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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Growth scans

22 replies

Firefly18 · 12/08/2022 16:48

Hi, so I've had a growth scan today at 33 weeks + 1 and they said that babies head circumference is on the 5th centile. Does anyone have any experience with this? My notes say:-
HC 287mm gestational age 30 w 5 d
Fl 59mm gestational age 31w 1 d
AC 300mm gestational age 35w 3 d

I had a scan 2 weeks ago and the measurements were:-
HC 273mm gestational age 29w 1 d
FL 56mm gestational age 29w 5d
AC 273mm Gestational age 32w 3 d

This will be my 2nd baby but I don't think i had any of this with my 1st.
Does this mean there will be something wrong? I've been booked in for a scan in 3 weeks which feels like a life time.
Thanks for reading 😊

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ali912 · 12/08/2022 18:00

I had a growth scan at around 30 weeks and they said my baby's femur length was on the 5th centile (bringing overall estimated weight to under the 10th). I was really stressed about it but have been to two more scans since then and the measurements have now all improved and femur length is now closer to average. I think they're just very cautious with these things. Babies grow at different rates and yours might be about to have a growth spurt! Also the measurements could easily be slightly out. So I would try not to worry about it too much, although I completely understand that's easier said than done! Hope it all looks better at your next scan. Until then try to put it out of your mind - googling and worrying about it did me no good whatsoever!

toxitears181 · 12/08/2022 21:38

Honestly i had growth scans before my little one was born on the 22nd june and they were saying he was going to be a huge baby they were talking as though he was going to be a 10lb baby they also told me his tummy looked big and i should be tested for gestational diabetes etc turns out i dont have gestational diabetes and i gave birth to a 8lb 10oz baby and his tummy was small and normal so i wouldn't worry to much as the scans can sometimes be wayy off

Cakecakecheese · 13/08/2022 11:22

Growth scans can be pretty unreliable, as someone on another thread said, it's hard to measure a person in a person!

My baby was in the 5th centile for his femur and he is now 2 weeks old with perfectly normal legs!

lillipilli · 13/08/2022 15:16

Hi @Firefly18 , I have no advice but in a similar situation and incredibly worried. my baby was around 80 centimetres at 26 weeks, then dropped to 67 at almost 29 weeks and just had a scan at almost 21 weeks and it had dropped again to 43. The doctors are not too concerned just yet but I have another scan in two weeks and absolutely petrified. Placenta flow and fluid levels are normal. I don’t have preeclampsia/ don’t drink or smoke and I just don’t know why Is it hapenning. I am so worried about abnormalities I feel like I can’t cope sometimes. I hope it will all turn out just fine for both of us xx

bigbeautifulmonster · 13/08/2022 15:28

I wish I'd seen this thread when I was pregnant with my DC2.
Head was the wrong shape according to the scan- too wide ear to ear (<5%) and too long forehead to backhead. I was told that pictures were going to the specialist and that we'd be told within 5 days of the outcome of the review. 5 days later we got a phone call to say that we need to come in for another scan to check for chromosomal anomalies so we were completely stressed and having "what do we do if..." conversations.
I was in tears every day and couldn't sleep.
Turned out there was nothing wrong, which we were so so relieved about but the way it was handled towards us was really pathetic and unnecessarily stressful.

Have an amazing one year old now, no problems whatsoever.

Hang in there OP. The measurements are a bit inaccurate I think, can vary from sonographer to sonographer too.

bigbeautifulmonster · 13/08/2022 15:29

(Meant to say head was measured too small ear to ear and too short the other way). Like a football shape!

Original poster

Firefly18 · 15/09/2022 21:42

@lillipilli How's things with you now?

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Original poster

Firefly18 · 15/09/2022 21:45

@bigbeautifulmonster glad things turned out well for you. Pregnancy is so stressful!
I had a scan again at 36 weeks and the head had grown but now in the 4th percentile so I'm not sure what's going on x

OP posts:

SGChome20 · 15/09/2022 21:52

I’ve had growth scans in both pregnancies. First pregnancy the measurements were similar to yours as in smaller head and large femur. I queried with the sonographer but they said nothing to worry about and it’s more about the rate of growth. So if you go back for bother one and there is little to no signs of growth then they may start to worry. I was induced a week early because growth did tail off a bit but baby was completely fine. I would try not to worry. They would tell you if there was anything of note.

bigbeautifulmonster · 15/09/2022 21:55

Was it with the same sonographer by any chance? Different sonographers can measure in different ways, so I've been told. Can you get a second opinion on this latest scan?

Sorry I hope my previous post didn't seem like a brag... just wanted to give you (and anyone else) hope. I also think, wouldn't it be a boring world if all babies had the same proportions, measurements, sizes?

I hope everything is ok for you op. Keep us posted.

Original poster

Firefly18 · 16/09/2022 09:04

@bigbeautifulmonster it's been the same sonographer all 3 scans.
I'm debating whether to book a private scan for tomorrow to see if they pick up on the head being smaller.

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CristinaNov182 · 16/09/2022 09:09

Are you counting the baby’s kicks? I had growth issues with my first (stopped growing the last 4 weeks and ended up induced) and they told me to count them and pay attention to any change in pattern and call them if I do.
my DD was born at the 2nd percentile but caught up after.

CristinaNov182 · 16/09/2022 09:10

Forgot to say there are apps for that, makes it easy.

Original poster

Firefly18 · 16/09/2022 09:24

@CristinaNov182 movements seem to be ok. Definitely more active when i sit down in the evening. The overall growth is following the 10th percentile its more the head circumference that's worrying me. The last scan I had 2 weeks the measurements were
HC 304mm Ges age 32w 6d
FL 64mm Ges age 33w 4d
AC 333mm Ges age 39w 2 d

OP posts:

CristinaNov182 · 16/09/2022 09:39

I don’t remember my scans being so in depth 5 years ago, I remember they did the tummy measurement and one scan was completely wrong, showed good growth, then a scan two weeks after it showed the same measurement as the 2 weeks before the wrong one, and indeed she didn’t grow at all on this 4 weeks and was born small.

l’ ve heard many stories, showing small but incorrectly or big and incorrectly. The thing to do is to have more scans which they gave you. I don’t think you need to worry about anything being wrong. If you feel stressed out go for a private scan after a week and a half? So it’s half way.

lillipilli · 16/09/2022 10:06

Firefly18 · 15/09/2022 21:42

@lillipilli How's things with you now?

Hi @Firefly18 and sorry to hear that you still have worries. I can completely relate, these scans do bring up a lot of anxiety, don't they? I once was told by a senior registrar (at one of my ctg monitoring) that they most worried and look at the abdominal measurement and heard elsewhere that later in pregnancy it is harder to take the measurements as babies are scrunched up.

Have you had a follow up appointment with the doctor/consultant to discuss the results of the scan?

I am still waiting for my 36 week scan - another week to go!

Mummytobe333 · 16/09/2022 13:55

I have had 3 growth scans -
one around 32 weeks & one around 35 weeks which both said 10th percentile however healthy just a ‘petite baby’
then had another at 38 weeks and baby has shot up to around 30th percentile so has caught up.

From speaking to friends and family they aren’t that accurate anyway.
My sister got told the full pregnancy her baby was going to be smaller and was born a week early at 9lb 😅

Original poster

Firefly18 · 20/09/2022 19:17

@lillipilli I had a scan at 36 weeks (I'm now 38 weeks) and I saw the consultant afterwards as I've got Polyhydramnios so they booked me in to be induced on Saturday (I'll be 39 + 2). She mentioned the head still being small now under the 5th percentile. No one has said what that means though. I've googled it and read lots of awful things about microcephaly but the consultant hasn't mentioned that word. It just seems like having Polyhydramnios and small head isn't a great combination. X

OP posts:

cashmerecow · 15/08/2023 13:52

Hiya, just wondering how it all went in the end OP? Going through something similar atm

Original poster

Firefly18 · 15/08/2023 18:10

@cashmerecow Hi, everything was fine for us in the end. She was born a healthy 7lb 8oz and her head was fine. She is smaller in general than my DS was ( he was average whereas shes follows the bottom centile line)so maybe they were comparing measurements to that.
We did have an issue where she went in to SCUBU for a few days as she was ill (something to do with mine and her blood) but this was unrelated. Hope all goes OK for you x

OP posts:

cashmerecow · 15/08/2023 20:07

Firefly18 · 15/08/2023 18:10

Glad everything went well for you xx I've got ky scan tomorrow so hoping it's good news

lillipilli · 15/08/2023 23:08

cashmerecow · 15/08/2023 13:52

Hiya, just wondering how it all went in the end OP? Going through something similar atm

Just wanted to say it was all fine in the end for us too, so take these scans with a pinch of salt! They are double edged sword - good for many reasons but definitely anxiety inducing. And if for any reason you have questions after the scan you can ask your community midwife to look at it with you - mine did it for me xx

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