Measured 10th Percentile at 29 weeks- I'm scared

[ChefMelanie]

Hi all.

So my obstetrician booked me in for a growth scan at 29 weeks, main reason is that I'm currently being investigated for Chrohns disease (hasn't been confirmed yet), and so I'm anxious baby isn't growing enough.

Just had the growth scan, and they've told me the baby is at 10 percentile. That it should be between 10 and 90, and it's sitting at 10. They've booked me in for another growth scan in 2 weeks, to check on this.

I'm scared. I mean the doctor.didnt sound too serious, she said 10 percentile is still OK, it's at the bottom of the healthy range. And me and my partner are both small (we are both 5"4/ 5"5).

Anyone that had a baby low percentile like this and had a healthy baby/ anyone experienced this before?

I'm scared the baby won't grow properly, then I don't know what will happen.

Good news that your dr isn't overly concerned. Remember centiles are out of 100 so if you picture 100 school children some will be tall some will be small etc. Someone has to be the smallest in the class and that doesn't necessarily mean there's anything wrong. Humans have an extraordinary amount of variation in phenotype. If shes on 10th that means out of 100 babies 9 are smaller than her. They generally would be more likely ro worry about rapidly dropping or gaining centiles. Likelihood is baby will be perfectly dinky

They are taking it seriously and monitoring the situation closely. It's definitely not panic stations yet. My 2yo just measured 97th for her weight but she's quite lean and she's tall. You wouldn't say she was fat. Health visitor not concerned at all.

My baby was 10th percentile , he was born weighing 6.1lbs
His weight fluctuated after birth. He dropped off the scale around 3 months old , like below 0%, then at next weigh in was 50% centile. Hes now almost 2 and hes growing perfectly. My boy had a rough start tho as he was in nicu for few weeks , nothing to do with his growth but because i had uncontrolled diabetes and he couldn't regulate his own blood sugars as a result of that.
Hes a crazy, energetic boy that loves life. Hes very healthy , rarely sick other than a cold and hes intelligent, already knows some sign language.
Babies are born at all different sizes. I was a tiny baby as was his dad ( 5 lbs at 42 weeks and 6.1lbs same as my son)

Im pregnant again and im told ill have growth scans every 2 weeks because of the fact my last baby was so small But im not worried at all as my first born is perfect .

We had the same. There is advice on how to increase baby's growth which I followed but I don't think it is actually what changed anything, it's essentially just eat well and avoid smokers. We had growth scans throughout. He caught up and was 8.11 at birth. My other had growth scans throughout because he was too big, he was 9.3, it's often a crock of shit.

Yes, I had a 6lb 0oz baby at 41 weeks. Normal vaginal delivery and a perfectly healthy baby :)

She's massively caught up now at 18 months. Somewhere around the 50th percentile for weight and 70th for height.

Hey. What advice did you follow to increase the babys growth if you don't mind me asking?

I had a 2lb 5oz baby at 30 weeks. She didn't even make it onto the scale!
Some issues when newborn with oxygen support as a premmie but caught up in size over the first few years.
She's now 30 and perfectly healthy.

My baby stopped growing and I was induced due to IUGR. He was born at 37 weeks and weighed 4lb 9oz, about the 2nd percentile if I remember correctly,

He stayed in hospital for one night to monitor his blood sugar levels and we went home the next day, and he never stopped growing 😅 he's 9 now and almost as tall as me

Try not to worry, 29 weeks is when they noticed with me too x

They will be looking for your baby to follow the 10th centile, and if baby drops below they will probably book in extra growth scans and scans to see how the placenta is working.

Both my babies dropped below the 10th centile in the 3rd trimester and had reduced growth. I was induced at 37 weeks for DS and he was born 6lb1. I was induced at 38 weeks with DD and she was born at 5lb5. Completely healthy children.

This is not necessarily terrible news. Stay calm, eat well and go to the scans. Good luck!

If both you and partner are on smaller side you're not likely to have a big baby!

What matters more is that baby keeps tracking their centile. Its much better for baby to start at 10% and stay at 10% than say start at 90th centile, 70th next scan, 50th one after that.

If it makes you feel any better my dd was born at 29+4. She was on the 10th centile at birth. I think she weighed 2lb 8 but they measured her wrong so weren’t sure until 2 weeks later.

She’s now 3 year old and is on the 98th centile 😅 She feels like she’s made of concrete!

I had 5th centile babies, we just have small ones in our family despite being tall.
Both boys were dots when born but both absolutely on the money now.
I had to go on bed rest with them numerous times for slow growth but ultimately the trend was always upwards and they were born completely healthy, if a little early.

A baby being in the 10th centile is not a reason for concern in and of itself. As another PP has said, someone has to be in the 9th, 8th centile etc, that's how the centiles work. What's important is that the baby keeps following the 10th centile, because what's concerning is when they start to drop centiles massively.

I had a low risk pregnancy with my first, he was born at 38 weeks with 2kg, 0.2 centile. Perfectly healthy baby. I'm being monitored much closer this second pregnancy, and what they'll be looking for is major drops in centile or any signs placenta is malfunctioning (so far so good at 32 weeks).

Try not to worry. There's nothing you can do to make them grow more and the important thing is you're being closely monitored.

Both mine were small, 6lbers at full term, I had 2 vessel cords both times. My mum had small babies too. Normal range is still ok

I had my daughter in August 2024 and she was born under the 10th centile at 41 weeks. She weighed 6lb 12oz. She didn’t seem particularly small at birth… and over her first year she shot up to the 75th centile! She’s so tall for her age now and honestly can’t believe she was ever considered ‘small’.
I’m pregnant with my second now and have been offered growth scans due to her being small at birth but her size was never an issue

Sometimes it can also be to do with wrong dates. I was told at 20 week scan my daughter was 3rd percentile. I had to have regular scans and tests which were all fine. She went nearly two weeks overdue, at which point I was induced.

She was born 8 pounds 3 and 54cm long (not small!) and was covered in vernix (which means not late). My midwife shrugged and said the first dating scan was probably off so we’d been tracking her as two weeks ahead of her real dates the whole time.

Currently 27+3 and baby is measuring small.

My anatomy scan put baby on the 7th centile so I had a growth scan booked at 26 weeks where she had dropped to just under the 3rd centile.

I now have another upcoming scan at 28 weeks so will see how that goes but I have had two previous SGA babies, one was born on the 10th centile and the other 2nd centile. Both now happy, rowdy 5 and 6 year old boys .

Sorry you are feeling worried! If it helps, I had a fairly late growth scan because baby was measuring small but she was born weighing 8lb 6 so they don’t always get it right.

My sister also had a v low percentile baby but my sister is fairly petite - baby (now toddler) is absolutely fine, just small in stature like her mum!

10th centile is normal and a term baby on 10th centile is eligible for homebirth, low level fetal monitoring etc. babies under 10th centile are recommended to be monitored more closely in labour. Just wait and see what serial scans say and you can't base anything on one measurement

I felt the sam during my pregnancies.

Both my girls were less than 10th percentile all through my pregnancies when they started
measuring - they were both born at 39 weeks and were 6lb 13oz and 5lb 11oz, respectively. Both are now tall for their ages (and no major health concerns)