6lb 5oz baby at 32 weeks.

[Hungus93]

I'm absolutely devastated and worried sick.

I had a 32 week growth scan due to gestational diabetes on Monday. Was diagnosed with GD just before Christmas, and have been diet controlled so far - recently few of my readings have started creeping up (especially the fasting ones), but according to my diabetes team they were borderline and we should keep monitoring them - my highest ever reading after a meal was 8.8 and 5.7 fasting. I did call the team not long before my scan to say that I think I would be more comfortable starting medication as the food was restrictive as it is, and with my history of eating disorder I was worried that restricting it even more would cause me to start having binging episodes.

I arrived at my scan on Monday very excited and happy to see my little bubba but left the room crying my eyes out - my little girl is apparently measuring 6lb 5oz, which is twice the weight she should be at this stage. It honestly felt like someone punched me in the face. The feeling of guilt I started having was unbelievable. I suspected she may be bigger than average (I think I would expect that even without the gestational diabetes, as I'm 5ft 10, and my partner is well over 6ft, so I didn't expect to have a tiny baby), but to be twice the size?!

I was worried about her growing too fast ever since I found out about having gestational diabetes and the complications associated with it (stillbirth) but as I went on I tried to remind myself that my blood sugars are doing okay, and I barely put any weight on (8.8lbs since getting pregnant), so surely she couldn't have grown that much. Yet this happened.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not worried about having a large baby per se. Not worried about having to be induced or having to have a c-section, which I was dreading for the entire pregnancy until Monday. I'm worried that her little body won't keep up with her growth and that she's going to die. This is playing up on my mind so badly, I can't shake it off.

Right after the ultrasound I saw the diabetic midwife and then a diabetic doctor & obstetrician, but I honestly can't fully remember what they were saying because I was in such a state. My partner who was there as well just told me that they did say that yes she's measuring big but we have enough time in the pregnancy to try to manage this, that the genetics can play a big part in it, and that the ultrasound measurements can be off. Most importantly apparently they said that otherwise she looks healthy, and the placental and umbilical cord flows are perfect, which is the good news. I know I should focus on the last bit but my anxiety is over the roof.

To be honest I don't even know what I'm expecting by writing this post, I think I just wanted to get things off my chest.

Do you think you’ve lost weight in the pregnancy? Because she literally can’t be 6lbs 5oz if you’ve only gained 8.8lbs, once you factor in placenta and extra blood, water retention etc
so either you’re actually losing weight, or that figure is wrong.
the measurements can and often are wrong all you need to do is look at the threads on here to see that.
i understand your worries but you are being cared for, she is being monitored and treatment is being managed.
Still birth is a risk for sure, but it’s a tiny one. The amount of women with gestational diabetes who deliver a healthy child is much higher. And outcomes are better again for those ones who are taking medical advice and care, which you are.
completely understand your anxiety because I’d be the same, because I always am about anything, but I really don’t think you need to worry, at least not at this stage.

I don't think I did, I haven't measured myself but other than my belly obviously getting bigger, I haven't really noticed getting smaller anywhere else. It's hard to say though. I'm now literally counting down the days till my next ultrasound which is on 11th of March, when I'll be 36 weeks and I'm kind of hoping they're going to tell me to have an induction shortly after because otherwise I think I'm going to go absolutely mad :( thank you for taking the time to comment xx

OK speaking as someone who had GD and lost a significant amount of weight in pregnancy due partly to this and partly to having to massively control food due to gd and also gallstones. My GD measures were only just over the "limit" and sometimes this makes it tricky to manage.

You need to do what you can - you can't change that baby is 6lb odd, you can relook at diet and medication. Diet you seem to have pat even if restrictive (I lived off curry as the only thing that didn't spike me massively yes even for brekkie in the end) they can introduce some medication but be prepared to be even more obsessive about food/carbs and carb counting - like a type 1 diabetic does. Increasing exercise will help reduce blood sugar levels so after a meal a walk, a swim, other light exercise depending on what you are used to, everything else in the pg appears good so def check with medics this is OK but that will massively help your blood sugar levels which will stop baby getting much bigger.

With GD they tend to want to deliver earlier - 38 weeks not 40 for e.g. so you have 6 weeks more of this - its not very long in the whole scheme of things. As you have also said both you and husband are tall, remember they work on averages.

I would ask for some counselling help as well - or even pay for this yourself especially as your anxiety is so high.

As an aside, if you have GD the likelihood is that if it does go away after birth that within 10 years you will become type 2, so it is worth addressing diet and exercise and your weight if necessary in the shorter term to delay that. GD shows you have a level of insulin resistance already present so you need to understand what that means for you.

DD was actually born at 31 plus 5, weeks at 3lb 9oz so I didn't experience the later pregnancy months but I was told I would have been induced at 38 weeks, she is perfectly healthy and 18.

Lots of things here, but as a fellow GD sufferer just thought I'd try and help a little! This is my second baby and both have measured big on scans initially, then have dropped on the centiles at my next scan. As the previous poster says the scans aren't very accurate, and as long as blood flow is good and baby is healthy try not to worry about the size!

If you haven't already found it please visit the gestational diabetes UK website, and Facebook group, they're full of very helpful information. It's also pretty normal to not put much weight on when you're managing your sugars with diet, even if you don't notice it chances are you'll be losing weight elsewhere due to the lower carb intake.

Happy to try and answer any other GD related questions but the websites I've already mentioned are much more informative than I am!

I also had GD.
I went on insulin in the end.

Baby was predicted to be quite chunky (9-10 pounds) with a huge head. He came out 38+3 weighing 7pounds 7 , no giant head to be seen. An absolute dot.

These things are a prediction and we were told there is 15% leway either side.
I weighed only 6 pounds more then my start weight the day he came .

Hope this gives some reassurance x

Just to say they can get these VERY wrong. I was measuring 95th-98th percentile the whole pregnancy and was worried sick as they predicted the baby 10lb-11lbs! He came out 50th percentile and 7lb 15. He's just long and is 6 months now and stayed that percentile.
I know it's easier said than done, but try not to panic if you can ❤️. It gave me a lot of anxiety during pregnancy though.

Also they predicted him over 8lb at 35 weeks and he was less than that at 40 weeks 😂

Thank you for the comment - yes, I'm planning to basically live off whatever low-carb stuff I can manage for the rest of the pregnancy, I did tell myself that I just need to suck it up. I started metmorfin on Monday and my fasting readings already seem to be back to 4s, which is great news. I'm also trying to walk more and will consider going swimming, whatever my aching hips allow. I'm glad to hear your DD is doing well x

Thanks so much Lovely, yes the GD UK website was definitely a great find, I got to know so much more information re food, pairing etc than I did from the NHS resources! x

Ahh bless, I'm trying to remember that these are estimations but it's hard to shake it off still. But this is definitely reassuring so thank you xx

Thank you so much Lovely, it is so scary isn't it, really hoping they're just off measurements in my case as well, this is definitely reassuring xx

Swimming is none weight bearing so maybe helpful with hip pain - I had that too so get it. Anything vaguely active is good so just the act of being in the water and striding about helps

I would also assume you have lost weight, as baby can’t be 6.5lb with only 8.8lb weight gain surely?

As a comparison Ds was 4kg (almost 9lb) born, and I lost 14kg weight within 24hrs. So although baby was 4kg, another 10kg was just placenta/ liquid etc related to baby.

Honestly hard to say re weight loss - I was quite a big person before I fell pregnant, so I think the weight loss wouldn't be as obvious as with someone smaller. My hopes are that she's actually not that large given the lowish weight gain...