Slowed growth. When do they induce?

[Prusik]

I'm 35 weeks pregnant with ds2 and have had growth scans as ds1 was considered a small baby.

Had a growth scan before Christmas which showed that baby had gone from 50th percentile to 10th percentile and now at the midwife today my bump has gone from 99th percentile to just below the 50th.

Movements and heartbeat all ok today. Been referred for a growth scan Friday, which is their earliest available appointment. Had one booked for Tuesday to follow up on scan before Christmas but that'll obviously be cancelled now as they're seeing me sooner.

Does this sound like a definite case for induction? How do they make the decision? How quickly would they induce? Does it sound like I need to be worried? I'll be 36 weeks on Saturday and it's also ds1's first birthday on Saturday

Is it only slowed growth?

I was induced at 36 weeks for slowed growth and one low Doppler reading. My placenta had stopped working. But, they weren't frantically trying to get baby out. It took another 4 days for him to be born.

I think if they were actually worried they'd have had him out by now. They're just keeping an eye on you. I'm sure baby is fine or they'd have started an induction or c section

Yeah just slowed growth - although I haven't been checked since before Christmas so I guess they'll be able to tell me more on Friday. My placenta was fine before Christmas - not sure how quickly these things change?

I was induced as my baby had dropped from just under 50th to the 5th. The scan was at 36+2 and induction started at 37+0 after having steroid injections (to make sure her lungs were OK). She was born at 37+3, 6lb 9oz and perfectly healthy :)

The dopplers etc were all fine it was literally just the size, there were no indicators that the placenta was failing (unlike my first who was induced because the placenta showed signs of calcification) and in fact I asked the midwife to check it and she cut it open, it was fine, good in fact! BUT I had gestational diabetes this time and despite the fact it was very well controlled without medication they were still concerned. My previous babies were 'a good weight' and 'fecking huge' so it was more concerning as they expected this one to be similar. But she was and is absolutely fine, just little :)

@Cagliostro were there any previous concerns about your baby? Do you think the history of your other two impacted their decision to induce?

All the baby clothes are still in the loft!!!

This is how my scans and measurements are looking.... Circles are scans, crosses are bump measurements. Measurements done by the same midwife each time

My baby was measuring 32 weeks at 36 weeks and I was told they could do more to help the baby if he was outside rather than in. The pressure through the umbilical cord was also too high, and this was a factor that they took into account. I was induced at 36 weeks, I hadn't had the steroid tablets, and healthy little boy was born at 4lb 9oz.

I'm not really sure how many weeks this one is measuring. Perhaps time to get organised today!

I was induced after labour had started at 41 weeks for slow growth
Think really what had happened was that she'd stopped growing weeks previously and we hadn't realised. She was a slightly petite 6lb 15 so not too small.

Good luck!

My first was induced at 37 weeks. He was a bit small at 20 weeks, and had dropped down the centiles by 35 weeks (normal to have a scan then in our area). They found in a follow-up scan that placenta was a bit rubbish, not awful, so I was scanned every other day until it looked like his blood supply looked like it was being compromised. That was around 36+5 I think, and they were still happy to wait two more days to induce, which in itself can take a few days.
Which is all a very long way of saying, if there was something seriously wrong they’d have delivered the baby by now (as a PP said). Everything worked out for me, and I’m sure it will for you. Best of luck!

I had reduced growth from 30 weeks of my pregnancy and grown scans every two weeks, up until a few days before I had him.
I had placenta issues and my placenta was in a bad way, however his heart rate was strong and good movement so they chose not to induce me. It was debated at about 37/38 weeks but strong heartbeat and I said I’d rather not be. They would if I went beyond 40 weeks however. went into labour naturally at 39+5 and he was 6lb and (2nd-9th percentile.

(I also had internal scans too)

DS1 was also 9th percentile. Had to have growth scans for him but always because my bump was a little slow to grow - he always tracked growth just fine. This one, apparently, is just a little more pesky!

I've just ordered from amazon some tens machine replacement pads and clary sage. Need maternity pads and to get my bags organised. Tbf, with 4 weeks to go I probably should get a shifty on!

With number 1 turning 1 soon and number 2 almost here you’re going to have a busy few months!

@BurningGubbins tell me about it i also have two exams to take Monday which I booked to squeeze in before my growth scan Tuesday, which has obviously now changed

DS3 was induced because he’d stopped growing. A routine growth scan at around 28 weeks showed he was small - just over 5th centile. Placenta looked ok on the scan, so we had regular growth scans after that.
He followed his centile until the growth scan at 37 weeks, at which point his growth had slowed and he’d dropped below the 5th centile.

The doctors booked an induction for a few days later - no surprise, as all along they’d been saying delivering baby early was likely if baby stopped growing. Again, on the scan, the placenta had looked okay. I’m guessing they’d have moved things forward faster if it’d looked like the placenta was failing.

So in your case I’d be prepared for the possibility of them wanting to induce.

I'm trying to find some information on Google as to whether slowed growth and previous small baby is a case for induction or whether growth has to have completely stopped. To me 50th to 10th is a pretty big drop. I haven't been scanned for just over two weeks now so I guess they'll be able to tell Friday. I think a lot hinges on Friday.

At this rate ds1 and ds2 could share a birthday!

Starting to feel pretty nervous about tomorrow now

Good luck for tomorrow @Prusik

Hi,
I had growth scans and at my 36 week scan Baby was showing at just above 10th centile so I had every other day CTG monitoring with a scan to check cord flow a at 37 weeks. Every CTG we had was fine but then when we had another growth scan at just over 38 weeks it showed Baby's head and tummy hadn't grown since the scan at 36 weeks. All other signs were ok but they decided to induce me at 38+6 just to be safe, so although the drop wasn’t as big as yours it wasn’t until growth had stopped and I was classed as full term that they decided to induce me.

I really didn't want to have an induction as was worried labour would be longer might result in a section etc but for me it actually went quite straightforward with a straightforward birth.

Good Luck for tomorrow.

Im going through similar at mo. Baby got slow growth and measuring 5th centile since 5th dec( 3 scans todate). Iv just had 3rd scan and now showing reduced blood flow through placenta. Having another scan on 10th and if no change been told baby needs out. Im 33weeks and feeling scared as all im told is not to worry.

I'm at the point that I just want this baby out now. I'm sure that all this drama is for nothing and that everything will be absolutely fine later but these things do keep you on your toes