Baby not growing as she should.

[Lauren999]

I have been referred to the small baby clinic and these are my current growth scans. I’m a first time mum, very very anxious and unsure what is going to happen next or what I can do to help my baby grow. Has anyone been in a similar situation and can offer any advice? Blood flow from placenta is fine as well as her movements and the fluid around her.

I understand your worry but please bear in mind that neither measuring the bump or talking measurements on a scan are exact.

Mine were way off in my last pregnancy.

I had similar. Blood flow, fluid etc fine. CTG showed happy active baby. I ended up having weekly scans LVD scans and 4.2kg baby born the day after that last scan that claimed baby was 3.9kg.

Just to add lots of factors come into play. First of all your first two were around that 10th centile line, last just under 3rd. You could get next between the two and between 3rd and 10th centile is just where your baby sits.

They're centiles and babies cover the spectrum. I am 5ft 9, DH over 6ft. He was over 4kg born and I had a boy. Was likely to be a large baby. I had the torso length etc to handle it.

My friend had a girl - 3rd to 10th centile whole way through. Girls are on average smaller plus my friend is around 5ft her DH is shorter than me. She got referred for small femur, small growth etc. Baby totally fine. Just shorter than average like her parents and has remained so. Her second and third babies followed exactly same trend.

Chances are all is fine, and if it isn't they have an eye on it and can intervene.

I recently had a 'small baby'.
The likelyhood is you will be offered induction at term or soon after.
I'd recommend researching what is involved with that and if you are comfortable with it. There are other parameters to monitor baby if they are worried (dopplers, CTG monitoring) but you want to give baby more time to come on their own. Inductions can be a drawn out process and make further interventions more likely, especially for a first birth x

My DS2 was 10th centile until 32 weeks i was getting 2 weekley scans die to my BMI and I accepted them I could have refused. But they were getting itchy and trigger happy with mentioning induction. I told them No thanks. DS was happy and thriving no issues with me, he was born naturally at 39w5d 6lbs whoch is average. But in Utero that was a SFGA which is madness, he was 4th centile at 38w. I have a higher BMI so they expect my children to have higher BMI. It was his abdomen that was smaller. Even now at 3 he is the same physic as DH and has looooooong owgs and small torso.

Also my Mother having babies 6lbs - 7.5lbs so it wouldn't be abnormal for me they were still trying to get me in for an induction. Intold them we have small but average sized babies in my family.

DS2 was the same but at 34w went from 9th centile to 25th and was a chunky 8lbs 3oz baby. But the last ultrasound said he was 7lbs 9oz so they can be very off.