Reduced growth velocity at 36/37 weeks pregnant - help?

[BumbleAw]

Hi

I had a growth scan today and the lady told us that baby had reduced growth velocity.

From 34 weeks to 36 weeks:
Femur has gone from 56th percentile to 19th
Estimated fetal weight from 52nd to 32nd
Head has gone from 95th percentile to 88th
Abdomen from 67th to 58th

Umbilical cord flow seems ok

I have to wait three days to speak to a consultant, in the meantime I am worrying that baby has stopped growing and what this might mean for him. Is he OK? Will we have to deliver early?

Hi
this happened to me and they booked me back in for a rescan a week later. I was under consultant care anyway for something else so I saw the consultant straight away and he made that decision. I would say this is what will probably happen. At the next scan baby was fine and was growing. My friend however had a similar thing happen and delivered early at 38 weeks as there was concern the placenta had stopped working. I know it is easier said than done but at the moment you just need a rescan, it is annoying that you have to wait for the consultant though x

Thank you for your reply! I'm hoping I will get some answers on Friday but it's really hard not to worry in the meantime! Just seems quite a large drop in the space of a fortnight.
I'm glad all was OK with you and your baby though, hopefully mine will be too!

Does your scan show overall what percentile baby has gone from and to? I can’t remember on scans if it gives an overall x

@BumbleAw to put some perspective on this, my baby was measuring <5th centile at the 20wk scan and we were referred to foetal medicine. Been having regular scans since. He dropped a little further to below 3rd centile with once or twice slightly static growth. We ended up with bi-weekly Doppler checks to check umbilical blood flow etc which has always remained normal (slightly baffling as other signs would suggest placental failure). At one point we were told if growth didn't pick up he would need to be delivered by 33/34wks. Thankfully he picked up enough to be left alone (with regular monitoring ongoing). We have now made it to 36wks and have a c-section booked for 37wks on the dot! Our last scan at 35+4 his estimated weight was 4lbs6oz. Hoping he will have crossed 5lb mark by birth...! 🤞🏼

Telling you this because my teeny tiny baby has managed to stay in to early term and hopefully that can give you some hope! As your baby was bigger to begin with the drop is less concerning but they will definitely be keeping an eye on signs of placenta failure. If you drop further to below 10th centile they may decide to get baby here a little sooner. Basically, they make a decision based on whether baby is more likely to thrive if left in womb or taken out. It's a fine balance but you've already got to 36wks which is fantastic! Little one is already likely to be a decent birth weight and to have developed decent lung capability etc. So whatever happens now, they will be fine. 💗

Thank you so much for your reply, its made me feel better to have some perspective! I think it's just the sudden sharp drop in the space of a fortnight that is concerning me. But I guess pregnancy and being a parent comes with worry! Wishing you all the best for your csection, and I hope everything goes great for you and your baby! not long to wait♥️

I think 52nd to 32nd in the space of a fortnight - that's the estimated weight percentiles anyway?

It's the femur that is really worrying me as it's dropped all the way down to 19% from above average - I know you shouldn't Google things but everything I've seen suggests the femur is the first thing to stop growing if there is a placental failure as the body focuses on getting nutrients to the head and abdomen first (which have also dropped, though not to the same degree). The femur has only grown 0.1mm in a fortnight!