Small baby- 29 weeks

[Steoh1]

Hi,

My wife went for her 28 week midwife appointment and we were referred for a scan as her stomach measured slightly small.

As my wife is petit I just assumed that was the cause. We’ve just had the scan and the baby came in as small- 5th percentile. They said everything on the scan looked fine and they then monitored the babies heart rate which was also fine.

Now she needs to have another scan to see if they can find a problem. The doctor was saying it could be due to her being small herself, could be due to an issue with the placenta or could be a rare genetic disorder. Apparently they’ve ruled out the common ones.

The doctor was talking about the possibility of an early delivery if they find an issue or if there’s issues with the babies movements. They asked us to monitor the movements to see if they are normal, however we don’t know what normal is. He moves quite a bit and I can feel him with my hand. The doc said my wife should use her gut instinct!

Really wasn’t expecting to have this conversation and the doctor seemed really blaze about everything.

Needless to say I’m pretty stressed now, but have been trying to downplay it for my wife’s sake.

Has anyone been through this (ideally with a positive outcome!)?

Sorry you are going through this stress. It sounds like there’s a good chance the baby is just petite like your wife.
If it’s the placenta - a family friend had to deliver at 28 weeks because the placenta wasn’t giving the baby everything she needed. They gave her steroids to help the lungs before she was born, and she is now a thriving toddler.
It’s good the baby is moving a lot - can your wife perhaps use a kick chart to count the movements?
A rare genetic condition sounds a lot less likely - they just won’t want to exclude any possibilities. While the thought of that is of course very upsetting, bear in mind it doesn’t necessarily mean a poor quality of life - there are so many conditions that can cause wildly varying degrees of issues.
Also, you say the dr was blaze about it, and they will now closely monitor her. So try not to worry excessively (I know it’s easy to say that, but try to distract yourselves as much as possible).
Fingers crossed - let us know how it goes.

My little twin measured small the entire pregnancy - much less than 2.5 centile - so small she didn't chart. I had regular scans to check on her but because her growth was consistent they were happy she was just doing her own thing. I'm very petite and it was a twin pregnancy to boot.
I did end up having them early as her placenta detached at 34 weeks - I don't know if the 2 are linked because all the scans of the placenta and cord showed everything looked normal up until that point. Anyway she was small but perfectly healthy x

I had small measurements. I had a small baby. I am also petite. This is the most likely reason. 1 in 20 will be on the 5th centile or below. I had extra scans and that was it. Easy to say but please don't worry. Pregnancy yoga was a godsend for me. We also had a marker for a chromosomal disorder at 20 weeks. It was a horrible time but all pointless worry. The positive I take from it is that I was mentally stronger through that time than I have ever been. And now very grateful for two healthy children.

Yes, this happened with my second DC. The bump measured behind, which triggered a need for a scan. Scan was performed, and amniotic fluid was sightly low too. Was given steroid injection in case of an early arrival. Blood flow was good through the cord, so twice weekly scans were deemed the plan going forward. Baby was predicted to be just under 5lbs at term.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, she arrived 6 days late, weighing 7lbs 8oz and very healthy.

I know it’s a real worry, but they sound to be taking good care of your wife and baby.

Good luck.

Thanks very much for all your comments and support. The good news is he continues to move well and there were no markers to suggest genetic issues.

I think the comment that these situations make you stronger mentally is very apt.

So they reviewed the scan and are happy with (everything?). We need to return for fortnightly scans though, to check the development

Hi All

So it turns out my wife had pre eclampsia which came on quite suddenly and severely. She was admitted straight to hospital, where they carefully monitored her and administered steroids and magnesium to quickly develop the babies lungs and brain for an emergency c section which they performed the next day (at 32 weeks)

All is well with baby, although he’ll be in the neo natal unit for some time. Mum was very unwell for a while, suffering from liver and kidney damage, but is on the mend and coming home very soon.

It was a real scare, but looking back it was clear the medical team were fully in control throughout and that the outcome was always going to be positive.

Firstly, many congratulations on your new arrival - glad to hear baby is doing well.
Sorry your wife has been suffering though - I hope she heals fast and that you’ll all be back home together soon.
Thanks for updating us.

Thanks.

Our lessons over this past week have been to never miss a mid wife check in, make sure you get any unusual symptoms checked out, but don’t be scared if you need to deliver early- neo natal are bloody brilliant!