36 weeks - small measurements - please reasure!

[kelbel]

hi, midwife measured me 32 n half cms on Friday so referred me to consultant today. He measured me 31! andbooked a scan for Thursday. I'm now worried sick as I have to wait. Heartbeat is really strong and bay is v active but just wondered if anyone else been through this - I'm beside myself with worry x

sorry I can't offer nay advice on this kelbel but didn't want your post to go unreplied to....hopefully someone will be along soon to reassure you

Loads of us on here have had measurements which weren't as they should be and baby was fine. Try not to worry, I know you will but you are being checked and you get to see baby an extra time.

Hi Kelbel - there seems to have been a lot of threads like this recently funnily enough and all of them have turned out fine once a scan has been done. Tape measurements aren't an accurate method of baby growth.

That said, I did have a growth restricted baby (although I measured spot on by tape measure !). I was scanned regularly from my 20 week scan and was eventually induced at 37 weeks. DD was 4 lbs 9 oz but apart from a few hours getting blood sugars up she didn't have an issues as a result and thrived once out.

Good luck.

Please don't worry. My measurements were always small and I had several scans towards the end of my pregnancy. Finally they told me the baby seemed to be fine but would probably weigh 5-6lbs. He was born totally healthy at 8 and a half pounds! So that's how accurate their measurements are.

I was told I would have a big baby and had a smallish one. I had polyhydromnious, so to be fair, there was a lot of water in there!

Hi kelbel, I had to have a growth scan at the same time as you with my dc1.
They concluded that she would be on the small side of normal and they were right.
She weighed in at 6lb 13oz and, at 4 1/2 years she is still a bit of a titch but not abnormally so.
She is also energetic, bright and very sure of herself.
Please don't worry and remember that they can be over cautious.

I had a pretty horrendous experience with regard to measurements, which would make me less inclined to put too much faith in them again. DS was looking small from 20 wk scan, particularly his leg measurements. Consultant at Queen Charlottes referred me to the "experts" in the special centre upstairs for a more detailed scan at 24 wks. Turns out the experts transposed the arm measurements for both (!) arms so that they showed 23mm instead of 32mm on the growth charts. With the slightly small leg measurements, this led them to advise me to have an amnio immediately as the indications were that there was a one in 50 chance of DS or a likelihood of dwarfism. Thankfully we sought a second opinion with a private scan before doing amnio. This showed he was small but not worryingly so and they continued to scan throughout the rest of the pregnancy to check growth.

Scans and fundal measurements continued to show he would be a small baby but growth continued and that is what they will be concerned about. Dont panic - take reassurance from the fact that they are monitoring your little one and that our perfectly healthy and fit DS was born 6.5lbs, like lots of others mentioned here.

I have no experience but just wanted to say good luck and stay positive - I loved having scans and was a tiny bit disappointed I only got 2!

I was scanned the day before dd was born and was told she was small and would only be 5-6 lbs. She came out the next day at 9!!!!! Several of my friends have had identical experiences. Good Luck.

I measured 38-39 at 42weeks+2 and they kept telling me it was a small baby she was 10lb6oz with loads and loads of fluid, a huge placenta & a rope for an umbilical cord I'm really short so I don't quite know how I ever measured small as I looked big and all out front.

It's good that they're scanning you but try and remember they are erring on the side of caution in the old days they didn't even measure you like this (according to various mum's)

1.5 cm difference is nothing.

I was constantly being sent for scans with dd as They said she was small for dates etc.

Are you or dp on the small side?

hi thanks for all the messages.

Mercy - I'm 36 weeks but measurng 31, the midwife measured 32 n half on Friday but consultant measured 31 yesterday. Neither of us are really small, but certainly not on the largside. I also lost a lot of weight with hyperemesis in beginning

Lots of people seem to have similar experiences and lots of success stories which is reassuring but got to wait until thu for the scan which seems like forever.

I was told I was measuring small the whole pregnancy and had lots of scans - my GP made me really worried about it, actually, reading a list of conditions this could mean, and they were all scary. My dd was just over 6 pounds, which isn't big but isn't small, and she grew very quickly. I appreciate that care must be taken to see that the baby is growing, but I think the tape measure just isn't that good a way of measuring. I also, from talking to friends, think they get worried when you don't have a big bump and the bump size isn't really that related to the baby size. I didn't really show till nearly 7 months and barely then and I think that's why I was always being told my measurements were really small.

hi their i just thought i should tell you about my mum when she was pregnant with my youner sister all the doctors were convinced she was going to be a tiny baby even to the point of haveing my mum deliver surrounded by peadiatricians ready to whisk the baby away to the special care baby unit it turns out that my sister weighed a very healthy 7IB and was very short and chubby so the doctors arent always right and even if your baby is on the small side as long as he or she is healthy thats all that matters so try not to worry to much

if it makes you feel beter was told i was having a huge huge baby ds was 5.3 tiny!!!think it really depends how they are positioned

i was told that DS1 was small for dates. i had food poisoning when i was about 35 weeks and lost 5kg. i had only put on 10kg during pg so they were worried. was sent for scan. dr said, dont worry about weight loss, babies are parasites, they will take the nutrition they need, its you that will suffer!

baby was born at 42 weeks at 8lb 5 oz

a friend had hyperemesis in both her pg and babies were a normal size. she was skinny as a rake though

had growth scan and all fine, they reckon he weighs about 5lb11 at the momennt and still got 3 weeks to go, good musle tone to keep him tucked in apparantly...thanks again x

thats wonderful news! you must be so relieved

now you must put your feet up and enjoy the last few weeks of your pregnancy

I am currently been scanned regular for a small baby. Where i live they scan you more anyway, but at my 30 weeks scan they picked up that baby was only showing 28 weeks in size, so i was sent for a doppler scan a weeks later, and then told i am to be scanned every two weeks to check growth continues ok.

The funny thing is when i visited my MW a few days after this scan at 30 weeks, and being told baby measures 28 weeks, the MW measure my bump to be 32 weeks. So in my eyes the tape measure thing really is a load of old Bs.

I too am really unsure as to what baby measuring small really means. My scan last week at 33 weeks showed baby to weigh nearly 4lbs now, now me and hubby are both small people so i dont think thats to bad as i have another 7 weeks to go, but they are scanning me again this week, so am really confused by what the fuss is about (although dont mind be monitored)????