Opinions on my growth scans? Worried about centile drop

[minnieot]

I've been having growth scans every week alternating every week between private and NHS scans and I've been keeping them separate rather than comparing to each other but both my NHS scan last week and my private scan today had a drop in centiles from my last scans which has left me feeling really anxious that baby's growth is tapering off.

These are the centiles my scans have been at:

Private Scans:
24 weeks: 76%
28 weeks: 78.7%
31 weeks: 84.8%
33 weeks: 78.8%

NHS Scans:
28 weeks: 89%
30 weeks: 92%
32 weeks: 87%

Thank you in advance for any advice or reassurance x

As you can see from so many scans, these are estimates and there is going to be lots of variability. Is your NHS consultant concerned at all? Have you discussed your anxieties with a midwife, as going for weekly scans is a lot.

Do you mean 87% to 78.8%, that’s barely a drop at all. Also it’s a private scan so shouldn’t be compared to your NHS scan, they likely don’t have your same percentile lines or anything.

Are you getting predicted weights at these scans? Not that they are accurate either.

It’s also been a week though, having weekly scans is only going to highlight any variation.

Overall, you are overthinking this. Is there a reason for so many scans? If you are already feeling anxious, this probably will not help.

When my DD was having growth scans, the hospital were worried because she went from 75th (20w) to 50th (28w) to 15th (32w) to 9th (36w) at which point they recommended induction for 39w. If you are worried, you can chat to your midwife but my experience is that they would need to be more significant drops to consider further intervention (unless there is additional medical info / background of course).

I more meant the drop between the last two NHS scans and then the drop between the last two private ones, not comparing NHS to private as I know it can vary with machines and sonographers. I think I am just being paranoid, I had two losses just before this pregnancy and I've had really bad perinatal anxiety this entire pregnancy but just worried me a bit to see his growth suddenly seemingly drop a bit when they were worried about gestational diabetes a few weeks back x

The numbers are very insignificant and the "drop" is minimal.

@minnieot Please reach out for some mental health support for your anxiety. Your midwife should be able to refer you to a specialist mental health midwife / perinatal mental health team who can help with the anxiety

OP. Your scans are absolutely fine and normal. Please speak to somebody about your anxiety. If anyone was worried they would speak to you about it.

Thank you everyone. I am seeing the mental health midwife regularly but don't think anything will actually make me feel better until my baby is safe in my arms x

OP, I really sympathise with your anxiety. I felt very similarly when I was pregnant with DC1, after a previous loss. I was absolutely terrified. I was eventually diagnosed with PTSD, which made a lot of sense!
I’m not medically qualified but your measurements don’t sound at alol alarming to me. My understanding is that NHS would be concerned by much more significant drops than what you’re describing and/or dropping below 10th centile.
I would also say that as it sounds like you’re already at least 33 weeks, your baby is already well developed. My DC was born at 37weeks, but had stopped growing around 34 weeks, and despite being small she was medically fine and didn’t need any assistance or anything.
Hang in there x

I wouldn't call those measurements a drop at all. They're all super consistent.

Think of it as centile groups rather than looking at the specific centiles. The concern is when growth drops through groups i.e. 90th to 75th or 50th to 25th. It has to be a BIG jump in percentage to be a concern given how difficult it is to be 100% accurate on a scan.

Also, growth isn't linear. Baby will be growing in spurts rather than consistently every week so the scans will vary depending on when baby has a spurt.

This is completely normal - I’m on my 4th baby & even though an unplanned pregnancy, I still won’t “believe it” or relax until the baby is in my arms. I think most mums to be feel this way at some point or most of the time 🤗 xx

There is absolutely no issue with your scans at all. No cause for concern whatsoever.

I would reconsider the number of scans you’re having. Your baby is doing really well and the scans are clearly just making you more anxious. 💐

Looking at those figures I wouldn’t worry as the drop/increase is minimal.
However, I would take the measurements with a pinch of salt as they are just estimations.
I had numerous growth scans due to age and they predicted a minimum of 8lb 6oz baby. Scans ranged from about 80-93 percentile for head and tummy with femur always measuring between 8-45 percentile. The femur caused no end of tears as after every scan I would break my heart all night expecting a baby with tiny legs.
My son was born on his due date weighing 7lb3oz and measuring 50 percentile. His legs are longer than the average length already so try not to stress over the measurements, if there was cause for concern the hospital would act on it asap.