Growth Scan 35 weeks pregnant

[Fawn68]

Hi. So I am consultant led due to 2 previous miscarriages. All scans have been perfect and growth has always been 50th percentile, I was last scanned 4 weeks ago. Today however when being scanned the growth has dropped to the 10th Percentile. I was extremely upset as the male consultant wasn't very reassuring at all and didn't communicate anything to me.

I was then put on the CTG monitor and all movement and heartbeat ok, I have to return on Friday then Monday and then a growth scan again on Wednesday. The midwife was lovely and said this could just be down to a different sonographer.

Has anyone else been through this or have a similar experience and all been ok?

I'm currently 35 week with my first, last week I dropped from the 10th to the 3rd centile. I was really scared last week but the consultant really reassured me yesterday. I'm having weekly scans just in case and have been told to monitor movements, but that all women should be doing that anyway.

I was told that the baby is considered full term at 37 weeks and that naturally the placenta starts to stop working as well around that time and sometimes this can cause the baby's growth to slow. If growth slows too much it is better to deliver earlier so they can be fed milk. I will probably deliver at 37 weeks and am talking about this with the birth options clinic next week.

I know for me it was a shock and I didn't know what questions to ask. I called the community midwife a few days later and she reassured me and I was then able to write down the questions I wanted to ask the consultant.

The one thing I found most reassuring was that so many people have told me that the NHS are really good at giving you bad news, so if they were concerned about you or the baby then they would have told you this already.

Good luck x

I had growth scans in both my pregnancies as consultant led. My DS slowed in his growth at 35 weeks so I was booked to be rescanned 2 weeks later with a view to delivering early if his growth remained slow, when I was rescanned his growth was absolutely fine and back on the curve expected so it was put down to the sonographer at the 35 week scan being a little out on her measurements. As it happened he was born the day after that scan a perfectly healthy 6lb 11oz.

@Magenta82 sorry you too are going through this! But glad you have got good reassurance. Yes they did tell me to keep a close eye on movements also! It really is such a shock. I just can't understand how it has dropped from 50th to 10th in just 4 weeks. I'm back again this Friday for ctg. I hope all goes well for you and thank you for taking the time to message x

@ArtfulScreamer very reassuring thank you. I'm really hoping this is my case!

Yes i was in your position. 50th centile at 20w scan, 25th at 28w and then 9th at 36w. I had had an issue with my cord blood flow and had been taking asprin so i agreed to an induction at 39w, but at 37+6 my blood pressure jumped to 155/110, my waters broke and i had a natural delivery. She was very small - 5lbs 12oz and had to go under the heat light after birth. We have struggled with weight gain since and she dropped to below the 0.4th centile so we are combi feeding, but its difficult to say whether that was due to her size or other issues (she had a gbs infection + sepsis and spent two weeks in nicu / scbu before coming home). If the consultant hasn't answered your questions, ask to speak to another or a consultant midwife as babies are considered full term at 37w so if they have concerns, things can move quickly and baby soon arrive!

I should say baby is now 12 weeks and we have just hit 9lbs so we are slowly getting there but she is also going to be tiny. Her length has stayed fairly consistent at 50th centile so maybe she's going to be tall and thin!

@GuidingSpirit yes they are letting me see a different consultant next Wednesday. They did check blood flow etc of cord and placenta and it is all perfect.

I had the same thing, same dates and same points in percentile. And weirdly it happened with both of my pregnancies, exactly the same. I was induced with both after my 37week scan as there was an issue with my placenta not helping the babies to grow any longer. Both of my sons were born at 37 weeks, both induced, both weighed 4lb 9oz, but two years apart :)

@winteroversummer glad everything worked out ok! At the minute everything is ok with placenta and cord so I'm really hoping that this is just a measurement error (trying to stay positive) my mind is definitely working overtime as it came as shock after all scans being 50th centile until yesterday.

Hey! I’m going through something very similar at the moment. Growth has slowed but placenta and amniotic fluid all okay. I’ve had no issues during the pregnancy just comparing a 26 week growth scan (44th percentile) with a 35 weeks growth scan (13th percentile). To know your outcome and how baby is doing would be so reassuring! @Fawn68

It is a worry, but they are cautious and monitor you to make sure all is fine.

I was 35 weeks pregnant when I posted 18 months ago, my baby was slipping down the centiles. There was nothing wrong with the placenta, she just wasn't putting on weight. We had planned an induction at 38 weeks, which TBH I wasn't happy about, I'd done the research and small babies find labour hard, my preference would have been planned cesarean.

I had a bleed at 37 weeks so was induced then, DD's heart rate dropped during the induction so I ended up with the cesarean anyway.

DD was born fit and healthy at 37+2 (only just 2 days as it was 20 past midnight!) She was very small at 4lbs 10oz but has thrived. She is nearly 17 months and walking, talking, problem solving etc as expected. She is on the 9th centile now, she was below 0.4 at birth, but DP and I are both short so that is normal for us, she is on track to be taller than my 5'1".

The only thing that wasn't made clear to me was that often small babies don't have the same energy as bigger ones, so they don't always wake up when hungry at first. So for a few weeks you have a sleepy baby you need to wake to feed regularly.

I'm sure you will be fine. Keep us posted! Hugs.

Thank you so so much for replying. @Magenta82 this is really reassuring. Thanks for updating about your little ones development too- I think this is one of my main worries. I’ve been analysing her measurements and it seems to be the abdominal and femur length that is lagging behind and I think what is causing the percentiles to drop. I’ve been talking to the midwives and they’ve booked me in for another scan in 3 weeks (I’ll be 38 weeks by then!). I’m going to push for one in 2 weeks instead after my next midwife appointment. I’m trying not to worry but it’s hard. I’m very petite myself so wasn’t expecting a big baby. Just really don’t like the thought of her not growing well and everything has been so straight forward so far, it’s just come as a shock. Thanks again and I’ll keep you posted 😊

They only do growth scans every 2 weeks, but they can do a blood flow scan to check the placenta in between, I was at the hospital every week for alternating growth and placenta scans. The fact that you aren't means they are not particularly concerned.
However I would also be pushing for the 2 weekly growth scans in your position as well.

@Totoro1234 they brought me in at 39 weeks to induce due to low fluid, but thankfully on the same day of induction I went into Labour myself! I had a baby boy who was born with absolutely no issues. But from that first problem with centiles they were monitoring me 2-3 times a week and also scans every other week! He was born weighing 7lb 3oz so not as small as they predicted they originally said a 6lb baby!

@Magenta82 @Fawn68 thanks so much for replying. They checked my placental blood flow with the Doppler at my US scan and that was fine as was amniotic fluid. I think they are less concerned as despite dropping, all the measurements are within the normal range still. Checked my 20 week scan results and her EFW was 37.2% back then and has now gone down to 13%. Was even higher at a private 26 week scan but they won’t take this into account because it was private. I’m going to push for more scans and tests though when I see the midwife the week after next. I can still feel baby kicking regularly. Just feel sick with worry that baby unknowingly has stopped or slowed down growing and that will be affecting them in some way. Reassuring to hear all was okay with yours once they arrived 💕 xx