Baby measuring large at 40 week scan!

[mendelli]

I've just had a growth scan at 40 weeks and been told that baby is 9lbs! I'm a really tiny person (size 6) and am now terrified of having to give birth to such a huge baby.
Are these scans usually accurate? Does anyone have any experience of the baby being smaller than the scan suggested?

I had to have a scan with my first at 39 weeks and was told she would be minimum 7lb 10 and 10lb.

She was 8lb 12, so not quite as large as I feared (I'm also a size 6-8 usually).

I had an EMCS after a long labour and I am now pregnant again and booked in for an ELCS.

I have had a 38 week scan. I was warned they have an inaccuracy rate of 1 1/2 lb each way ... so not that accurate! Because baby is now too big to see all of him/her at once.

The trend is more useful than an individual result, precisely as squizita says, because it is more difficult to see the whole baby at the same time.

The accuracy is probably about a pound on either size.

Certainly my growth scan at 38 weeks predicted a 10-11lb baby at 40 weeks, and she was born at 39 weeks weighing 9lbs 2oz, so it was pretty accurate for us. She was a far, far easier delivery than my 7lbs15oz DC1!

It sounds scary, I know, but your size isn't the only indication of how well you'll cope with giving birth to a bigger baby. I'm a size 8, DD was 8lb 4. I had a natural birth with episiotomy and it was fine - she was in a great position, so though I was pushing for quite a while and had to have a cut, it was all very calm and I healed very quickly. Am 32 weeks with DD2 now, and she has been measuring big at 20-week scan and 27 week MW visit, so I do understand your fear, as I've had to keep reminding myself that it was all actually OK last time - more than OK. As Dino indicates, ease of birth is not only related to size.

Also I gather that growth scans at this stage are not particularly accurate.

Good luck!

The bit you're really pushing out is the head, and the circumference of that would matter more than chubbiness imo. That, and baby's position... Your pelvis might be a lovely shape (doesnt relate to your clothes size or height), baby an average head and nice position; and a large (lbs) baby come out just fine. A 7lb baby in an awkward position could cause you a problem! What i'm babbling on about, is weight isnt the full picture, even if the prediction is right...