Call from consultant left me confused.

[Secondbaby23]

Hello all, I had my 16week midwife app today which I think went well no concerns on her behalf. Also had a call from a consultant who told me I need to have extra scans as they are concerned baby is going to be small. She said that because I had my daughter 19days early and she weighed 6lb 4oz it was a low birth weight so there is a high chance this one will be the same ( i never had any problema in my pregnancy with my daughter who is now a happy 7year old and never had any health issues). I actually asked my midwife today if there was a chance I could have this baby early because I did with my daughter but she said no it doesn't work like that and there's no reason to think I would. Has anyone else been in this position?

Thankyou :)

They love giving everyone extra scans now. I'm so confused by this low birth weight stuff. Surely she wasn't low birth weight? She came just after 37 weeks it sounds like so surely a very normal weight!

My DD arrived at 37+5, weighed 6lbs8 and they started saying she was small but to me that seemed very average for a couple of weeks early?!

I don't think there's anything to be worried about, if you don't want to attend endless scans for no reason you can just decline them.

My DS was 6lb1 at 40+2 so I'm having extra scans this time. The notes on the app say extra scans are for when previous babies were under the 10th centile (DS was 3rd centile).

That’s surely not a low birth weight especially 19 days early! My daughter was 8 days late and 6lb 12oz and wasn’t considered too small. Yes she was small but not to the point I need any extra scans this pregnancy. If she had been early she would have been smaller than your baby.

I wouldn’t worry and just take it as another chance to see your baby. It’s not a low birth weight, especially at your gestation 😊. Could their worry have been more to do with the reason why your baby was 19 days early?

I don't think that's a low birth weight? Especially if early! My son was born at 6lbs 3oz at 40w and no one batted an eyelid. No one has mentioned it during this pregnancy either!

I think it's very much one of those things that you can decline if you want to.

I know it's the lower side of normal, but it's not worryingly low.

Yes they love giving everyone growth scans, my trust has started to cut back now as I think they realised it was excessive.

I would of thought your daughter was a good weight for gestation. Having said that one of mine was 7LB9 at 38 weeks and wasn't on as higher centile as I would of expected.

I had growth scans with all mine and I really welcomed them because they eased my anxiety. I know for some people they cause anxiety so you can decline them if you don't think it's the right thing for you.

Not my specialty, but am pretty sure birth weight is more than just a function of gestation - whether your daughter was significantly small is a function of your height/weight/ethnicity etc. too (your MW/cons should be able to confirm that though with real data from your first pregnancy). If your last was an SGA baby it is a risk factor for perinatal problems in future pregnancies so identifying babies at risk is important. You don't have to have anything you don't want, but it seems like a fairly low-key intervention that may prevent problems later doesn't it?

At my dating scan for my current pregnancy they said my daughter was on the 10th centile when she was born. I always thought she was a good weight for been early as if I'd went to my due date she would of been bigger. My midwife didn't have any concerns but the consultant rang me after my appointment and said I should of been offered extra scans due to my last pregnancy. I haven't even had my 20week scan yet. I'm a worrier anyway and just feel like this has made it worse

At my booking app they did try to access my records for when I had my daughter to see which centile she was as I couldn't remember. They said just after she was born they switch from paper to computer so couldn't find anything. They said my bmi now is average and I know I didn't have any problems with my daughters pregnancy, it was a very quick labour I wasn't even in the hospital 10minutes before she was born. She did have to stay in for 3 days due to not been able to keep up her own temperature but that was literally it. She's never had any health issues and has only had to go to hospital to have teeth removed.

I had this. DC1 was nearly 2 weeks late but under 3kg which put him in the bottom 5% of babies. Trust policy was to offer additional scans to anyone in that position in future pregnancies.

Wasn't a big deal, just a few scans.

That’s ridiculous. 6lb 4 at almost 3 weeks early is completely normal and healthy.
my babies were all around 6lb 14 at 42 weeks and nobody cared.
im small, I was born small, both my parents were 6lb even at full term. My babies just weren’t fat because I didn’t eat like a horse and never really gained any weight.
I wouldn’t worry they’re being over cautious especially when you’re only 16 weeks. Baby still needs time to develop into a baby before it starts laying down weight.

I just don't know wether it's a good idea to have extra scans or not. I don't want to miss them if there could potentially be an issue but I don't want to worry myself if there's no need.

It will just be cause one of a range of factors has triggered the "do an extra scan" option. It doesn't mean there's a particular risk to your child unless they tell you otherwise. It's like first pregnancies sometimes get a couple of extra appointments.

Would the extra scans worry you?

Same thing happened to me, i was so confused as nobody ever told me i had a ‘small’ baby until my booking appointment for second baby and my ‘small’ DD is 3 now! I was also prescribed aspirin to take daily, im 26 weeks now and will start the scans at 32 weeks

I want to make sure baby is OK and doing well so in that sense I don't think I would refuse them. I just don't understand why my midwife didn't have any concerns and the consultant is telling me different. Midwife said I should have been giving a chart at my dating scan which I didn't get, consultant said midwife could have printed it off for me but she never. Just so confused at to wether I should be worried or not. It's never been a concern until the consultant rang me today

I was told I will need growth scans from 32weeks at my booking app but that was due to me been a smoker. The consultant said she was posting out an app for me to have a growth scan in the next few weeks

I wouldn't take multiple extra scans, it ends up being a game of 'looking for a problem'. There's nothing wrong with you or your baby.

I would accept one growth scan at 36 weeks to play ball, and also because by that point you will be a lot more confident about how baby is growing and in your pregnancy.

Well if you are a smoker, and that's not terribly clear, then you do risk having a smaller baby, and placental and cord issues but I'm sure you know all that. Also what's the issue with your BMI, you mentioned it is now in a healthy range. Was it too low or too high previously? And your daughter has been in hospital having teeth removed? Look none of these things are concerning alone but put together I can see why you might need to be monitored, it seems like you aren't great at looking after your health even while pregnant. And it's the consultant that's responsible for you especially when it's a high risk pregnancy which it seems you are, the midwife does the checks, reports concerns but the doctor makes the decisions

They did 1 scan at 22 weeks to check blood flow in the uterus but now nothing until 32. I think if they wasn’t happy with the blood flow the scans would have started at 28 weeks

I'm sorry but since I found out I was pregnant I have cut down massively to the point i rarely have any. There is no issue with my bmi im just repeating what my midwife said to try and understand, I never said it was in a unhealthy range. I do take care of my health and since I found I was pregnant I have been extra cautious. No one has told me im a high risk at any app

And to be clear my daughter didn't need to go to hospital to have them removed but it was my decision to make that choice as I knew she wouldn't cope having it done while awake at the dentist!

That's great you've cut down massively. It will still be a factor they have to take into account. So it will be like if you get 4 ticks out of these factors or say 1 of these "red" ones then you are offered an extra scan. It doesn't mean they think there is necessarily reason to worry, you've just reached a threshold for an extra scan.

My reason for this post was to try and understand why the consultant thinks my daughter was low birth weight and I need extra scans this time around. I understand smoking in pregnancy isn't good which is why as soon as I found out I cut back massively and can see that from the results where you blow into the machine. Midwifes are more than happy with my progress. No one is perfect and I'm sire like me once people find out there having a baby they will do there best to stop

I didn't see the update about smoking, that changes things.

You say you are rarely having any? Which means you are smoking while pregnant. Even if you had given up prior to pregnancy that would still effect your risk category.

I couldn't in good conscience leave my comment there about declining scans - I had assumed there were no risk factors.