Reduced growth at 40 weeks

[lustforlife]

I had my 40+1 week appointment with my midwife this morning. She has booked me in for a growth scan tomorrow as my baby's growth has dipped since two weeks ago. She is still measuring average according to my chart. Has this happened to anyone else? Do you think I'm likely to be induced if growth has tailed off, with me being over my due date? I have already been in twice for reduced movement. I'm aware I should've asked my midwife these questions but didn't think at the time!

Following as I've just posted a near identical thread!
Three growth scans after reduced movements, and another growth scan tomorrow as the last one showed abdominal growth had slowed and wasn't following the line. I'm going to ask about induction tomorrow with my consultant as I'm 40 weeks now.

Hopefully someone will come along with some answers for us both!

@Puppydogg1 I think I have just replied to you - very similar stories :)
OP - the drop off in growth measurement may be due to baby engaging in the pelvis - at your due date baby has likely settled down ready for labour (your midwife May have mentioned this, or you may have noticed more pressure in your pelvis or a feeling of the pressure/fullness in your upper abdo easing off). So your scan may be absolutely fine :)
If your scan shows a growth reduction then yes, induction is likely to be recommended as there is not usually much benefit to waiting longer in that situation. They’re likely to do some extra blood flow measurements for baby to help decide how urgent that would be.
As I said for Puppydogg, repeated episodes of reduced fetal movements is a reason to consider induction anyway - not always an absolute must but especially if you have an further concerns about movements, regardless of your scan result, please get seen.
In the meantime you could consider stretch and sweeps as well to try to prompt things in the right direction. Good luck :)

@Puppydogg1 hello! Stressful when we are this close to the end, isn't it? good luck for your scan, I think it's definitely sensible to bring up induction! Strangely I was in for a growth scan last time as her measurements went up, and this time they have gone down. I know the bump measurements are quite subjective though so hopefully nothing to worry about. Hope you have a positive last few days of pregnancy

@TenThousandSpoons0 thank you that's really helpful! Well she has been engaged 3/5 for my past 3 appointments and I'm still feeling quite a lot of movement high up, plus my bump is still very high my measurements have been quite up and down throughout though so I'm not quite worrying yet

@TenThousandSpoons0 I also have a sweep booked on Saturday so fingers crossed that helps me along if I make it that far!

Hiya - yes this happened to me. My bump measured small at 40 weeks and I went for a scan the same day. I'd had growth scans up to 36 weeks due to low PAPP-A and they found that my baby had stopped growing and it looked like she'd lost weight. They induced me the next day to be on the safe side as it can be a sign of the placenta not functioning properly. My baby was born 9 weeks ago and is perfectly healthy. Don't worry though, it could also be absolutely normal - growth measurements are often inaccurate. Good luck

Oh also they'll probably be even extra cautious if you've been in twice for reduced movement as it can mean the baby is conserving energy due to the placenta not working properly. This is why they told me when I went in anyway. If they do think the baby isn't growing I'd be surprised if they didn't offer induction. I hope it all goes well.

I got to my due date and had a routine midwife appointment, she measured my bump as small and a few other issues. I went to the hospital to get checked and it turned out i had pre eclampsia. It sounds scary but as soon they knew they told me the plan straight away. Luckily i had been in early labor for a week so they ended up breaking my waters and then everything happened within 2 hours. Did your midwife mention anything about your wee sample or blood pressure? Either way i would definitely ask about induction, it sounds likely that they will offer you this anyway as you are past your due date and have concerns about size of baby. Good luck!

@YorkshirePud1 congrats on your new baby! I'm feeling pretty convinced they will bring up induction with me. Been having terrible back ache every hour through the night too so will mention that today. Thanks for sharing your experience!

@Brusselsprouts21 thank you for sharing and I'm glad everything worked out okay for you. My blood pressure and wee were fine apparently, I normally have quite low blood pressure anyway. But we shall see what they say today

Hi op,

My babies growth dipped at a scan at 36+6 and I was booked for a c section at 37+2 (he was in a dangerous breech position). He's now 13 days old!

I think they tend to get babies out if growth reduces especially due to you being over your due date. Good luck xx

@boymum4 hi! Glad everything worked out well for you in the end well I have just been for my scan and everything is fine. So no induction for me, waiting game now!

I had exactly the same, low risk easy pregnancy but measured badly at 40wk appointment. Went in for growth scan and as we'd had one previously after two rfm episodes they could plot growth note accurately. Went in for induction on my due date but baby was having none of it, luckily got to 2cm so they broke my waters and gave me the drip. She was 6lb 10 at birth which was around what they'd said, no issues with her or placenta, just ran out of room at the end I think! It was a bit scary but the amount of monitoring on the antenatal ward was reassuring that things were ticking along ok

Hi @lustforlife im in an identical situation with growth scan tomorrow, can i ask what happened in the end? Did you require induction? My growth has only dipped a bit so my midwife didnt seem too worried but just trying to prepare myself fot different eventualities :)