Baby is a whopper 😓 >95th centile!

[RWK29]

Can anyone that’s been in this situation share their experience? 36 week growth scan (have 32/36/40 week scans due to my BMI) and was called back in after for them to discuss my chart. Says baby had had a pretty big growth spurt (was measuring 72nd centile at 32 weeks and now above the 95th centile at 36 week). All they said was that as long as I was content that baby was moving around enough then it should be fine 🤔😳 they want me in again at 38 weeks for another scan but couldn’t tell me what they would do if baby was still measuring as big at that scan 🤷🏻‍♀️
I did have a GTT at 25 weeks and all came back fine although it was just the single blood draw rather than the full test! Had midwife last week and urine dip test wasn’t showing any sugars.

Anyone else been in a similar situation? Are they likely to offer early sweeps/induction etc?

Yep I was in this situation three weeks ago at 34 weeks. They gave a blood testing kit to test my sugars for a week, an hour after every meal. Despite my GTT being fine at 28 weeks, the sugars were reading high so I'm now classed as having GD and I'm being induced bang on 38 weeks.

@ablisha I was expecting them to refer me for another GTT or monitor the sugars but there was no mention of it at all! Hope your induction goes well!

@RWK29 I would ask if they haven't. You're no worse off if they're fine but at least you'll feel reassured

I know so many people who were told their baby was measuring off the scale and given late scans-I can think of 7 off the top of my head. None ended up having babies that were over 8lb!

It didn’t give me much faith in the measuring process!

They always get it wrong. I was told I had 2 whoppers. 7lb and 6lb 8 are hardly what I'd call whopping

@Redlocks28 @myhobbyisouting I have read that they can be pretty inaccurate 🤞🏼 If we stay on the same scale they’re expecting baby to be around 9lb 7oz at 40 weeks which just sounds massive 🙈

My bump was measuring off the charts. I had a GTT at 34 weeks (negative), and growth scan at 36 weeks, which showed a big baby but no other concerns. I was offered an induction at 39+1 or 40 weeks as they didn't want me to go over (my first baby was 12 days late). I went for 39+1 weeks, and baby was born at 39+4 at 8lb 13oz.

I was told that DC1 was going to be large and DC3 would be over 9lb, DC1 was 7lb and DC3 was 8 lb 4oz.

DC2 was 9lb 6oz and nothing had been mentioned about size! (That was the easiest birth).

Apparently bigger babies are easier to deliver than smaller ones. In my family most babies are 9lb something. I was 9lb 11oz, so to me a whopper would be 10/11lb.

I was offered a c-section for 39 weeks at 38 weeks. My scan suggested baby was 11lb at that point. He was born 39+1 weighing 11lb 6ozs.

They said the risk of shoulder dystocia was fairly high at his size. I definitely made the right decision for me!

I was told my 2nd was all baby and no water, to expect some intervention..... Had weekly scans from 32 weeks. She was 7lb 1oz.

@Disney1010 @scrivette @Oneandabean Thanks guys!! That makes me feel better! Everyone around me seems to have 7-8lbers so as soon as I seen the 9lb 7oz I was starting to freak out 🙈

I'm currently 31.5 weeks...bump is apparently measuring 2 weeks ahead although 28 week gtt was negative. Seeing the midwife again later this week to see what to do next!

My first DC was measuring big, I was induced at 41 weeks and she arrived weighing 9.6. No problems with the birth. Second was 9.12 and c section for other reasons not relating to size. No GD just I have larger babies.

Growth scans are so inaccurate and they're not supposed to be used for medical decisions themselves (only to highlight potential things to investigate like GD). I had so many growth scans as my son was pretty much off the charts, they were predicting 12-13lbs at 40 weeks, he was born at 41 weighing 9lbs 14. Big but nothing like they were stressing me out about.

I haven’t had the same experience

However if it helps put your mind at ease....

I’ve birthed a 7lbs 6oz baby and a 9lbs 7oz baby. The 9lbs 7 one was a walk in the park compared to the littler one. Less severe tear, bounced back straight away. So please don’t worry if your baby is big, it is often said bigger babies are easier to birth and for me it was very true!

@RWK29 don't worry about size/weight, honestly we don't tend to grow babies we can't birth. Plus gravity and a strong baby can make bigger babies easier to birth. Plus a heavier baby could be long and thin, doesn't necessarily mean they're 'bigger' than a lighter baby.

Same here. DD was 7lb 14, horrendous labour and I had a big tear. DS was 97th centile, 9lb 7 oz at birth (a VBAC after twins born by csection) with a big head. His birth was a breeze without even a graze. I listened to hypnobirthing CDs all through that pregnancy though.

I would advise using whatever calming techniques you can between now and the birth.

@NoNameIdeas Fingers crossed all is fine for you 😊

@goalpostmover That’s reassuring to hear 😊 as soon as they mention “big baby” you just assume something is wrong!

@bumbledeedum Oh wow 😳 Id definitely have been stressing out over a 12-13lb estimate too! Good point about the size too 😊 Fingers crossed gravity just does it’s thing 🙈😂

@Magpiefeather That’s nice to hear 😊 thank you!! My friend did deliver a 7lb baby that needed suction and a ridiculous number of stitches so hopefully we don’t have that!

I'm surprised they are still doing this, techniques don't seem to have improved at all since I had DS2 25 years ago - was told he would be 10lbs+, he was actually 7.5.
I wouldn't take too much notice, and I wouldn't have another scan either, unless there's a medical reason for it.

Thanks @RWK29 you too!

@DelphiniumBlue Oh wow! That’s quite a difference 😳 Growth scans are just being given because my BMI was high at booking in - but so far everything else has been fine. No known issues with sugars, BP all fine etc. In my area if you’re booked in for growth scans then they don’t measure bump so I have no idea how that’s measuring in relation to the scans 🤔

With my first he was predicted to be 9-10lb+ when I had a scan at 36 weeks. He was 7lb 7oz when he was born.
With this baby (37 weeks) a week and a half ago he was predicted to already weigh 7lb. I am having an ELCS at 39 weeks though so I'm not worried. But the scans aren't always accurate for size, if one measurement is higher (my baby has a big abdominal circumference) that can skew the prediction.

Measured big, delivered big (by c section) - 10lb 3oz!

I was measuring off the chart for most of my pregnancy. Baby was born at term (my C-section was cancelled due to covid although this was in April).

He was born after a 3hr Labour weighing 10lb 11oz (predicted 12lb 2oz!!). His shoulder got stuck on the way out but they managed to dislodge it and I escaped without any tearing. He was my 3rd and I can honestly say it wasn't anymore painful than my 9lb baby - I had only gas and air too.