referal to consultant for small baby - any advice ?

[Hazellnut]

I have seen my midwife today for 28 week check up and having had scans at 22 and 26 weeks showing a smaller than average baby she has now decided I should see a consultant on friday. I am fairly sure the problem is genetic (I am 5 ft and DH is v. slight but has average size legs which the scan is showing db to have) but does anyone have any experience of being referred and what is likely to happen ? Am having nightmares now of being delivered early or being forcefed hormones and/or steroids - also what will they do on friday - another scan ??

Any advice gratefully received !

Hazellnut, just to reaasure you - in my antenatal group, some of the people (not me though) took part in a research study which involved regular scans to determine how big the babies would be at birth. It turned out that none of the scans were particularly accurate and all the babies were of average, normal size, despite some of the parents being warned that their babies were bigger / smaller than should be expected. A friend at work also told that her baby was very small. She didnt have to do anything other than give up cycling to work (!) and rest some more. Turned out her baby too, was fine. At the end of the day, people in society and babies in general are all different shapes and sizes, so babies in the womb will be too! Its definitely worth getting checked out, but go along to your appointment with an open mind and hopefully everything will work out the way it should. Try not to worry too much if you can. Will be thinking of you.

Hazellnut - they tried this on me too... DD was 5lbs9 at birth which is under the hospitals cut-off point for "normal" so this pg they are giving me hassle in case I have another "growth retarded" baby. DD was not too small - born on 2nd centile, still healthily on it 2.5 yrs later. I'm average height and dh is the same as me (ie short!).

Anyway, they wanted me to have a special scan at 23 weeks to check the bloodflow from the placenta, as this can be one reason why babies don't grow as much as they should (placenta not working properly). I asked them what they'd do if they discovered that the bloodflow was abnormal and they said, err, nothing. My midwife pointed out that she'll spot it if my baby stops growing, and for anything other than that, the best place for the baby is inside me for as long as possible. So I "forgot" to book the scan.

Can't remember where I read it now, but there was some bit of research into methods of telling the size of unborn babies. The least effective method was scans (they're accurate to a lb either way!). Next came midwive's estimates, better if you see the same one every time. And the most accurate were the mum's guesses!

I am sure you will be fine, but fruitful is right - they just want to check the bloodflow from the placenta to check there isn't a reason the baby is small....other than having a little mummy. I had pre-eclampsia and my daughter slowed down her growth a lot in the last three weeks she was in the womb. So they delivered (31 weeks), and she is fine!!!!!

I am sure your baby's size is most closely linked to your size, but having a quick check should put your mind at rest.....

This happpened to my friend.She had loads of scans & was told that the baby wasn't growing properly & would be small.

The result was a 7lb 15oz healthy baby girl(who incidentally weighed more than my 'normal sized' dd).

Thanks for the reassurances - think I will present dh as exhibit a and point out that between us there wasn't much chance of us making an average sized baby !!

I was monitored closely with ds as he was small...this just meant regular scans/trips to midwife and checking blood flow.....(all fine....) In the end he was induced at 38+ weeks (something I would resist if I went for number 2), because his head was fine, but his waist measurement was levelling off and thus he was dropping off the chart.....Ds was 4 11 (but I was only 4 9 so go figure...- like you I'm small...). He was, BTW, fine. Is this yoour first? I think they are a bit more cautious with number one!

I know so many people who have been told on a scan that they have a very small baby and it turns out to be 8lbs, and conversely a woman who was induced a week early because her baby was so enormous and it was barely 7lbs. In fact I don't know anyone who has been given a prediction as to the baby's weight and it been even remotely accurate!

Have to say they were spot on with ds....

Hzn, simillar thing happened to me, i was delivered at 36 wks due to pre eclampsia and ds was 5lbs 2oz.They said that it was growth retardation due to my placenta not working efficiently.Having said all that im only 5ft 1" so didnt expect a beef cake of a baby any way. His weight steadily increased and within weeks he was a good weight and is now a healthy robust little chap. medics like to air on the side of caution, the result of that tho is that they panic us mothers. From the posts below, i think that you are well armed with sound information to help put your mind at rest and be reassured that you and your baby are perfectly ok. Personally i just kept thinking "small head please, small head....eeeek!"But then thats just ANOTHER worry to add to a long list isnt it!x

problem is the head is NEVER small!

with my first i had to have a c section at 33 weeks due to "baby in distress" and "small baby" although consultant at the second hospital with more advanced scanning equipment told me he'd never seen a better scan but had to go with what the first hospital had said? ds was a normal size for 33 weeks i am led to believe so i'll never really know what happened. second baby i had growth scans thoughout, measured up perfectly for my dates but had an overdue 5lb 5oz baby who (touch wood) although is still quite dainty, is perfectly healthy. i also knew a mother who was told it would be best to have a section as baby was very, very big. she had the section, had a 7lb baby and was absolutely furious! no help i know but scans really mean nothing to me after my two.

Hazellnut, this was a while ago but when I had ds I was told he was abnormally small and he wasn't - he was 7lb 1oz.

Been in a similar situation too -
From 37 weeks got referred to consultant with small bump, scans showed small baby (below their charts), had a meeting with registrar who said "let's induce today", we refused, saw consultant, and agreed on fortnightly scans till I went into natural labour at 1 week overdue. DS was 6lb3 (about 2% I think), so he was small (significantly smaller than the scan predicted!)- but so am I, and DH is slight. Interestingly, the growth curves they use in the hospital I'd been previously registered with were lower, and his scan results would have neatly fitted on them!!

I was worried the same would happen this time round, but my MW agrees that we're just a small family and has kept me away from growth scans.

What will they do? Probably more growth scans. What can you do? eat and rest well. What could the outcome be? Possibly further scans. My consultant told me there is no point doing growth scans more frequently than every two weeks, due to inaccuracies. For me, I would try to avoid induction unless they could show me either a problem (problems with placenta, blood flow, waters etc) or repeated scans showed growth had stopped. As long as baby was growing well, and given genetic tendancy to be small, I personally would be keen to avoid induction.

Best wishes for tomorrow!

Thanks again everyone - nice to know I'm not a freak of nature (or at least there are a few of us !!).

We sat down last night and wrote a list of questions to put to the consultant - she may not know what hits her !

Will let you know how we get on tomorrow - am feeling calmer about it all now so fingers crossed !

Good luck Hazellnut. And can I mention that post-natally, anyway, the measurements/averages etc are based on the size of Caucasian babies, which tend to be bigger than some other races or racial mixes - so if this is a factor for you, ask them to refer to the correct averages.

Thanks Blu - I am white caucasian (as is DH) so don't think this can be a reason unforetunately ! Perhaps they should develop midget scales for people like me !

Well, saw the doctor this morning and they just repeated the usual antenatal checks, no scan. He said that they had absolutley no problem with me having a small baby but would just monitor it to check it doesn't stop growing. Am going back in 3 weeks for scan and another check up. So am feeling a bit more reassured and will just have to will the little midget along !!

Thanks for all your advice and support !

Good news Hazelnut.....just take it easy and don't worry about it! As I said, ds was a dot but was absolutely fine...

Pleased to know that you are getting lots of re-assuring attention, but nothing wrong