increase in one of the measurements (tummy one I think) so had to go in for regular monitoring. They warned me that if no growth then would need to deliver early, but obviously best to stay put for as long as possible. I then had the same lady measuring me every 2 weeks and it showed increase. I honestly can say that I think different people/sonographers measure differently.

DD2 was born at 37+5 (late for me, DD1 was 36+2!!) and was a small 5lb 1oz, but healthy. Slight jaundice, but all okay.

How were you measured? Who said you might need to deliver early? I think they will keep baby put as long as he/she is growing.

Eat well and rest lots!!!

Also I think babies also have growth spurts in the womb as well... which is why they only do growth scans every 2 weeks and not more frequently.

Hi no personal experience with in utero growth issues but just wanted to say my ds was born at 26 weeks 1lb 4oz-it was tough but he's now a perfectly healthy 4 year old so if you do have to deliver early yes it's scary but the doctors are amazing these days and your baby would almost certainly be fine. In my experience of being in hospital for a million years dr s will not deliver early unless absolutely necessary. Hope that is in anyway reassuring.

Hi Iloveholidays. I had a routine growth scan due to having pre-eclampsia in my last pregnancy and that showed baby was small. Then I had a more detailed scan done by the consultant the next day and it was all confirmed although no reason was detected. All the arteries are functioning fine so it's not clear why baby hasn't been growing as well in the last 9 weeks (baby was at 50th centile at 20 wks). The consultant has suggested to rescan in 2 weeks and make a decision about delivering early should there be no growth during that period. I also had a midwife appointment where I was measured bang on 29 weeks (fundal height) so when I went for the scan I was surprised by the results.

Thanks for your reply. Your story gives me hope that things will work out for me too!

Oh my god Mama1980 that is so small! I know technology is amazing now and these babies do have such fighting spirits but I worry about everything that can go wrong. So glad to hear of your son though!! Thanks for all the reassurance!!

I'm sure everything will be fine. As Mama1980 says they will not deliver early unless absolutely necessary. You may have found that the sonographer who measured at 20 weeks is more "generous" than the consultant. I definitely found noticed that when watching them take measurements with different people. They also kept checking my fluid levels I think.

I'm sure its a good sign that your fundal height is on 29 weeks especially if increased from last midwife appointment.

Had a scan for DC3 last week and the sonographers first comment was "gosh you had a lot of scans for your last pregnancy - why was that?" Brought it all back. It was worrying at the time, but all I could do was eat well (and lots - no idea if that helped, but figured it wouldn't harm) and rest as much as possible.

If you do have a low birth weight baby - they will do blood sugar tests. Assume its all the same at different hospitals, but my DDs (DD1 for < 37 weeks) had to get 3 measurements over 3 in a row. If one went below 3, they'd start again. Only did the measurements every 6 hours, so it takes a while. Even if you get to term, chances are you might be in hospital for longer.

Fingers cross your DC has a huge growth spurt in the next couple of weeks!!!

Good luck

Hi dinosaurs I would like to add to reassurance if I can-ds2 was so small at 20wk scan he didn't even make it on the chart , prognosis was pretty bad, we were told to hope to get to 28 wks, 1600g so that early delivery with a good outcome would be possible - but i don't think the drs really thought we would get there. It was a very long pregnancy with growth scans every 2 weeks and although ds2 never really made it on the chart he did continue to grow (but we still didn't know if there may be a serious health issue causing small size).

At 36 wk scan fluid was reduced so they decided to induce at 37wks, ds2 was born 4lbs but perfectly healthy, at 2 years he is still very small but fine. nag

Hang in there, baby is definitely in the right place as long as there is growth...and if it does falter he/she is at a good stage developmentally to have a great outcome if delivered early. It's tough I know but try not to worry to much. Good luck and keep us posted