Baby on 2nd Percentile - 27 weeks

[DonutFan95]

I am 27 weeks and our baby is measuring on the 2nd percentile.
We had a detailed scan with a fetal medicine consultant where they checked all organs, limbs and the face.
She said that everything looks normal and in proportion, there are no abnormalities.

Me and my fiance are only 160cm tall and this was the first thing the consultant brought up, she said that most likely our baby is just constitutionally small. She even said if we were measured on percentiles we would also be in the lower percentiles compared to the rest of the population simply cause we are short people.

She also said that it could be that my placenta isn't working as it should and that we can't fully exclude that possibility which is why we have scans to measure bloodflow each week.

Then she said that in some cases where the baby is under the 3rd percentile it could be caused by syndromes. And she then said if we want further invasive testing we can have an amnio done.

We decided that we do not want the amnio just based of peoples experiences online and because we have seen no abnormalities on any scans and got the lowest risk on the 12 week screening + no family history of any syndromes. I also want to say both our parents are also short people also no taller than 160cm. Being short is just in both our genetics.

Even though the consultant thinks the most likely thing is that we just have a small baby and I know that everything points towards this being the explanation, I am now kinda feeling like I can't enjoy this pregnancy cause what if something does end up being really wrong with her.

Has anyone had a baby on the 2nd percentile and how did it play out? I was already told I need to be induced at 37 weeks most likely. But should I be more worried about syndromes and stuff like that because she is 2nd percentile? Or am I okay to think she is literally just a small baby cause her parents are small and her grandparents are also small. I'm really torn but I also don't want invasive testing just cause she is small. The consultant also told us the error margin of ultrasound measurements is around 10-35% so I am not even sure we can fully trust the measurements. I guess I just feel doubt now about if baby is healthy or not and feel really cautious about enjoying things like prepping for baby and feeling her movements and getting excited cause what if she's got something really wrong and I don't get to enjoy her in the end....It's so stressful.

Anyway please tell me if anyone had something like this :(

Hi Op. not 2nd percentile but did have a 6th percentile baby; he is perfect and just small - this has continued generally and he stayed between 0.2 and 9th until 2. I think now he’s 3.5 nearer the 25th.

i also have second son who was predicted to be 6lb from one of the scans and was born 8lb 4!

My first measured very small, consultant laughed when he saw me- I'm 150cm. Said I'm short and so is baby. Even though dad is 180cm.

Baby was/ is fine.

If you're both short and 4 short grandparents then chances are you also have a short person growing inside you.

Enjoy the pregnancy.

Yes had exactly this. Baby found to be on 2nd centile but late on/34 weeks I think.
i am small - 163cm ish but husband is average sized and id previously had an average sized baby.
foetal medicine did all the scans and couldn’t find anything. Offered amnio which we declined as it was so late.
Baby born early 37 weeks and was small but perfectly formed. Now nearly one year old and all good! 50th centile and just little
wish you all the best

My baby measured small (various percentiles but femur was the lowest). When they did the doppler scans they advised that it was a placenta issue.

The good thing is that you will have plenty of monitoring to keep your baby safe - it does 'medicalise' your pregnancy and obviously, it's hard not to worry until you set eyes on your baby.

My baby ended up being delivered at 35+6, weighing below the 0.4% percentile. We had a bit of a stay in NICU. He is now a very bright 7 year old on between the 25th and 50th centile (neither my husband or I are the tallest).

I hope, rather than worrying you, I've offered some reassurance... I know how much I searched for good outcomes online when I was worried.

Just to add, some babies are naturally just small and perfectly formed - that's why the percentiles exist! They may be less common than slightly larger babies - but it doesn't always mean something is wrong!

I've previously had a baby born on the 2nd centile and he is perfectly fine, in fact he's the hardest work of them all lol. This pregnancy I measured on the 7th centile at 20 weeks, she dropped down to the 3rd at 26 weeks but has picked up over the weeks. My scan last week at 34 weeks showed she was just under the 10th centile but following her own growth pattern.
I remember being so scared and reading about other people's experiences. My last pregnancy I had a placental abruption at 26 weeks, luckily he is now a happy and healthy 4 year old but this made me even more anxious for this pregnancy.

Although it is hard not to worry when baby is measuring small, they like to see how babies growth is overall between the scans. One single scan cant tell them everything so when you have another scan they will have a better idea around your babies growth pattern.