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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Growth scan - what to expect

11 replies

Panda368 · 02/10/2018 12:00

Hi,
So midwife saw me today and measured me smaller than I was at 34 weeks (I’m 36 today) - there were two midwifes in the appt and they both measured me the same. Neither of them are my normal midwife so I know the measurements are really subjective.

I’ve been booked in for a growth scan tomorrow (she tried to get me in for today) so she seemed very keen for me to be checked.
I just want to know what to expect from a growth scan and afterwards, she seemed to imply that if after my scan they still weren’t happy I would be sent upstairs to labour triage or something.

So am I potentially looking at an induction?
Is it unusual to get such an immediate appt for a growth scan?
I guess I should probs go pack my hospital bag and bring it in the car just incase?

What else can I expect?

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OneBiscuitAtATime · 02/10/2018 12:06

I would say don’t get too ahead of yourself - this happened to me in both pregnancies when measured by different midwifes and both times I had a perfectly average baby. For my second one of the scans showed a smallish baby but he scanned again and decided that was an anomaly. They may also stick you on a monitor for a while. You may want to pack your bag anyway for your own peace of mind, it’s getting to that time.

FinallyFree123456789 · 02/10/2018 12:08

I had a growth scan - turned out it baby was slightly smaller than normal and they monitored me each week - turned out I just carried small and she arrive on time and 7lb 11

I can't help with it they induce you or anything as I went full term

Hope everything is fine op :-)

SpottingTheZebras · 02/10/2018 12:12

The growth scan will just plot where the baby looks to be on the graphs, just like at your 20 week scan.

Usually if they aren’t happy, it needs to be seen and either signed off or next action agreed by a consultant and that is why you’ll go to triage because that is where they will be.

SlB09 · 02/10/2018 12:13

Me too, same day too but was just protocol & nothing to get worried about. Was put onto monitor and asked to click a button when I felt movements until they were happy (between 30-60mins) then had scan where everything was fine & I had a follow up either a week or two later just to monitor growth. All was fine, baby was 6.13. Try not to worry too much xx

Narya · 02/10/2018 12:14

Not sure about induction as I had a growth scan earlier than you - at 28 weeks. It is normal to be seen quickly for growth scans, in my area it's supposed to be within 72 hours. Mine was perfectly normal, baby was just very curled up in a ball! They do measurements like at the other scans - head, femur, abdomen, and also your amniotic fluid volume. Hope all goes well

happymummy12345 · 02/10/2018 12:19

I had one at 37-38 weeks, as baby measured small.
They said the baby weighed about 6lb at the scan. I had the scan and then went home. They said it was just to make sure everything was okay, which it was.
I gave birth at 40+6, baby weighed 6lb 7oz.

Original poster

Panda368 · 02/10/2018 12:31

Ok great, just wanted to know what happened. I’m not too worried as I know it’s fairly standard practice but midwife mentioning labour triage and wanting me to go in today got me wondering about what else they might do/how urgent it actually was.
My googling threw up a few weird things so thought it would be better to just ask. Am I right in thinking that it’s common for the growth to measure differently after they become engaged etc?

OP posts:

SlB09 · 02/10/2018 15:08

Yep, also positioning to at this point. I only had to go to labour assessment suite thing for the monitoring part as all the machines are there so its probably for that rather than anything else x

SpottingTheZebras · 02/10/2018 15:09

@Panda368 I don’t know about the growth being different after the baby engages although since it is based on the baby’s weight, I don’t see how that can be correct.

They are well known for having a massive error range. I think it is something like 30% so don’t rely too much on what it says.

randomsabreuse · 02/10/2018 15:17

I've not had a growth scan because of measuring bump but had planned ones x2 so far. Sonographer scans for heart beat, position and then measures/plots head circumference, abdomen circumference and femur length. They also do a doppler scam on the cord.

It's possible you are measuring smaller because baby has engaged in the pelvis and bump has dropped.

As you're 36 weeks you pretty well at term so would not be a bad idea to have bag packed...

whatthefoxsaid · 02/10/2018 15:19

My experience was similar to pp, I wonder if the mention of labour triage was because that's where they usually send you for monitoring? E.g when you do the button clicking for movement and monitoring heart rate, it was on the antenatal ward for me. I think packing your bag and having it with you is pretty good practice from now tho x

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