Deepest pool over 8cm

[katpw]

Hello, went for a private scan yesterday (26 weeks) and they found excess fluid- the deepest pool of fluid is 8.3cm. Has anyone had a similar experience? I’m petrified. Thanks

@katpw I was induced at 39 weeks, they wanted to induce me due to my age (41) and they were going to then let me go to my due date, but then decided that with the excess fluid they'd keep it at 39 weeks.

@PointyMcguire how often do you get growth scans? 😊

I had it in my last 2 pregnancies. Deepest pool went up to 20cm both times and I was scanned twice a week by my consultant to see if I needed to have the fluid drained. I was terrified but have two healthy DC.

@katpw I had the first at 33wks, follow up at 35wks and have another booked for the end of next week when I’ll be a little over 38wks, although this third one they’ve said is mostly for reassurance as they’re happy with the increase in growth between the last 2 scans.

@Kentlassie oh wow! Did they know what caused it?!

@PointyMcguire happy with the growth of the baby? Is that what they’d be most concerned about with excess fluid? I didn’t know there was a link! I think I’m worried more about the cause / not knowing what will happen. Healthy anxiety has peaked!! Thanks

@katpw I think with excess fluid they’re more likely to be on the big side. For us because they thought the amniotic fluid was on the low side they scrutinised her size more, and even though she was following the growth curve still she was on the small side (13th percentile but I’d had a shocker of a month at work so had been working all hours). By the 2nd scan she was on the 29th percentile so still small but of an acceptable range, and judging by the movements I’ve been feeling these past few weeks she’s definitely grown a fair bit since! Honestly I know it’s easier said than done by try not to worry too much x

I had this in both my pregnancies, and both my boys are absolutely fine :) my midwife picked up on it both times when she measured my bumps. She wasn’t too alarmed and there was no rush to get my seen at the hospital for a scan. I think I got booked in for them about a week later with both pregnancies.

I had extra scans every couple of weeks to check on the fluid levels but no one was ever too concerned about it. With both boys the fluid had settled to normal levels by 37 weeks so I went into labour naturally and had easy births.

The consultant told me that some women just carry more fluid than others! Apparently it can also be due to the position of the baby when they scan. If they’re curled up or are breech etc. it can leave big pools of fluid.

I know it’s hard but please try not to worry, it’s most likely completely fine and just the way your body carries babies :)

@PointyMcguire thanks for all of your support 😊 really appreciated x

@Oscardoggy thank you so much that’s really reassuring!! Do you possibly remember what your ‘deepest pool’ was? I really hope it’s just a case of that’s how my body carries babies. Stupidly googled and the worst case causes are making me beyond worried.

Hiya, sorry to hear you’re going through this! I had the same in my pregnancy & I too was petrified, convinced myself of bad things happening but it was all fine! I think the deepest pool was 9cm+ (picked up around 20 weeks) I ended up being referred to a fetal specialist & had scans every 2 weeks. They wanted to induce me at 39 weeks, I chose to have an elective section instead (at 39w) but baby ended up making an appearance at 37+6 weeks!

I didn’t have GD & the pregnancy was otherwise normal. I was expecting a big baby but he was only 6lbs 13oz.

I hope you get the reassurance that you need through your hospital, keep pushing if it’s worrying you, let me know if you have any questions too :) good luck x

I think it was around 13cm! I got a proper diagnosis of polyhydramnios but like you my GD test was clear.

I did exactly the same thing with Google and drove myself silly with the anxiety of it!
Just try to remember that the fluid itself doesn’t mean anything on its own. If there was anything wrong with baby the sonographer at your private scan would have told you.

I imagine everything will be totally fine and you’ll just get a super big bump - everyone in the street will ask you if there’s two babies in there like they did with me😂

Anxiety isn’t good for you or baby so try to relax tonight. Get off Google and put on a silly Xmas film :)

No advice OP but I’m in a similar boat right now. I had a private scan at 29 weeks on Saturday and baby’s abdomen had gone from 50th percentile at 20 weeks, to 89th, and showing excess fluid (I don’t know the exact measurement). I called my midwife and she said the NHS need to scan themselves, so I have that booked for Saturday morning.
The private sonographer suggested likely gestational diabetes, I didn’t get a test for it so far as in my trust they only test you if you fall into certain risk groups.
I’m trying my best to follow a gestational diabetes diet until I know if I have it or not, the midwife didn’t seem too worried but naturally it’s all I can think about!
Reading the responses on this thread has reassured me a bit ♥️

So just to give you the full details of my situation:
I was absolutely huge with my first pregnancy, but I measured 'normal' when they measured my tummy so no one was every particularly concerned. I was in the midwife unit for my birth; and had shoulder dystocia with the birth. Everything was fine though! But shoulder dystocia is slightly more likely with larger babies; my son was over 10 pounds...!

With my second pregnancy I was consultant led because of the dystocia. Oddly they never had me do a glucose tolerance test, a midwife did question this later on but I think all my urine reads were always fine? No idea. Because of my first son's size; I had growth scans from 32 weeks to monitor the weight. At one of the later scans they picked up that I had excess fluid - can't remember the exact figures. Because of the combination of excess fluid and my second son also measuring big, they insisted I had to either be induced or have a c-section. I was a bit resistant against the induction; and I think I insisted not until my due date. They did mention the risk of cord prolapse etc; which is a risk when the baby isn't engaged (which my second wasn't, which is common with second babies I believe) and you have excess fluid. It was a scary thing to be warned about but it is a very rare occurrence.

I wasn't particularly concerned at any point with my second, I had already had a very big baby and it made sense to me that excess fluid was a side effect of a big baby!

It is normal to be anxious - it's an anxious time - just keep contacting midwives office / hospital / whoever you can get on the phone and insist on an appointment. It is not 'urgent', they didn't find my situation particularly urgent until my due date, but you deserve reassurance and sometimes you need to fight your corner a bit. We definitely fought to get a second opinion from another consultant, and I spent a while ringing around the hospital insisting to speak to people!

@katpw just to update you, I went back for my NHS scan today. Last Saturday my AFI was 26cm, in my trust anything from 5-25cm is considered normal.
My fluid today was 20cm at the first measurement and 22cm for the second measurement, so back within the normal range and they won’t yet send me for a GTT. I’ve been following the gestational diabetes diet since last weekend to see if it helps and the sonographer said it is a possibility that’s the reason my fluid has decreased. She also said it depends a lot on baby position and some babies do just have a lot more fluid. Please try not to worry ♥️I’m going to continue (after Christmas!) the gestational diabetes diet as the sonographer said even without the formal diagnosis, it will do no harm and will help to keep me and baby healthy. She also said the Christmas happens once a year so enjoy it and have the faith that the midwives monitoring should pick anything up, and provided I feel okay it’s a good sign. Hope you manage to enjoy your day tomorrow without the worry ✨

@Cdoc thank you so so much for commenting and updating me on your scan. I’m so pleased for you and also that’s reassuring to hear! I spoke to the hospital again yesterday and managed to get them to raise a scan card for me (non urgent) so hopefully they’ll call soon to arrange it. I’ve been a bit of a mess since the scan but trying to enjoy the festivities! I’ve had a bit of a stomach cramp today but hoping it’s more psychological or growing pains??…. Have an amazing Christmas and thanks again ☺️☺️

@katpw no problem at all 😊hopefully it does show that fluid levels can change quite a bit in the space of a week (and even within the same scan), so there are plenty of reasons why yours may have been higher, most of which aren’t bad.l♥️
I would imagine the stress hasn’t helped your stomach at all! The sonographer today actually said one of the worst things you can do is stress about it, as that will go straight to baby (easier said than done!). Anyway, I really hope you get your scan referral soon, and I hope you manage to put it to the back of your head for a few days and have a really lovely Christmas ♥️🎄

@Cdoc and now I’m worried my stressing over the past 3 days has caused harm 😂 I’m ridiculous!!!! X

@katpw I am the same 🤣I wouldn’t worry about that bit at all, just try and enjoy your Christmas as much as possible and until a scan confirms anything otherwise, you and baby are fine ♥️

Hi, I have the exact same at 28 weeks! What was your outcome please? X

@WildSecret22 outcome was everything absolutely fine 😊 fluid stayed a similar level and I was scanned every 2 weeks, it had reduced to normal by 36 weeks though. Baby continued to measure 90th centile so I was induced at 40+1 (straight to waters breaking as a few sweeps dilated me a bit). Baby was born healthily and naturally 8 hours later, on the 75th centile! Really wish in hindsight I hadn’t worried so much.

Wishing you the best!x