Baby boy on 97th percentile

[UrsulaSings]

I'm 28 weeks and had first tummy measurement today and apparently I am/my baby is measuring on the 97th percentile. Wasnt worried about this really until I started bloody googling!! And read about the risk of 3rd degree tears being loads higher, and then even higher than that if it is your first baby, and about shoulders getting stuck and oxygen deprivation, and then I stopped reading!! Also find it more worrying as I know boys tend to be bigger than girls anyway, and he's even big for a boy!

Please can someone who has also been on 97th or higher percentile reassure me (if possible!)

Thank you.

Step away from Google.
That's my advice.

I wouldn't worry too much about tummy measurements. In both my experiences they have been wildly inaccurate!

A few of the girls in my antenatal group were told they were having massive babies and they turned out completely average.

I had a 10lb boy as my first, no tears. I was size 10 and no problems. Shoulder dystocia is a lot to do with position.

If you're worried about birth injuries from a big baby then please talk to your midwife AND the rest of your team - you could consider having an elective c-section. Your body. Your baby. Your choice.

And don't let anybody bully you. YOUR CHOICE.

There's more than one way to welcome a baby out!

I was measuring on the 95th centile. Spent the last 10 weeks worrying I was going to have a 10lber. Didn’t buy any first size clothes as a result. Baby arrived at 40+2 and was on the 25th centile. Very dainty 7lb 3oz. So I would say take the measurements with a pinch of salt!

Definitely take the measurements with a pinch of salt! I know of so many that weren’t accurate.

Maybe this will reassure you a bit though. My baby was measuring average sized, maybe slightly on the large size but nothing huge. He was born at home (as planned) with just a bit of gas and air and no stitches required (small tear didn’t need stitches) and he weighed 10lb 6oz (98th centile). He had a massive head and shoulders like a mini boxer. The midwife couldn’t believe the size of him!
Good luck OP! It isn’t always harder with a big baby!

Thank you!

@RainbowMum11 yes I stepped away before I'd finished reading the first article, but it was already too late! Definitely learnt my lesson and wont be doing that again.

@welliwasntexpectingthat and @Justinkase thank you for your experiences, I do feel reassured hearing others experiences

All that stuff is shite. Don’t believe an absolute word of the measurements guff.
They told me dd1 could be 10lb13oz and I’m very small. They even gave me a c section based on the fact she was so blardy huge.
She was 8lb 6oz.
It’s all such a wild approximation it’s essentially meaningless. Next time you get measured you’ll be 43rd centile.

(I had a same size and then a 9lb baby by vbac btw. I definitely didn’t need to have a c section)

My son was born 11lbs 4oz! Not once in my pregnancy did they say he was measuring big at all. I think because no one said anything I was relaxed about it and no tearing or assistance giving birth. I also healed quicker after his birth than my other 2. Because he was so big my next baby was kept an eye on with growth scans towards the last few weeks. This made me stressed and i really didn't need to be. Again her birth was straight forward.
Please don't stress or worry and ask your midwives anything you need to.

Hmm, take it all with a pinch of salt.. DC 1, measured just below 50th centile, born on 2nd centile, DC3 -was told in labour baby was too big for me to deliver and would have to go to theatre for an assisted delivery if not delivered in next 30 mins - was swiftly born with no assistance weighing 6lb 8oz!!

I had a 10lb 3oz baby. Fairly bad tear but it healed well and caused zero issues afterwards. No forceps or ventouse required.

I had my son on the 96th percentile I know it's not quite as big but my one bit of advice is listen to the midwives when they say don't push don't push and when they say little ones do it. That's what makes it slightly better.
I had a tear because of the chub's shoulders it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
Also tea tree and lavender oil in a bath after is amazing for stitches and a lucozade bottle cleaned out for cleaning downstairs after the toilet.
Step away from google though.x

I had the same thing happen when my midwife measured me, baby girl was on 97th percentile and I was sent for a scan. Turns out my baby is exactly the right size for gestation. I find it bizarre that they still use this old method of measuring babies!

Measurements aren't always accurate.
I had a apparently huge baby easily 10lb at birth. He was 2 weeks early and 8lb, don't panic.

Takes the measurements with a pinch of salt.
I had 5 growth scans, all predicted a 10th centile 4-5lb baby.

DS was 8.2lbs. Not tiny at all

As PPs have said, bump measurements are very inaccurate for actual size of baby, but more useful for looking at the trend of growth

I’m 33 weeks and at my 28 week appointment I measured on the 95th centile. At 32 weeks I was off the chart, which made me panic!

I booked a private growth scan (although midwife has said I’ll have an NHS scan at 36 weeks - I couldn’t wait that long!) and the scan has estimated that birth weight will be 8lb5oz, so nothing dramatic! Unfortunately, growth scans are also inaccurate, but I still found it reassuring that I hadn’t accidentally grown a toddler!

I think it’s because I’m carrying my bump high, so there’s a few centimetres between my pubic bone and the bottom of the bump which might make bump seem bigger than it actually is 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hi, I had growth scans and the baby was at the 90th percentile and 7.5lb at 36 + 1 according to the scans and tummy measurements. I was induced at 37 + 3 and the baby was just over 6lb. So I think these measurements are not very accurate!!!

My second was 10lb 3. Measured average all the way through pregnancy (even when I said at the last few appointments that he felt so much bigger than my first).

Relatively easy birth. No pain relief, a little tear which was stitched. Much easier than my labour and birth with 8lb 3 DD!