Small bump and low grow chart progression

[BECCA2BAKER]

Hi everyone, I have the dreaded pregnancy anxiety in full force right now. I suffered with anxiety and depression pretty badly before I got pregnant and now that I'm 31 weeks and 20 years old the anxiety has reared its head big time. I am still being told by everyone that they can't believe how far along I am and it's gone from being a compliment to a point of dread. My bump is near none existent and I am an average height of 5'5 and pre pregnancy was about a size 14. On top of that my baby's growth is in the lowest percentile every time my midwife measures her and I cannot cope with the worry I have everyday. My midwife even asked me if I smoked and I know it's because she's wondering why my baby is so small :( if I'm completely honest during the pregnancy I've had around three cigarettes and four ciders altogether, and I drank pretty heavily once or twice before I found at (found out at 10 weeks, a few weeks after my 20th birthday). My midwife is very impersonal and I don't feel I can confide in her so my anxiety is sky rocketing everyday and I'm making myself a mess with constant googling trying to find out what's the cause of my small baba. Can anyone relate to my story and give me something to help calm my neurotic brain out lol. Thanks guys xx

Have you been referred for a growth scan?

People carry very differently and many women go to full term barely showing at all with 9+lb babies. Fundal height measurements are a very very rough measure and are really just used to flag people who may benefit from a growth scan. If your MW hasn't referred you then you may be on the small side of average but she isn't seriously concerned. If she has referred you, all that matters is the growth scan measurements.

Has your midwife discussed extra scans? I was scanned every 2 weeks from 30 weeks as baby was constantly charting around the 4th centile. I got to 38 weeks before they induced me due to IUGR. She was born on the 9th centile and I believe it was due to poor blood flow through the cord.

Sometimes babies are just small. Sometimes there is an issue. I'd definitely be speaking to my midwife and pushing for a scan if I was you. They check the blood flow through the cord, the waters around the baby and do full measurements amongst other things. At least you'd know where you stand then. Try not to stress yourself out too much in the meantime, bump measuring is notoriously inaccurate.

Hey guys thank you so much for the messages ! As you both have asked if I've been referred for another scan the answer is no for now. However I have taken it upon myself to go to the doctors on Monday to speak with my old midwife that I really got on with and I'm just going to be honest and tell her I need someone to put me straight, whether that be another scan or just tell me the baby is small but healthy. I'll keep you all updated on my worries tho I really appreciate the support !!

Without a growth scan you don't actually know that the baby is small, just that your fundal height measurement is smaller than average. Plenty of people have this and go for scans to find out their babies are actually larger than average. Babies can hide amazingly well!

My growth scans started small and now suddenly she's huge. There's still time for a growth spurt