32 weeks 10th percentile. Help please!

[Foreverdancingtothemusic]

Hi,

completely appreciate I need to speak with a medical professional, but have spent 90 mins on hold with a midwife and didn’t get through and not seeing the doctor for 2 weeks.

I attended a growth scan yesterday that has been booked in since early pregnancy. All the checks were done and the sonographer said all looks good baby is 4lbs.

I got up an sorted myself out while he tapped the details on his computer as I was heading out the door he gave me my notes and said ‘so I need you to come back in two weeks as baby is small and not growing as expected so I need to do further checks’. By this point the door was wide open into the waiting room and the next person was heading in so I tried to clarify if there was a problem and he just said ‘don’t worry I’ll look again in 2 weeks’.

obviously now worried. Baby up until this point has been on the 20th percentile and my notes today say 10th centile (last scan was at 28 weeks for something else). Looking at the growth chart it seems fairly consistent on the curve for head circumference, abdominal but femur has dipped slightly but they seem to all be in the 50th centile mark. The exception is Fetal weight which has dipped but not idea how they got to this.

a friend who has recently had a baby had told me a few months ago to be careful if they say this as they apparently use a custom chart (so if you are tall, had previous pregnancy’s etc) they look at what is normal for you rather than the average. She and a friend who was told to have the baby early at 36 weeks but ended up being 6.5lbs.

i having a bit of a panic and wondered if anyone knows how the calculate the Fetal weight or what they are looking for to trigger additional checks. I already had a growth scan booked in for 4 weeks time so this is an extra one.

Often used the hadlock method I believe it's called? My notes are in the car so don't quote me on that...
But some method that uses the head circumference, femur length and abdominal circumference (I think also sometimes another head measurement?)
I found that at about 30ish weeks they like to keep a closer check on growth, but in my experience mine slow down at this stage (but still grow). Dd1 was estated to be 4lbs at birth but was 6lbs full term
Dd2 estimated to be about 5lbs but was 7 a week past term
Dd2 also under measuring 8th% at 33weeks but because my others where too, I don't have any concerns. And because doctors know she is moving well and my others were "small" they aren't as worried.
If this is your first they'll be getting you back as soon as possible (2 weeks) so that they can cross off anything major like having actual growth restriction or reduced blood flow etc.
What's your gut telling you? Is baby still moving lots?

Hello,

Completely get your worry- I am expecting twins and at one of our growth scans the sonographer was positive but when we saw the consultant a week later she said one of the babies was measuring on 10th percentile. She said if this drops further they would be concerned but for now would just keep an eye on it. Her initial concern did cause me worry but she basically said- we just don’t want it to drop below 10th.

At our next growth scan our smaller baby had gone up to 34th percentile so made good progress. They also track it on a graph and she said the main thing is how they trend against that graph and ensuring they just stay on the line is the main thing.

She also mentioned measuring amniotic fluid etc don’t know if that was mentioned to you?

Just sharing my experience, don’t know if that was helpful or not. What I would say is a lot can change in 2 weeks, and to try not let the throwaway comments affect you too much. I know I’ve read into every word and found myself panicking, only to be relieved weeks later.

Good luck and the best for you

I know this isn't what your asking but

Even if your baby does end up not growing as big they should, try not to worry. My DS had IUGR and I was induced at 37 weeks. He weighed 4lb 9oz and we were allowed home the next day. Perfectly healthy, just really small

He grew and gained weight rapidly once he was out of the womb,

My first measured small. In the end I was having scans three times a week and they decided to induce me. Induction failed so I had a section. She was 5lb 13. She then lost quite a bit of weight, think she ended up about 5lb 4 or 5? They really do keep an eye on you though if they are worried about weight.
Funnily enough, my second born 15 months later was 9lb 1! He was my biggest baby out of the 4.

There's quite an error on the measurements. My son was predicted to be about 5lb13-6lb based on growth scans but was 6lb12 at birth and only 30 g less than my daughter but born 2 weeks earlier! Comparing photos of the two of them he is considerably more scrawny and the clothes she wore as a newborn drown him and we have had to drop to size 0 nappies which are meant to be for 2-5lb!

If you are worried it might be worth making contact with your midwife. The drop from 20th to 10th might not be that significant in which case growth is okish but growth that is now 10th percentile or lower is now a concern. So it might be one of those cases where the results are mixed levels of concern and it might need extra scans to see the pattern. Growth that is between the 10th and 20th percentiles would be less concerning that growth that started 20th percentile and actively dropping. You will need the extra data points to determine which scenario you are in.

After growth scans we were sent through to the midwife/obstetrician clinic which I found helpful as I knew I'd get that input straight away.

Thank you for your responses.

to clarify baby is measuring 4lbs currently (as an estimate). Has been consistently on 20th centile and now 10th centile.looking at the growth chart this puts baby at 7lbs 3 at full term (exact weight of my previous baby)

I think what’s concerned me most is he seemed really happy and commenting how active baby was…until he tapped it into a computer.

I thought 4lbs seemed ok for 32 weeks and consistent with what website like babycentre etc say the average should be.

unfortuantely can’t get through to a midwife and next appt is in 2 weeks also.

will try again this afternoon

My DC was born at 35 weeks weighing 3.5lbs. I had IUGR and pre eclampsia which only manifested from around 32 weeks, so 4lbs at 32 weeks doesn’t sound too bad to me! I do know from my research at the time that these estimates can be wildly inaccurate. Best of luck OP x

I've just checked my notes my son was 4lb4 at the 32 week growth scan which was just under the 50th percentile for my chart but I'm only 5ft2 and small build so not sure how much that has an effect. Baby was 6lb12 at 37+1 so sounds like a similar prediction to yours. My daughter was 6lb13 at 38+6

Maybe try the midwives again tomorrow?

Duplicate post

Yes will keep trying them.

im 5ft 8 so guessing they think I should have a 9lb baby or something (this is me trying to think positive)

4lbs is a normal weight at 32 weeks. My baby was smaller at that age and the doctors said she was a good weight. I’m a lot smaller than you though. You shouldn’t worry.

I'm 5"7, and had a 7lb3 baby on his due date. He's just sat his GCSEs, still has a tiny waist, is a nightmare to buy trousers for, and hovers between 6th and 9th centiles for weight. He's taller than me, and currently frying a couple of eggs because dinner wasn't sufficient (sausages, mash, peas & onion gravy).

Chances are, there is no issue, but it's good news they are keeping an eye on you both incase something is up. If they were worried, I doubt they would leave it for 2 weeks.

My baby was born at 39+3 and was 6lb3oz (2.9kg) which puts her around the 10th centile I think.

I'm quite tall (5'7") but my DH and his siblings are quite small. Checked with my MIL and his sisters were both between 2.5-3kg, so I think she's just going to take after her dad's side of the family in height/weight!