update on growth scan, now I feel very sad and despondant.

[sexkittyinwaiting]

Last week I posted as I was worried that baby was measuring 'small for dates'. I had a scan today and he is just within normal range, at the lower end of course, on the 5th centile. At my 20 weeks scan he was well above the 50th. I've to go back in two weeks to be rescanned, at which point I suspect he won't be within normal range.

I guess my placenta is failing or something.

I am so worried. I know there is nothing I can do that will make a difference now, I'm supposedly 32 weeks. My last baby was 9lb 2oz. I was also ++ on the proteins in my urine but they didn't do any further tests, does this mean I have an infection? I've never had this before?
TBH I wish this baby was born now and that I didn't have to do this anymore.
Sorry, but I feel so miserable about this

Hi kitty, no experience of this slow growth but just wanted to say keep positive.
He is within normal range, even though only just. Don't think about the fact that you had a big baby last time, it has no bearing on this little one and will only make you feel like he is even smaller IYSWIM.
I hope things turn out ok - and remember these days, even a baby born at 32 weeks has a fantastic chance of being fine.
My DS1 was born at 35 weeks and you'd never know it now!
xx

Hey honey.

Did they say how much they think he weighs? What was he measuring in weeks? Any ideas?

I only ask because I went through the same thing with my son, only I didn't know it at the time. He was born at 31+6 weighing a tiny 2lb, they said he should have been at least 3lb's by then. My placenta had failed he suffered IUGR and by the time he was delivered by c/s my placenta was in pieces apparently.

Have they checked your BP? As a result of my placenta failing I ended up with pre eclampsia quite severely, so if they havn't checked it please please make sure someone does! Especially with the protein. Please be assured though honey, my little boy is now 5yrs old and is perfectly healthy!

I have to go get DP from work now but if you have any questions ask away I will check when i get back!

PS - they say all preg are different, Im 37 wks now and totally the opposite I have a baby thats too big and too little fluid so expecting delivery anyday now!

Good luck x x

kitty

i must echo what Julezboo has said...pre eclmapsia can affect placental function, leading to slower growth and smaller babies

what was your BP ?

i would call the midwife back if possible or see if you can get another appointment sooner rather than later.....

is there a possibility you are less than 32 weeks though?

Don't know about the protein, but my ds weights small for dates for most of the last trimester, but was born a healthy 7lb 1oz. I think someone told me there is a 20% margin of error when they measure. I had to go back every two weeks and then ended up having to go for foetal heart monitoring as well. I know how worrying it is, but try not to stress out about it. Chances are it will all be okay!

Some of the private scanning places have much better equipment and operatives than the poor old NHS - is it an option to try one? The worst they can do is confirm what the NHS says.

All I can suggest otherwise is to rest as much as possible.

Best of luck.

Thanks all
My bp has always been on the low side, my lowest reading in this preg was after xmas at 90/50.
I'm going to see the dr tomorrow to have my bp checked and to see if the proteins mean an infection.

I had always thought that I was late ovulating when I conceived this baby so was suprised when the dating scan put me at a few days earlier. At the 20 week scan I was measuring big so I always assumed that they had got the dates correct. If they had gone by my old dates some of the measurments would have been off the scale iyswim.

Julez, todays meaurments date the baby as follows:
bpd =32+4 (which corresponds to my dates
hc 31+1
ac 31+3
fl 30+3

estimated weight 3lb 10oz

Hi Sexkitty.

I posted on your thread last week. DD was IUGr and from 20 weeks was on the 3rd centile, until about 37 weeks when she was under this and born on the less than 0.4 centile !

So, looking on the positive side, you are still within 'normal'. Do you know if there were differences with the different measurements ? Eg. IIRC dd had a bigger head than abdominal circumference and this is fairly indicative of IUGR as the body is able to redirect blood flow to the head as this is where it is needed most.

At around your time, I was having extra doppler scans which were able to trace where the blood was going - this is more than just the doppler where they show the blood flowing through the placenta. If they have left you another 2 weeks then thats a good sign. I think by now I was being seen weekly.

Its so worrying though, I remember it well but keep an eye on movements (difficult not to get paranoid about this) and remember that now it has been noticed they will be able to manage delivery for the best. In 2 weeks time you will be 34 weeks and thats a pretty safe time to be born.

It also doesn't mean that the baby's development will be behind, he is just small. In fact, often IUGR babies come out stronger and tougher. You really wouldn't believe the 2 year old trying to drag me away from the computer was 4lbs 9 oz at birth...

As for the protein, I had protein at 37 weeks but it came and went (and I delivered at 37 +3). I also didn't have high blood pressure until 37 weeks. They did say the whole thing could have been pre-eclampsia that just didnt' show in my blood pressure until dd actually stopped growing (rather than growing slowly).

Good luck. Keep us posted and feel free to ask any questions...

Thankyou wheelybug, that is all very comforting to know, you have given me alot of information there. Is your 2 year old nw a normal size as wwell as tough?

Hi,
Have just read your post and it could have been me writing it! Exactly the same thing happened to me, and it's like a nightmare isn't it- scans every fortnight, dopplers etc and the constant nagging fear about what is wrong. My first baby was over 8lb, so it was a complete shock when this happened to me with dd2. I was being monitored closely from about 25 weeks when the doctors realised she was small for dates. They told me the safest place for the baby was inside me and that the regular monitoring is to decide the right time to intervene and deliver. I was given a caesarian at 35 weeks and dd2 was 3lb 3oz which was obviously much smaller than a baby of this gestation should be. BUT she was absolutely fine. She was in SCBU for 4 weeks but needed to just grow really, didn't need ventilating or anything. And there were babies in there which were really tiny ie less than 2lb which made her seem big!
I won't say 'don't worry' because you will until you hold your baby and this is all behind you. But on another positive note, I went on to have ds, the preganancy was fine and he weighed 7lb! I know after dd2, my placenta was taken off to the hospital lab to be analysed, but the doctors found no reason for what happened - they said sometimes the placenta just doesn't function well but there's no obvious reason. dd2 is 14 years old next week - perfectly healthy and almost as tall as me!
Will be thinking of you. X

Thankyou spellbound , it's so good to know your dd is strong and healthy

sexkitty - dd is about average size now, possibly slightly under but thats more than likely because I am 5 ft and dh is 5 ft 7 !

She was born on less than 0.4 centile but within a matter of weeks was up to about 15th. She spent 3 hours in SCBU to be warmed up and that was the only problem she had (she never managed bf-ing but don't know if that would have happened anyway ?!).

i feel sorry for all the worrying you must be doing, all through my second preg the midwives said my baby was small, at 41 weeks he was measuring 34 weeks i had to go for extra check ups, they could find no reason for his size when i finally had him he was 7lb 7oz and 21 inches and perfectly fine he was heavier then my first baby. Hope you and baby are both well and good luck

Clayre, how could it happen that they get the measurements SO badly out?? It makes a mockery of things. It's all very confusing.

Hi, my placenta apparently wasn't correctly formed with either of my pregnancies, but they missed it with dd1. She was born at 39 weeks (emergency c-section) and weighed 4lb 5 oz. She had IUGR and spent 10 days in SCBU, mainly because they were concerned about her feeding. They only discovered I was very small for dates about a week before birth. It was really stressful and worrying, so I definitely sympathise. She is now completely average weight and height, probably because she was absolutely starving when she was born and fed constantly - I couldn't keep up with her! Best of luck

sexy kit I had a small baby with my first pregnancy with a similar pattern of scans to yours - sometimes he was big for dates (and I knew I'd conceived later than the doctor reckoned!) and sometimes he was small....in the end he weighed 5 and a bit lbs but got apgars of 10 so no need for any special care. he was born at 35/36 weeks - I had the beginnings of pre-eclampsia by then and they were about to induce me but he came anyway. I think it was my body's way of protecting him really - the protein in urine can be an indicator of infection or pre-eclampsia but your level may not be high enough to be of concern. Your BP sounds nice and low - mine was very high when I had pre-eclampsia and my wee was getting towards coke-coloured. So please ask the GP for more info about your results and get help immediately if you get bad headaches or start weeing coca-cola type stuff. But otherwise try not to worry about the measurements - babies don't grow absolutely uniformly in the womb, obviously some will have bigger heads, longer bodies etc. If the doctor's not concerned you shouldn't be.

i dont know, one midwife said it was because he was back to back another kept asking if i was looking after myself!

Hi sexkitty, I posted on one of your other threads about my ds2 - similar story to wheelybug. He was beneath the 0.4th centile at birth, eventually reached the bottom of the chart at 4 weeks and only just made it into the 2nd at 10 months. He's now 11 months and has just started walking - he's another tough little bugger!

He was 4lb 15 at birth, didn't need any extra care and was able to breastfeed straight away. I recall from the growth scans I had at about the same stage you are, he was actually below the 5th centile.

I remember how worrying it was, fortunately ds2 was very active in the womb (that hasn't changed outside!) so I was reassured that he was moving all the time; are you getting lots of movements? I forced myself to relax and rest as much as poss in the last couple of weeks, and actually the cord blood flow did increase over this time. I know that's not so easy for you with all your kids, but do try to rest if you can.

Anyway, best of luck and keep posting to let us know how you are.

Hello sexkitty(etc), you have my sympathy - I had something similar with my ds1 and you just can't help worrying until they come out. At about 28 weeks the midwife sent me for some extra scans as he felt a bit small and then he managed to actually shrink between two of the scans!

Anyway, and I hope this is encouraging for you, he measured small for dates right up to the end and I had lots of monitoring until he was born (so late he had to be induced) but in the end he was actually 6 lbs 10 oz. The good thing for you is that it has been noticed and they can keep an eye on you and the baby.

And by the way my ds is now 3.7 and completely fine.

Best wishes for the next few weeks!

Thankyou toothy and Molly, I really glad your babies were ok. I am going to try and rest as much as I can in the mornings and send him lots of positive vibes.