Slowing growth at 36w - growth scan

[newdad2be]

This is my first post. I am a man - I wasn't sure whether to post (some threads suggested men shouldn't) but I wanted to take my chances as I am hoping a mum can help me understand if my wife and I should be worried.

My wife is 36+4 with our first. The midwife recently referred her for an unexpected scan for two reasons:

1. suspected breech; and
2. growth scan (the baby had been in the 95 percentile consistently but has dropped to 50th since 34w).

We had a scan today and the baby is not breech (phew) but they were unable to check growth as that is a separate unit/scanner apparently. This was a bit unsettling as we had been gearing ourselves up for answers today. We now have a growth scan at 37+1. Does that timing sound ok?

It felt to me that the midwife was sufficiently concerned to request an immediate scan believing it would cover both issues. No one else though has even looked at the growth graph since.

It will only be 7 days between the initial midwife appointment and the growth scan but feels like an eternity. Specifically my questions are:

1. Should I/we be doing more to get another appointment sooner? (I have asked but I could jump up and down more)

1. Is slowing growth after 35w "normal"? (I read a lot of conflicting medical advice on this and would be good to hear from mums' experience).

I am generally not a worrier but we haven't had a great experience with our hospital so far so anxiety is a little heightened. I should add that the heartbeat is fine and baby's movement is normal.

Thank you in advance for your time and sorry if this is a basic/trivial/silly concern.

I understand how sacry this can b. Im 33+5 and my lil un has dropped to 5th centile in last 7 weeks. Been having scans weekly so far. Last scan also showed reduced blood through cord. Consultant more concerned over that than growth and if no change on wed i will b booked in for section. As oh is nearing full term (37wks) they may suggest induction at that time or just keep monitoring. Hope all goes well for you both

Hi, just a question is the worry about growth coming from the community midwife who is measuring fundal height with a tape measure? I just ask as this is a ridiculously bad/unreliable way of measuring growth at my last apt my midwife measured me 6 weeks ahead of what I should be and was sent for an urgent growth scan to heck growth and waters and cord etc but still took 4 days so wasn't immediate. Anyway baby was measuring bang on, no extra fluid no issues the sonographer just said it's really not a very accurate way of measuring and can only really tell where baby is at by scanning. At this point I would be inclined to say it isn't breech, everything looked ok at the last scan that I am absolutely sure it's fine. In my NCT group with my first everybody (except myself) were sent for growth scans constantly because of fundal height and nobody had any issues. I would say just make sure you are keeping an eye on movements and if you feel at all worried or want to talk things through speak to your midwife or antenatal clinic for some reassurance.

Best of luck!

Yes measuring by tape measure isn't accurate.
When I was pregnant with my 2nd child my bump stayed at the same measurement of 30 in my last 10 wks.
I had growth scans and a blood flow scan every other wk. Baby was growing fine.

If the midwife used a tape measure on the bump, and if foetal movement is fine, I'd wait for the appointment. In my experience growth scans and fundal height measurements can be quite different to each other and completely different to your baby when it arrives!

For me, the last trimester is the worst for worry as you're so close to the finishing line and I completely understand why any concern that is raised can feel urgent and scary. Good luck with these last few weeks

Slowing growth isnt a good sign lets put it that way - i would escalate this with your GP.

My babies growth slowed and i wish we had known to escalate it - we were reassured by an SPR and when i next saw a consultant she said that he should have taken action and should never left me and baby in that position.