Measuring 2 weeks behind and haven't gained weight in the 2 weeks either!

[sunandfire]

Hey...

Currently 29+2 weeks. At 27+0 weeks I had an antenatal appointment and was weighed/had 'fundal height' measurement taken as usual - weighed 62.6kg, and FH shows '27cm' (right on track) in my notes. Ended up in the emergency obstetric unit yesterday (at 29+1 weeks) for an unrelated issue, and FH measurement was still 27cm. I also just hopped on the scale (although first thing in the morning, so haven't eaten yet) and I'm weighing 62.4 - 2kg down from what I was weighing at 27+0 weeks (I check the scale often, and I generally haven't gained any real weight since 27 weeks). This really concerns me - would it point to 'static growth'? My next appointment is in 5 days (at 30+0 weeks), and I'm terrified that not much will improve between now and then. This is the first time I've had two antenatal appointments be so close together (3 weeks apart) - all the others were spaced out quite significantly, allowing time for significant baby growth/weight gain, so I've never had to pay attention to baby growth/weight gain in such a small time period.

Add this to the fact that, visually, I'm "carrying small", and now my mind is racing with "what if?"s and imagining the worst - including the midwife's concerned/alarmed expression at my appointment in 5 days when she realises that I'm measuring 3 weeks behind and weighing no more than I did 3 weeks ago! 😞

GAH (distressed sound, not abbreviation) - has anyone experienced this around this gestation and had things turn around? 😫

(just to note, baby's movements are fine - same as usual)

Thank you!

Have they offered you a growth scan? This was offered to me when my bump measured behind.

I know it's easier said than done, but try not to worry. My fundal height measurement went off the chart when I was measured in a different location to usual - I guess I was in a slightly different position? Next appointment back at the clinic I was back following my line perfectly. There are so many things that could be affecting your weight I really wouldn't jump to the conclusion that the problem is baby's stopped growing. If your movements are still normal then everything is almost certainly fine :)

@McTootBlowsOnHisBagpipe I imagine I'd be offered one if my MW picks this up in 5 days (should there be no improvement), at my 30 week appointment.

@Spam88 Thank you for the reassurance. As much as I appreciate modern medical intervention for many things, it's created a medicalisation and over-awareness of our pregnancies that women would haven't have had in the past - this can lead to a lot of worry, should things not 'measure up' to what's medicinally 'normal'. Really hoping things turn around/improve - fingers crossed!

@Spam88 women wouldn't have had*

I wouldn't worry as I don't think your weight gain has got anything to do with baby's weight gain. Up to my 20 week scan I lost nearly a stone and baby was clearly growing well and the right size, ahead of anything. Sometimes you will lose weight because your body is working extra hard, but it doesn't affect the baby.

I'll mention your concerns to your midwife though do you can have your mind put at ease!

I was told your bump should be measuring the number of weeks +/- 2, which means even if baby is measuring 27 at 29 you're within the normal range.

At my 24 weeks I was measuring 22 but at my 28 weeks I measured bang on. It's fine, I wouldn't worry.

I found that different midwives measured me differently to the point I went up and down a few cms in the same week...

Plus being weighed on different scales could be why you seem like you haven't gained anything.

I wouldn't worry too much, as a PP said two cms either way is normal.

@MammaBear18 @EastDulwichWife @NinaMarieP thanks, everyone! Do any of you know if babies go through a 'growth spurt' at a certain point during the pregnancy? This entire pregnancy, I've felt as though baby has grown at a ever so slow pace. For example, I haven't felt my belly 'pop', like other women seem to - my bump has grown so gradually that I've barely noticed it growing (so much so that I'm still convinced I'm not showing). I'm hoping that between 30 and 40 weeks, I really start to see significant, rapid growth!

I didnt really get a proper bump til 30 weeks, and I've put on about 4lb in the whole of my third trimester. However had a growth scan at 31wks due to reduced movement and baby was bang on average, i dont think your weight has any bearing on babys growth.
Also my mw told me that the number of weeks you are doesn't correspond to your FH (i.e if you're 27wks it doesn't mean your FH should be 27cm) its all calculated on your individual height/weight/BMI/ethnicity etc which forms a centile chart individual to you at booking. As long as your FH measurements follow the centile on your chart they don't worry too much about the number. If your trend tails off/stays static/has a massive jump thats when they'll investigate.
I wouldn't worry too much, see what your FH is when you next see your mw and go from there, lots of time for baby to catch up if it has slowed down a bit.

I never had a huge bump, and was sent for growth scans. DS was fine. I never gained much weight either and DS was born at 36 weeks weighing over 7lbs. I was back in my normal clothes a couple of days later, people couldn’t believe I’d given birth.

Not everyone carries large, I wouldn’t worry.

I had growth scans with both my DCs, although they were both a bit later, after 34 weeks. I wasn't very big with either of them, I gained about a stone in total each time. They were both fine, just a bit smaller than average, DS was 5lb 13oz and DD was 6lb 9oz. They are both now tall for their ages and people think they are older than they actually are!

I went for monitoring with DS around 28 weeks because I hadn't felt him move. He was fine but during monitoring they measured me and I was 4-5 weeks behind. At my last appointment I'd been bang on. So was sent for a growth scan. Baby was fine. But he had changed position to head down. So I think it was that. I continued to measure a little behind for the rest of pregnancy but less than 2cm, so midwife was happy. It's a very rough guide so don't worry too much.

DS ended up weighing 8lb 5oz at birth, so not a small baby! Some women just carry differently. I also didn't put on that much weight either and certainly not in a consistent way. Sometimes nothing for weeks and weeks, then suddenly a fair bit at once.

I didn't 'pop' either. Just slowly and steadily grew. I took a photo every week in the same clothes and honestly a lot of the time I looked no bigger or sometimes I actually looked smaller. It's only if you look at all 30 odd photos that you see an overall trend of getting bigger - and I ended up pretty massive in the end!

With all three of my babies, fundal height has always slowed down and I have always measured small for dates. Every growth scan I have had has always found baby growing fine. They were all born around 50th centile. So fundal height doesn’t seem a very accurate measuring to me.