'High rate of growth' - should I be worried?

[KelaS]

Hi

I'm fairly new here, but everyone seems so lovely and helpful, thought I would post about this and see if anyone has any advice.

I am currently 33+1 and when I had a checkup with the midwife on Friday she said that my bump had grown more than expected - it had been perfectly normal the last couple of times it was measured, but this time it measured 36cm - so far more than normal. She didn't seem too worried, but has made me an appointment at the hospital for Wed to get things checked out.

So, my question is - what might be the reason behind this? The midwife did say that normally, considering my weight (I am quite overweight) she would be worried about diabetes, but my urine was fine, as was my blood sugar levels when blood was last taken 4 weeks ago. So is there anything else that could cause growth like this? And what could be the consequences? Am I likely to give birth early, have to have c-section etc? I know its only 2 days till my hospital appointment, but I am starting to obsess about this and could use some more info in the meantime.

Thanks

You could have diabetes they will need to do a glucose tolerance test to rule that out, urne is not enough. You may just be having a big baby and the the average 7lb size baby. They may also check your fluid levels as that can make you measure big for dates.

Thanks for that.

So if it is diabetes, what will that mean for me/baby/birth, apart from obviously needing to be careful about diet?

Hi KelaS, there could be any number of reasons apart from diabetes:

a) Your lo is having a growth spurt. They don't all grow in a nice straight line
b) You were measured by a different person or you were lying differently on the couch. It is
only a tape measure, and 3cm is not that much! Measuring this way is not fantastically accurate
c) {blush] no offense intended - they could be measuring some maternal padding rather than just baby. Goes for a lot of us!
d) Maybe your baby will be on the higher rather than lower end of average in terms of size. You can still have him/her naturally and you would not need a c-section in most cases.

Don't let one tape measure panic you

I've just been for a scan because my LO was in the 95th centile at 36 weeks - all the scan told me was that he's a big baby - weighing approximately 7lbs already! It doesn't have any other implications - there's a chance he might put in an early show, otherwise he'll just be big! Either way no reason not to expect a natural birth.

Did find out he has a fine head of hair already though .

Thanks for the reassurance guys - think this worried me mostly because up until now LO has been totally normal size - 20 week scan showed all measurements spot on 50th centile, and although there is a fair amount of 'maternal padding' (nice phrase by the way ), my bump has measured normal as well up until now - just seemed like a really big jump in just 4 weeks. Also I have hardly put on any weight, so any growth really is the bump, not extra padding (lost a stone with morning sickness, have only just got back to my starting weight, midwife weighed me on Fri and I have only put on 2kg in 8 weeks!

I forgot the most important one...my lo has just moved from under my right rib to right out front and it has completely changed my bump (Like I swallowed a melon), I bet it will change the measurements too, so we shall see what my mw says at 34weeks