Huge drop in percentiles at 28 weeks

[Bluesea14]

Hi everyone,

I had a 4D scan today at 28w 4d where I learnt that baby has massively dropped in percentiles since my last scan. At 20 weeks she was 67% (nhs so no %)
at 16 weeks she was 61% with
75% ac
51% fl
37% hc

Today she was 23% with
17% ac
36% fl
20% hc

should I be worried?? 75 to 17 feels like a huge drop :( has anyone had a similar drop and everything turned out okay? X

I have little trust in private scan reliability. Is there any midwife/scanning appointment coming up soon where this can be verified?

If there is nothing, you might be able to contact your local NHS midwife or triage and they might check this out.

Don't trust the private scans!
I worried myself sick when I went for one and it showed my baby hadn't grown at all in 2 weeks.

Needless to say when I went for my NHS one he had indeed grown normally and the private scanner was slapdash/didn't have the same level of equipment as the hospital had 😌

I didnt have private scans, but i did have a NHS growth scan at 28w, which showed a drop in centiles (75th to below 50th). The hospital booked another growth scan for 32w, which showed another drop (below 25th). I had to go back at 37w, when she was below 10th centile so they arranged for induction at 39w. So she had gone from 77th to 9th centile. They identified that i had high BP and an issue with blood flow in the cord. In the end she came naturally at 38w and was 5lb 12oz so quite a little, but she is now a bouncing lively 3yo. I would contact your midwife and explain your concerns - they may arrange an NHS scan for you.

Have you had your bump measured recently? I know it’s not an exact science but might flag if your baby isn’t growing normally.

My bump didn’t grow at all between 31 and 34 weeks. I had growth scans at 34, 36 and 38 weeks. The 38 week scan showed dd on 5th centile so I was induced at 39+5 and she was born weighing 5lb.

In my case the NHS growth scans were inconclusive with various measurements, sometimes showing baby had shrunk between them. It was a private scan I had at 38 weeks that was the most accurate. Do you know anything about the credentials of the sonographer?

I had similar. Unfortunately in my case there was an issue with blood flow through the placenta and the baby was IUGR. I was referred to consultant care and closely monitored until they decided the baby needed to come out. We made it to 34 weeks exactly. It was worrying at the time and stressful, but that baby is now ten and growing like a weed.

Thanks for the responses so far. I've just had my 28-week scan, and I believe my next one will be at 30 weeks, around the end of October. My fundal height measured just under the 50th percentile.

I'll definitely mention the drop of over 40% to the midwife. The person conducting the scan owns the ultrasound clinic, and her credentials are 'He dip, BSc, PGDip.' Since the measurements between my 16-week and 20-week scans (which was actually at 19w) were consistent, I trust her accuracy. I just hope my midwife doesn’t dismiss the results, as I know they tend to be skeptical of private scans.
X

It’s so worrying, isn’t it! How did you manage to get an NHS scan? x

Thank you for sharing your experience. It must have been so stressful, but I'm glad to hear your little one is doing so well now! Xx

I had the same experience. My baby was measuring on the small side at my 20 week scan, but the NHS weren't concerned and didn't schedule any follow up scans. I went for a private growth scan at 26 weeks to get some reassurance that they were growing ok and they reported that baby head was in 2nd centile.

I told my midwife who referred me for a growth scan at the hospital, they measured baby multiple times and said it was all fine

I've concluded that private scans are great if you want to see the baby but they aren't medical scans. If you want a private medical scan you can go to a private hospital.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. That must have been a big shock to hear your baby was on the 2nd percentile! I think because the 16 private and 20 week nhs scans were very similar it's got me a bit worried! I'm definitely going to mention it to my midwife this week and hopefully get referred for an nhs scan just to be on the safe side x

@Bluesea14my baby was born on the 2nd centile and he is absolutely fine, just still quite small at 6 months old, so it’s not always a disaster even if baby is on the small side!