I need reassurance - baby not grown in last 2 weeks - static fundal growth??

[pussycatmomma]

Hi there -
Im turning to mn in my hour of need.
Im 30 weeks preg and just been for a routine visit to midwife.
She measured my tummy and measurement for fundal height is exactly the same as 2 weeks ago. She has referred to this in my notes as "static fundal growth".
She did say the baby was lying across ways (transverse) and this could be why measurement is such but she has made an appt for me to have a scan tomorrow.
I have just scared myself stupid by googling "static fundal growth" and this is the first thing i came up with :

"In this example, the measurement is identical in two measurements separated by 2 weeks. We would consider this to be an abnormal pattern, and should prompt referral for ultrasound assessment. Static growth has the same significance whether the original measurement is above the 90th Centile, on the 50th, or on the 10th Centile. The potential impaction is static fetal growth, and possibly also reduced liquor volume, both of which are associated with intrauterine death."

Now beside myself with worry.
I am going to start counting movements.
Up till now thought all was fine and dandy, thought i was feeling baby moving lots, and thought my bump was huge and healthy.
Now i feels scared and panicky.

A mumsnet group hug and advice needed asap
Thanks xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
pusscat

hey pusscat

i know nothing anyone will say will actually stop you from worrying, but it seems that all of these growth estimates, whether it's the tape measure, a scan or just guessing are equally unreliable, and I think there is a very good chance you have absolutely nothing to worry about and it is simply a matter of a change in position affecting the measurements.

If I were a betting gal, I'd put a good chunk of money on your bubba being just fine. I'd trust your instincts on having a huge healthy and wiggly bump and look forward to the opportunity to have another look at the LO tomorrow.

but, of course, if I were you I'd be beside myself as well. My thoughts are with you - looking forward to hearing good news tomorrow.

thank you sabinar - are you on the due jan thread as well? i didnt want to post on there and clog it up, didnt realise there was a new thread.
I cant believe the first bloody thing i read ended in the phrase intauterine death !!!!
cant believe how worried i feel.

yep, I'm on the Jan thread

I think that in cases like this the worst possible thing to do is to Google... the chances that there is anything wrong is really very low, and I'm sure you've read SOOOO many people talking about how the measurements and the actual size of the baby are completely different.

I lurk on a HomeBirth email list where this is commonly discussed because midwives and doctors give baby size (either too small or too large) as a reason why women can't have a home birth and the discrepancy between what they were expecting and the size the baby actually pops out at is incredible... I wonder if they ever get it right.

Feel free to come post over on the Jan thread if you want some extra vitual hugs! I bet you need them

are you still feeling much movement?

PCM - Please don't worry. I know it's horrid to read but it may be absolutely fine. My friend got referred for a scan cos her baby hadn't grown but it turned out that the baby was just lying awkward and that was why. She had a fair size 10lbs baby in the end.

well there was lots during the night - ive not been sleeping and i think you notice them more when you are lying in bed trying to go to sleep. They were quite vigourous. I havent noticed much today to be honest, but then ive not been conciously looking for them , only since m/wife appt at 3. I think i will start filling in the chart on the back of the green midwife thing, just to try and reassure myself.
i know it sounds ridiculous but please tell me this doesnt mean my baby is just going to stop moving stop growing and die, thats all i can think of and i feel like im getting really hett up about it xxx

Hi Pussycat - tape measures are the cause of so much mental anguish that I really feel they should be relegated to the bucket along with the people who use them

Now that you are terrified, why dont you give labour ward a call and tell them that you are really worried and that baby is not moving much today, less than 10 moves, and that will at least get you a CTG and a second opinion

If you dont want to do that, remember that if your baby is lying transverse, then that measurement will be bigger than 2 weeks ago and so Im sure your baby will be perfectly fine. Have your scan tomorrow and DON'T GOOGLE again tonight!

Good luck!

pussycatmomma, as a fellow worrier, don't start counting movements. You have had this baby inside for 30weeks, if something is wrong with movemement you will know instinctively.

Sabinar has given all the wise advice, I can only say amen to that. If you look a bit further down on the last Jan thread (the bag packing one) you will see I just posted a message that a mate of mine was referred for another scan as her bump was too small, although midwife also said babe may be transvers, scan said baby was big, baby when it came out was perfectly average. Babies have growth spurts and measuring is inexact, even if done by the same midwife. If you are lying slightly differently on her couch your womb might already measure differently!!

First of a {{{HUG}}}

Secondly stop googling. It causes way too much worry. Trust me i know .

Have a nice warm bubble bath and some choccies. Try your best to get through tonight and then think of tomorrow as the last chance to see your little one on screen before he/she is here.

A girl at work (there are lots of PG where i work) had a a growth problem and had to have a scan every 2 days from round about 30w. At one point they were going to get baby out early via c section but then he had a growth spurt. She gave birth last week 3 days early to a perfectly healthy little boy.

I know its hard but try and get through tonight. Sleep if you can and tomorrow will be here alot quicker.

Good luck with the scan. Im sure everything will be fine xx

Good advice from the others pussycat....they got a HB and all that ok? Liek the others said, im sure its fine,and just the way the baby is lying.so they are probably just doing a scan for re-assurance xxxxxx

Pusscat I had a similar thing when my baby was lying transverse, the midwife said it is because the top bit of the uterus is just not being filled as baby is lying sideways. So please try not to worry.

Have you felt any kicks today?

I had this throughout my first pregnancy.

At the 32 week appointment, I was measuring the same as I did at 27 weeks.

Like you, my midwife sent me for a scan, which was absolutly fine. Please try not to worry.

My midwife then paniced again at 41 weeks when I was maesuring the same as at 35 weeks and sent me up to the hospital again. To cut a long story short, I ended up being induced early and had a 7lb baby girl. (Not such a bad weight IMHO!!)

If you think about what she's actually measuring - its so imprecise, imagine if she went slightly diagonally one week and straight up the next time for example.

Try not to worry - she's doing the best thing for you and sorting out a reasuuring scan asap then you can put all this behind you.

Good Luck

thank you everyone for being so kind.
I cant stop crying now, i know its silly but i just dont want there to be any problems.
im stupid to have googled it in the first place.
I just felt a wee kick now, but not felt much today tbh, like i said, i tend to notice them more at night time or during the night when im lying awake. I have always thought the baby was quite a busy baby. Was very active yesterday, had to sit through a funeral with it going for it inside me!
sorry to be such a wuss, just scared thats all. xxxx

thank you ever so much everyone. I am going to go and lie on my left side and eat something sweet and wait for the kicks, thats what my friend has just advised in order to feel some movement.

PCM - Why don't you try going and lying down on the bed for abit and see whether the little un responds. Try and notice where the kicks are - If they are more to the side instead of top and bottom that makes the MW's idea seem more real.

ALSO DON'T GOOGLE ANYTHING EVER AGAIN!

Sorry you are stressed hun. Please try not to be... I was told DS1 was going to be big and he was a very average 7.5 lbs. It isnt an exact science and please dont worry about the scan as that isnt even all that reliable either from what I have read on MN.

Big big

PCM, how worrying for you - sending lots of big hugs. I think measuring (particularly with a tape measure) is highly inaccurate at the best of times but if baby is not in 'classic' head-down position it is even harder. I had a MW appt yesterday and am only measuring half a cm more than 2 weeks ago. However, 2 weeks ago baby was head down and now it is lying 'akwardly' with head nowhere near the pelvis so I am sure this is the reason for the fundal height being less than it should.

It is good that they are scanning you at the first sign of any possible problem, I really hope it goes well and I will be thinking of you tomorrow.

It's probaby just the position the baby was in, I had exactly the same thing at 28wks when the baby was transverse, all of a sudden I measured 2cm under when I'd always been spot on, but 2wks later it's moved and I'm back on track with fundal measurements. The scan is purely a precaution, if I was you I wouldn't worry, just look forward to seeing your baby again tomorrow, I'm sure all will be fine. Let us know how you get on.

DS3 did this

I took early amternity leave and rested laods, whether that was the cause or not he started to grow again and was over 7lbs at birth (the biggest of my 3 so far)

Sorry - haven't read all posts but I had this between 27 and 29 weeks. Tummy's growing great guns now! I think the MW would act if she was worried.

As others have said, measurement by tape measure is not accurate !

That said, IF there is a problem, it has been spotted and they can monitor you now. I had this with dd - her lack of growth was spotted at 22 weeks and we managed to get to 37 weeks before they induced me. DD was born at 4 lbs 9 oz and then thrived from the moment she was out - absolutely no problems.

Try not to google, I remember doing it myself. I won't say try not to worry because you will and you will certainly start to think you aren't feeling the right movements (I remember sobbing at my desk at work because I wasn't sure I had felt enough movements one day).

Good luck tomorrow - hope all is ok.

I just had a midwife appt and there was a medical student present. I was examined 5 times - once my normal midwife, once by med student, once by the doctor, again by med student and then again by doctor (to correct what the med student had done wrong and show him the right way)

Now, after all this, the doctor was telling the student about how so many inaccurate measurments of fundal height by the measuring tape, because in alot of cases the tape is not brought all the way down to the pubic bone and so an inaccurate measurement is given. I'm just saying what the other posters have, it's only as reliable as the person handling the tape. On my first few appts I was told I was measuring big, then moved area and was told I was small. At my latest appt I was told I was measuring perfect (but after the 5 thorough examinations I should hope this is accurate!)

Massive hugs and good luck for tomorrow. Try not to get yourself wound up and be happy that you are receiving such good care that you are being referred for a scan.

And the moral is, never ever google pregnancy-related conditions. You are guaranteed to turn up something really scary!

I don't think fundal height measurements are at all accurate. FWIW, I was a patient on an antenatal ward for 4 weeks (23-27 wks). They took my blood pressure, temp and pulse daily and listened to the baby with a doppler daily, did loads of blood tests, daily urine tests, the lot. Paranoia ruled. Not once did anyone come near me with a tape measure.

The NICE guidelines (UK thing the NHS is supposed to base practice on) say to do fundal height measurements cos they're cheap and easy and there is no evidence to say that they are unhelpful! (There is also no evidence to say that they are any good, despite several studies).

And also, you may start to get less movements from about now on, because the baby is bigger and more squashed. Just to really confuse things.

This is all good practice for when the baby is born, and you can find lots and lots of things to worry about...

Let us know how it goes.

Thank you everyone for all being the voice of reason.
I did what my friend suggested and ate some chocolate and had a lie down on my left side - cue lots of baby jiggles
It is reassuring to hear of other womens experiences though. It is just an awful thought of the baby stopping growing and something being wrong. Its the kind of thought thats too awful to contemplate and now its just firmly in my head thats all.
I will endevour not to worry any more till we have had the scan tomorrow. I do realise how on the ball the midwife is to refer me immediatly, but then sometimes speed is frightening - it normally takes so long to get things done, or referred etc, that you automatically think something is wrong when things happen quickly iykwim.
xxx

PCM, right now your baby is ok - he is moving. If the scan shows that there is something very wrong, then worst-case is they'll induce or do a cs tomorrow. You are 30 weeks so your baby will be fine. Trust me, I've learnt a lot about a baby's chances when born at different gestations!

More likely, they'd put you on bed-rest and tell you to eat a lot for a fortnight.

And most likely, there is nothing wrong. Not meaning to belittle your fears, but its true!

OMG!!!!!!!!!! DO A C-SECTION TOMORROW?!!!!!
Fruitful are you havin a LARF?????