Baby's head measuring big at 34 weeks

[noveltysocks]

Hi folks, just looking for some comments/reassurance from anyone who's been in a similar position!

My girlfriend is expecting a baby in December and we had a scan yesterday (bang on 35 weeks) as her bump has been measuring a bit big and the midwife wanted to check the baby's position.

Most of the baby's measurements are towards the upper end of 'normal' (90th percentile and above), but the baby's head circumference seems way off, measuring roughly what you'd expect at 40 weeks! The BPD (distance across the head) was also above the 100th percentile, but not as dramatically.

We spoke with a midwife briefly who showed absolutely no concern at all, and advised us to just hang tight. She was much more interested in whether the baby has moved from the breech position.

But of course we started Googling at home last night and read opinions from "some babies just have big heads" right through to that it can indicate all sorts of different conditions.

So really, I'm wondering: has anyone else seen such a difference in measurements between where you're 'meant to be' and where your baby actually is? And what happened?

Thanks!

My DS had a massive head on scans. He turned out just to have a really big head, on top of being generally big. (Easy birth as well, so don't worry about that).

I honestly wouldn't worry. Worry when the health professionals worry. Of they aren't worried then don't worry 😉

My little mans belly measured bigger on every scan. It finally evneed out at 36 weeks (last week!) I wouldn't worry 😊

Yes, I had that at 36 weeks head was already very large for a full-term baby. By 41 1/2 weeks with no signs of labour I was bricking myself, though somewhat reassured by people who pointed out how often measurements at late antenatal scans are inaccurate. In my case, it turned out to be perfectly accurate. His head was way bigger than the 99.6%th percentile when he was born, and has stayed above that line in red book. His other measurements were/are big, but not extreme (birth weight was 4.3kg). He did get stuck, and I did have a c-section. So I don't think you need to worry about a very large head indicating anything especially unusual or bad mostly likely is just large. But the head is the thing that's difficult to birth, so perhaps be cautiously prepared for an instrumental delivery or c-section. Am sure many women do just fine pushing out a big head on their own though! Good luck to you both.

PS, not sure if true but this recent news item might cheer you up about big-headed babies: www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/big-headed-babies-are-likely-to-earn-university-degrees-scientists-suggest-a7315826.html

Thanks everyone, this has helped set my mind at rest. We're already preparing ourselves for a possible caesarean, as he's also breech, but it's good to hear that we're not the only ones whose baby has an uncommonly large head!