Large Abdominal Circumference

[27andcounting]

Found out at my last growth scan that baby is in 90th centile for abdominal circumference which hasn't been and issues until now (was done at 37+5wks. I've turn 38 today and got a telephone appointment with gen obs to discuss birth this week. Can anyone tell me what they might suggest? I've read a lot to say it could be c-section as babies are more likely to get stuck?

I've not got GD, and to be honest I don't care as long as it's whatever is best for baby and me at this point, just overthinking it as they gave me no indication of how worried I should be if at all and hate waiting to find out more.

I'm not sure, sorry, but watching this with interest. My baby's A/C is in the 86th centile and head is in the 95th centile so I'm feeling worried about the 'getting stuck' issue! I'm a small person with a small pelvis and my trust lost the results of my GTT test so my mind is going to all sorts of places! I was scheduled for a call 40 minutes ago from a birth options consultant but nobody has been in touch 🤷 At 39 weeks, I'm trying not to panic too much, but more info would be very useful! I'm assuming that there must be official guidelines around this kind of thing.

A lit of time they will other you an induction first but give you the opinion of a c section. My first was said to have a large abdominal circumfence but came out at 38+4 via induction at 5lb10oz. My second also has a large abdominal i am having a scan tomorrow and I think they are planning to induce at 38 weeks again. I think he'll be bigger though as he's very up front

@RobynNora how did your call go? I've now been booked in for an induction on my due date. I have also just had a blood test to check on GD as well as that could change things if suddenly came back positive! So bad they lost your results from GTT.

@Amiz how did your scan go? yeah they mentioned a c-section but she did say it wasn't entirely medically necessary based on the scan so I've booked in for an induction on my due date instead and will see what happens in the meantime.

@27andcounting Best of luck with the GD test results. An agreed induction on your due date sounds like a positive outcome. Are you ok with that? And is it so baby can't get too big?

The consultant didn't call me in the end at my scheduled appointment time so I'm none the wiser. Sadly, I wasn't very surprised as my trust is an absolute shambles and pretty much everything goes wrong.

@RobynNora thank you, yes very happy with the outcome, my anxiety has been through the roof as my first nephew was big and he got stuck and ended up with shoulder dystocia so least I know I won't go over and baby won't get too big (hopefully)

Oh that's so bad! Have you tried calling them, that's really bad care to be getting so close to the end.

Three of my babies had an abdominal measurement that was off the centile chart. No GD and no problems either. Some babies just have big tummies.

@27andcounting I'm sorry to hear that. Was your nephew ok? Shoulder dystocia is my biggest nightmare. Glad you're feeling less anxious!

Annoyingly, I don't have a phone number for the team who were supposed to call me, so I've emailed twice and just sent a FB message. I'd have thought think they'd be a bit more on the ball after losing my GTT test results, as for all they know I might be high risk. This pregnancy has been a real eye opener for me in terms of my local NHS services...

Scan show large tummy again and due to GD and pain issues they have decided to induce me next monday

My first son had a 90th centile abdominal circumference. I was worried but the midwife reassured me that the tummy squishes down on the way out so it shouldn't cause any problem. She said a big tummy was better than a big head!

My ds was difficult to give birth to, but not because of the abdominal circumference, he was OP. None of the dr's or midwives I saw were worried about the tummy measurement causing problems in labour.

I forgot to add, I went into labour naturally and ds was born at 40+3 weighing 8lb 2oz. So despite having a big tummy he wasn't a massive weight.

@RobynNora contact PALS. If I were you I think I'd be pushing hard for ELCS, or at least early induction.

@FourPlasticRings that's a good tip - thank you

@RobynNora My nephew is fine he had two corrective surgery's and still doesn't have full use of his shoulder.
Have you managed to get any further regarding your appointment? Have you called the antenatal unit as they should be able to get a number for you.

@27andcounting Yes, thanks. I sent another email to the trust and finally got a call with my hospital's lead obstetrician yesterday, who was brilliant. Turns out I'm not at particularly high risk for shoulder dystocia just because my baby has a very big head. They actually look to the head to abdominal circumference ratio to determine the likelihood of getting stuck. So I'm going to try for a natural birth and expect I'll be asking for an epidural.

Best of luck with your induction and birth :)

@RobynNora so glad you got to have that conversation! And that makes sense as this was our scan, quite a big difference between their head and their abdominal.

Best of luck too! My pregnancy ball has become my clutch but still no early labour signs, trying to get through the next week 🤣

Same @27andcounting! Bounce, bounce, bounce!

It looks as though you're going to have a very cuddly baby from that scan! So sweet