32 weeks stopped growing

[Tokyo21]

I posted earlier about being referred for a scan about my baby’s growth. Now I looked in the book and can see why. Not only has he slowed down growing but it looks like he’s completely stopped growing. What does this mean?

Was it just done with a tape on the bump ? I do wonder about the accuracy of the tape
But hopefully that’s why you will go for a scan to check on growth
How long do you have to wait for the scan and what have they said to you about it ?

Here good info on Tommy website
Good luck op
Xxx

@LovelyYellowLabrador hey yes the midwife used the tape. I have the scan Monday morning so not too long but long enough to worry! I did have covid around Christmas so am thinking this could be the reason, I've read it can cause problems with the placenta.

Hopefully they do a Doppler on the umbilical cord
They can look in more detail at the umbilical cord in the scan to see how well it’s flowing
They don’t always do that though so make sure they do
And educate yourself regarding looking out for any movement changes
It’s hopefully just the tape thing and humans doing it and all is fine and nothing to worry about
Sending best wishes to you tho x

Maybe your wee baby was just lying in a different position x

Try not to panic, my bump measurements were always off at the midwives and pointed to slow or no growth most appointments. With both my pregnancies I would guess I had 5 growth scans and they always came back fine. 1st born was 7lb8 at 39 weeks and 2nd was 7lb15 at 39 weeks!

I wouldn't wait for a growth scan. I'd attend your maternity unit and explain your fears and they'll check heartbeat etc and may give you a scan then and there. Always always always go with your gut instinct if you're worried x

If you're going to follow shoemadlady's advice, please call ahead and discuss with maternity triage. They can absolutely conduct a CTG tracing of baby's heart rate, but that won't provide the detail they're looking for with a scan. Also, different maternity units have different staffing levels and different facilities. If they've booked your scan for Monday, it's probably for a good reason, not all units have the capacity or facilities to scan women on demand. If you're worried about baby's movements, or your health between now and your scan please call your unit for advice, but don't be disappointed if they do not offer you a scan there and then.

I agree with @shoemadlady. Follow your instinct. You can call the traige/maternity unit. I felt a little pain on my side the other day and I went there. They will check baby heart beat and monitor for a while. If any concerns I'm sure they will carry out a scan. Don't just sit and wait in fear, this is why you have these services. Defo go to them so they can check rather than waiting for Monday. They need to check the plancenta. When you had covid did you have any symptoms? All will be well, try not to worry. 🙏

I agree that if you are worried you should call your triage line. However the fundal height measurement really is just an indicator and it’s not always accurate. With me because I am small my fundal height last time was measuring 3 weeks ahead but the growth scans showed baby was actually smaller than average. This time they want to monitor baby because of previous SGA baby and they don’t even bother doing the bump measurements as growth scans are much more accurate (but still not 100% accurate).

Hopefully the scan will be reassuring - as I understand it the tape measuring can vary depending on a variety of factors. In my first pregnancy my bump was measuring off the charts small (and the measurement even went down at one point!). However the scan showed a healthy, larger than average baby. I think it was down to baby’s position and also my very tight stomach muscles (sadly no longer the case!). Obviously if you have any concerns in the meantime contact triage but hopefully the scan will go well for you x

Try not to worry - tape measurements can be off. Was it the same midwife that measured you at all appointments? I was sent for three growth scans - two measuring big and one measuring small from midwife tape measurements. All scans showed a perfectly average sized baby and he was born at 8lbs 4oz. They said it might have just been that the different midwives were measuring slightly differently so there wasn't consistency.

I had an urgent referral for a same day scan at 32 weeks because my fundal height measurements were off the scale at the bottom of the chart, below the 1st centile, I was warned that baby may need to be delivered ASAP due to lack of growth. Went for the scan and she measured on the 90th centile 🤷‍♀️ 😂 and the sonographer said “you must have a wide stomach”! Basically baby was lying sideways. FH measurements are notoriously unreliable, most countries don’t use them as an indicator of growth and they just use US but maternity services are so poorly funded in this country that we only get two scans as standard. At a subsequent visit I saw two different midwives (they wanted to do some other checks) and they both did the FH measurement on after the other and there was a 3cm difference. Fingers crossed all is well x

If the scan does show that your DBaby has indeed stopped growing, it would probably be due to IUGR (interuterine growth restriction) and they will decide whether to induce you early or not. Normally the baby has a better chance of growing on the outside if the inside conditions aren't favourable.

I was scanned/dopplered weekly from about 34 weeks, then induced at 37 weeks and he was absolutely fine, just small. He's still on the 3rd centile for size 6 months on but perfectly healthy.

It's a very worrying time but I agree that tape measurements can be off so try not to panic yet! I just wanted to give you an idea of next steps if the scan confirms lack of growth.

Oh and I agree with the PP, they don't do FH measurements in the country where I live, we get as a bare minimum 4 scans. It doesn't sound very accurate to me but what do I know?!

Fundal height measurements are notoriously inaccurate. At my 25 week apt my tummy was 20 cms. I wouldn't worry unless your movements slow down.

Your bump not growing does not necessarily mean your baby has stopped growing, so please don't panic about that.

My bump didn't grow with my first at about your gestation and I had a growth scan. All fine, baby's measurements well within normal range, he was just scrunched up.

When I went into labour at 39 weeks someone measured my bump as 36cm and said it was too small and I'd have to have continuous monitoring and couldn't give birth on the MLU. Then someone else measured it 20 minutes later and said it was 39cm so I ended up giving birth on the MLU after all.

Bump measurement is a really rough guide, especially if done by different people.

I'm now 28 weeks with my second and apparently measuring 30cm but taking that with a pinch of salt!

If you're worried by all means call triage however if you're booked in Monday for a growth scan anyway I doubt they will get you in any earlier for it. Like everyone has said measurements aren't accurate, my growth chart is a right mess as 4 different people have measured me. I went for a growth scan last week at 36 weeks as I hadn't grown since my last appointment according to the midwife, everything was fine though. Have your movements been normal for you?

My midwife said the tape measure bump recording are so inaccurate, she has to sign her measurements in my book, in case anyone else does a measurement, because it’ll be wildly out, depending on who is measuring.

@Shoemadlady

I wouldn't wait for a growth scan. I'd attend your maternity unit and explain your fears and they'll check heartbeat etc and may give you a scan then and there. Always always always go with your gut instinct if you're worried x

Am sure the midwife would of checked heartbeat and told op to be seen sooner rather than later if she thought necessary.

Thank you so much everyone for your responses and reassurance. This is my first pregnancy so its all kinda new to me! I'm glad to hear that sometimes belly measurements can be off, hopefully thats just the case here. However, when I did have covid a couple weeks ago I was hospitalised because I didn't have the vaccine and my symptoms were really severe they made me stay overnight bcos I was so sick. Whilst I was there they also gave me an iron transfusion because they said I am anaemic. so basically what im tryna say is, as much as I want to stay positive and hope the measurements arrant accurate I do have a gut feeling that covid and anaemia affected the baby. Monday can't come soon enough.

and yes the midwife said his heart rate was fine

Was it the same midwife both times doing the measurements? Sometimes they have slightly different techniques from one another so two midwives will get two different measurements from the same bump.

Also, I have a friend who had this- measurements were coming up small so she got referred for a scan and all was fine, then measurements came up big the next time and she got referred for a gestational diabetes test, then measurements came up bang within the normal range... It's not an exact science.

My bump stopped growing at 32 weeks. I had a growth scan a week until I went into labour naturally and had DS bang on my due date. He was a perfectly healthy weight and is now a taller than average, healthy 5yo :)