What Does Measuring Big Mean?

[meltingmarshmallows]

Just that really, if someone continues to measure further along, what would happen?

I am 28w and a bit overweight anyway but my tummy is more or less all bump now. Could it be I'm just larger for that reason? Was measuring 2w extra at my last app.

If this continues, what does it indicate? Does it change your due date? Or indicate the baby is growing too much?

My midwife isn't one to explain much and when asked said 'don't worry about it' which wasn't exactly informative.

If you are overweight the tape measurements are pretty rubbish.

They don't change your date but might send you for a growth scan to check and estimate how big they think likely.

I was fat (not overweight - FAT) and the tape measure was a waste of time. Growth scans confirmed I was carrying a giant baby but they didn't really do much - just left me to 'cook'.

At a growth scan at 34 weeks the sonograpger laughed and said don't buy newborn stuff and she was right.

I suspect if you measure bigger again they'll suggest a scan and see which centile baby is on.

Can be a side effect of GD but your GTT will rule that out.

My midwife said measuring small is more likely to signify an issue with baby rather than big.

@Moanyoldcow Ah that makes sense, thanks for explaining!

I figured it would be a pretty arbitrary way to measure unless you've got not so much as 1mm of fat on your abdomen.

Will see what she says at the next app. It's good to have a better idea of what next steps are etc is I continue to measure larger.

Usually it means the baby is bigger than they would expect for it's gestation (age of baby).

It can just mean your midwife is an idiot.

My DD hated the Doppler and would try to hide from it. Obviously as she grew this became harder, so she used to double up and stick her bottom out, making my bump triangular. Every appt I would ask the midwife to measure first but she insisted on doing it her way. Every single time she measured I was 4-5cm over my dates. "Concerned", she would send me to the hospital to see a consultant, who would measure my now round bump thanks to having to wait hours exactly at my dates. I got sick of hearing "why are you here?"

2 weeks later, same again. She wouldn't bloody listen, silly cow, even when she could see DD moving into downward dog as I lay on the bed!

@TittyGolightly that sounds so frustrating!!

We did not get on.

When she said I'd be having a home birth in the garden "over her dead body" I said that could be arranged.

It's a very, very rough measurement of growth. It's informative only in certain ways, for example:

Someone who had measured normal/large is now measuring behind for dates with no accompanying weight loss to explain.

Someone previously measuring average is now suddenly measuring big.

Neither situation means anything unless the measurement is confirmed by other, more accurate means. It's supposed to be a quick check, a quick eyeballing of the situation. You then follow it up if you're concerned.

The problem is some mws see it as a concrete measure of how big the baby is, when it's not.

I'm a petite person who was all bump because there was nowhere for him to go but out. I measured consistently 2-3 weeks ahead. Ds was 6lb when we left hospital. There was no concern because I'd followed the same pattern all the way through. If I'd suddenly dropped to measuring behind, or up to 4-5 weeks ahead I'd have expected further investigation.

They may give you a glucose tolerance test or do some extra measurements

@Anatidae Ah that makes sense. I have the glucose intolerance test next week anyway so hopefully that will rule that out and this will turn out to not be an indication of anything

I'm fat and pregnant and I had a lovely community midwife as I wanted a home birth. At 28 weeks she measured me at 32 but explained not a science.

I already had growth scan in place that week due to bmi and at growth scan I am only just over the max line for the percentile range baby should be. The tape measure measurement was quite a bit higher on the chart. Guy said it's more problematic when baby under the range.

I've also recently found out I have gestation diabetes so size could be linked to this - he just said we will see how it goes at next scan and if baby stays close to the range or gets significantly bigger.

Sad thing is now I have gestational diabetes I can't have home birth or see my community midwife now until after birth :( ( although she said I can pop in and see her whenever I want or call her about anything)

@TreasureInMyTummy Sorry to hear about that,
such a shame you can't have the birth you planned .

I have my GI test next week and was a bit worried about that but will hopefully know more after that

It can mean fuck all. I measured big with dd2- mw said I was going to have a monster. She was 6lbs 4oz

I measured 3 weeks in front with the tape measure, had numerous growth scans and my baby was a normal 7lb 6oz. Take it with a pinch of salt.

No worries Melting it could be worse and baby seems happy enough going by all the kicks and dancing in the evening.

Good luck with gtt xxx

I have been measuring well over the centile range for my bump size and I have been weighing in right of the bottom of the health weight gain scale. Is I have put on bare minimum weight but my bump/baby
Coming up huge (though most people say my bump isn't big to look at). I ended up doing for a scan at 38 weeks as we were worried baby was breach. At the scan baby came up as 7lb. So in short the bump measuring is to be taken With a pinch of salt. My first also came up above average for bump measurement but was only 6.5lb so I wouldn't worry I jay dont think it's very accurate at all!

Crikes hope that made sense OP! Just read it back and autocorrect has turned it in to gobbledygook!! 😡

i wouldn't worry too much about measuring big. i was overweight pre pregnancy. i've measured 2ish weeks ahead for last 10 weeks, but the thing that matters is i measure the same amount over every time showing the the bump is growing steadily and at the right rate.
i also had to have GTT due to raised BMI - was no where near as bad as i thought it would be (long and boring is all - def take a book lol).
i've had growth scans (for other reasons) they show despite bump measuring over baby is a textbook size!
good luck and hope all is well!

I 'measured big' (apparently 8cm bigger then norm?) at 20 weeks, was ferried back to consultant. turned out I had GD and polyhydramnios. I followed a strict diet, and had weekly growth scans. They said DD was likely to be about 9.10, she was 7lb2.

All was well after her being delivered 10 days early, but I have a lot of extra skin from my bump

@helsybells Ah that's reassuring! X

@Merida83 Ah thanks, will take a book haha! Fingers crossed it's the same, she did mention in my last appointment it's following the same trajectory so that's good

@Olivo Ah that's reassuring. Glad everything was ok and interesting how much the predictions seem to vary from birth weight! X

Sorry to resurrect an old ish thread but thought I'd update incase anyone comes across it.

I continued to measure 2 - 3 weeks over and was above the 90th centile? So was sent for a growth scan.

Baby wasn't big and that scan put me right smack in the middle of normal for my chart, so it looks like everyone was spot on about the tape measurements being inaccurate.