Very worried - small fundal height - 27 weeks

[Elephant768]

I went to see midwife today to monitor baby movements. That was all ok but then she measured my bump and said it’s slightly smaller than to be expected - 24cm. So they requested a scan (NHS). She hinted I might just wait for a scan this afternoon but she spoke to the dr and she said they’ll reach out to me in a few days

I’m in complete panic mode. I’ve booked a private scan for tomorrow but now I’m worried about that because the NHS midwife said they are unregulated (which is true) so I’m unsure whether it’s better to wait for the nhs one or whether the one tomorrow will put my mind at rest.

What is small fundal height an indication of?! I’ve been eating lots - husband joked about eating more, should I be eating more to make him bigger? Is it an indication of a long life condition??

I am 5ft and was very small pre pregnancy. I feel like I’ve gained loads and loads of weight but clearly not to the bump if he’s measuring small.

there was also discrepancy about 5 yrs ago whether I had a septated uterus - had a camera go up there and it was confirmed there was none but that it might be bicornate but nothing was flagged on the 20 week scan. I’m just so worried. If there is a septation then he might not be growing properly! Beyond worried

It’s probably nothing, but I’d absolutely cancel the private scan, they can’t and won’t tell you anything medically useful if something is wrong. They might miss something if something is wrong and give you false reassurance. Wait for your NHS scan and just pay attention to baby’s movements, fundal measurements are notoriously inaccurate

A small fundal height can mean something or absolutely nothing. They might be small or normal or large size. The fundal measurements are blunt tools to see who would benefit from. A growth scan
With my daughter my bump was 10th percentile she was born 60th percentile. My son was 10th percentile bump but 50th percentile on growth scan. He was born at 37 weeks and based on growth scans should have been just under 6lb but was 6lb 12oz and 60th percentile for that gestation. I'm not sure what it would have been on my chart but clearly higher than 50th predicted.

My daughter is 5 now and 4th percentile height and 25th percentile weight, my son is only 12 weeks but I think similar small and heavy. He had to go into size 0 nappies at birth and he fitted into newborn vests untill 11 weeks even though he was 11lb and they went up to 7.5lb! I'm 5ft2 and a size 6-8 for context so I think I'm destined to make small children!

I was scanned weekly for the last couple of months, as my bump was measuring small. I had to see a consultant. My son was born weighing 9lbs 4oz. Hardly small🤣

My friend gave birth in the (luckily) cleaning aisle of Tesco….
she didn’t know she was pregnant- no bump.
im having growth scans for various reasons, but I really don’t see how measuring a bump is any kind of accurate science.
wouldn’t worry OP

Hi there it's a midwife. I would cancel the private scan, as you can't be sure of quality.

Are the baby's movements ok? If you have any worries about movements (or any other worries) you should call your hospital Maternity Assessment Unit, they are open with 24/7.

Please eat sensibly and certainly don't "eat for 2" to grow the baby.

I hope it helps

It’s rubbish to be honest. With my first son, my bump measured 4 weeks behind so I was sent for a scan which was fine. He was just “hiding”. With my current pregnancy, I recently measured 29 weeks at my 31 week appointment and was sent for a scan which showed he was bang on average. I find the measuring of the bump very antiquated and just creates anxiety.

I was on the maternity ward in the bed next to a woman who just had a growth scan and baby was measuring small on a growth scan. I heard her say to some on the phone that she was going have to start changing what she was eating to fatten them up she said "I'm going to have to eat fruit and vegetables and shit" ... I hope she stuck to the fruit and veg! 😆

Hi, I’m due my 3rd baby in 4 years, so I’ve had tons of measurements and it’s all still quite fresh in my memory. My last baby, who just turned 2, was measuring small at this stage so I was booked in for an emergency growth scan as they were concerned he’d stopped growing. Growth scan showed him to be 99th centile. I had a 10lb baby by c-section! Don’t worry!!!! Honestly!!!

Ah that’s reassuring! Thank you! I just panicked when she told me but in hindsight I know there various factors that can affect the bump measurement which doesn’t necessarily mean anything is restricting growth X

Thank you. Yes me too prior to my being pregnant was size 6 and I’m short so it could be a case of there just not being enough space for the baby to grow hugely!

Bumps vary in size massively. I had a tiny bump, people barely knew I was pregnant with my first. So it flagged me for growth scans. All was fine.
I’m 24 weeks currently and fully expecting my bump will measure small again, and therefore I will end up having extra scans.

Some people have the opposite problem and they are huge, and that flags them for extra checks to.

Measuring bumps is just a rough guide, but they can’t tell them that much, hence why they request extra scans.

It depends what sort of private scan place it is. If it’s somewhere like Fetal medicine centre in London than that’s much much better than NHS (you get scanned by highly trained doctors). If it’s one of those window to the womb places or similar then that’s a different story.