How accurate is estimated birth weight?

[Londongirl84]

At a scan we had today (35 weeks) they estimated our baby to weigh 8-8.5lbs on her due date. How accurate is this??

[boobyooby]

I had a scan the day before I had my DS, was told he was around 8lb +, he popped out weighing only 6lb 4oz, I did keep looking at him before he was weighed thinking he looked v small for an 8lb baby and the midwives laughed when I said it! DD was 12 days late and weighed the same!

Good luck x

[catkind]

I like the simile that it's like trying to measure the weight of a person who's in the bath in the next room. Or in your case, to measure what that person's going to weigh next year?
Our scan on the Monday said DD was about 9lb11, she was born on the Tuesday weighing 8lb9. They did correctly spot that DS was going to be small though.

[stickysausages]

Load of rubbish in my experience. I had a 10lb baby that was never picked up when pregnant, I measured normally when seen by mw. However, had a lovely water birth with no stitches. Agree, bigger babies can be easier to deliver, position is important (yours as well as baby's)

[PPaka]

I begged someone estimate for me, no-one ever committed to anything. I kept asking if it was big, cos we were all big babies.
Ds was 10lb, they must have been able to say he was big, surely?

[kazza446]

Not accurate at all. Estimated my wee man to be a 11lb-er and off the 100th centile. He arrived at 39 weeks weighing 7lb 11oz and was on 50th centile!

[GeneralGist]

There were concerns with DD that she would be too small, as in, off the centile chart small! So out she popped on her due date at 8lbs!

DS (due soon) is apparently large and they may wish to induce. No you bloody won't!

[Fairylea]

Well they said dd would be huge (estimated about 13lbs!) which is why they induced me at 34 weeks... she was 7 lb 8oz when she was born. But I guess if they left her to full term maybe she would have been much larger? I have no idea.

With ds (ten years between babies) they said he was going to be huge as well - he was born by elcs at 38 weeks and was all of 6lbs! :)

I think it's just an estimate. I wouldn't take it for gospel.

[terilou87]

I had growth scans all the way through. my last scan being at 36+4 showed him to be 5lb4 I had elcs at 38+3 and he was 6lb12 which was pretty accurate on the basis of a baby gaining approx half a lb a week up till birth. Iv heard of loads more that have been way off than I have that have been right.

[CaffeineDeficit]

Pretty rubbish in my case. I had repeated growth scans, due to me having an underactive thyroid. They all suggested that DS would be in the 95th-98th percentile for weight (which meant >10 1/2lbs - gulp). When DS turned up, he was 8lbs 10, so while not tiny, was nowhere near as big (c60th percentile) as the growth scan results suggested.

Interestingly, aged 3.8, he is now on the 95th percentile for height!

[Zamboni]

DS scanned at 36 weeks and measuring as already approximately 9lbs and likely to be "10 or11lbs" at birth. Born at 39 weeks at 8lbs5oz.

So not that accurate in my experience.

[Proudmummytodc2]

Ds was said to be 7lb he was 9lb 5
Dd was not given actual birth weight just said small baby but she was 8lb 11ounce but she was very small for her weight my friend was told her dd was 11lb but he was 6lb 5 ounce so don't think it's very accurate at all x