midwife said baby is measuring big and now im worried

[TreadlngWater]

Hi everyone

Im 35+4 today and had my midwife appointment this morning and now ive come home and made the mistake of reading loads online 🙈

She measured my bump and said baby is measuring a bit ahead. She didnt seem panicked or anything but now I am because all im seeing is stories about massive babies and awful births

This is my 4th baby and my other 3 werent huge so now im wondering why this one would be. My bf is quite tall though so now im thinking maybe thats got something to do with it

She didnt really say much apart from well keep an eye on it and now my brain has gone into overdrive. I keep thinking does this mean ill need to be induced early or have a c section or am I just getting ahead of myself

Baby is moving fine and everything else has been normal so far

Has anyone else measured ahead and then had an average sized baby? Or did yours actually end up being really big?

Im probably overthinking it because im getting closer now but I was actually quite calm before this appointment and now im convincing myself something is wrong when maybe it isnt

It might be worth asking about a C-section, if you'd be open to it. I honestly have no idea if they would consider it just for a big baby but in my opinion it's worth an ask.

I think after my baby was born they said a 10% error in predicted weight was acceptable - and so you don't even know if the weight they've said is accurate or not. Mine was 16% over what was already a big prediction.

I'm sure your baby will be born healthy but it's the level of intervention you might need that would concern me. I was made to believe a normal birth would be fine. I am still suffering from the physical effects 6 years later. If I could go back I'd take a C-section in a heartbeat.

I looked like a beached whale during my 4th pregnancy. I had a scan at 36+5 and was told he already weighed 8 and a half pounds. My waters actually broke 2 days later and he only weighed 7lbs at birth. I wouldn't be worried if I were you. If the midwife was concerned, she'd send you for a scan.

If it's your fourth baby you can probably handle a slightly bigger baby no problem. Many people say that bigger babies can actually be easier to birth.

If your midwife was concerned she would have sent you for a growth scan, so it obviously isn't THAT big. It's a very great deal of guesswork anyway. Even growth scans have a 20% margin of error either way, which is the difference between an average 7lb 6oz and a large 8lb 14oz.

Sometimes these measurements are incorrect OP, I’ve heard many times where they’ve been mistaken. I was told both of mine were big and they were - both 10 pound babies, both born naturally and didn’t even require stitches the second time around. I would take what she said with a pinch of salt OP. You’ve had 3 babies already and usually they increase in size a bit each time, that’s normal. Your body is an expert at this by now. I’ve been told bigger babies are easier to birth because gravity does its thing but I don’t know how accurate this is. Try not to worry - your body knows what to do and worrying literally solves nothing. 🤗

So I was measuring big as well from about 34 weeks. No one was worried though as he was measuring all in line, just on the larger side!

But all was well - he was born naturally at the birth centre at 41+1 weeks - 10lbs 6oz!! No tears or anything either thankfully, but he was actually bigger than midwives originally thought but all was fine in the end, so try not to worry! Good luck!! ❤️

If it's just based on the bump measurement honestly I wouldn't give it a second thought. Could be waters, babies position, her positioning the tape measure slightly differently to last time. It's a bump measurement not a baby measurement!

Also she hasn't referred you for a growth scan so it must be just a minor deviation from the chart.

Also about 60% of babies predicted to be 'big' by late stage scans turned out to be perfectly average and there's also no reason you cant birth a bigger than average baby if it is.

I actually measured 'big' around 36 weeks a declined a growth scan. Birthed a 9lb 10 at home perfectly fine. I know that's anecdotal but so are the scare stories you're reading online. Try not to panic.

I’ve had 3 babies all natural

one at 32 weeks weighing 3lbs 8

then a 8lber and a 7.5lbder

the bigger the baby the easier it is I found im sure you will be absolutely fine

I measured 39 at over 42 weeks, DC was 10lb 6oz and even though induced no other intervention necessary. Previous baby 7lb 6oz 🤷‍♀️

I was told my baby was going to be a 10lb baby. She was born nearly 2 weeks overdue and just under 8lb

I’ve heard more stories of people being told they’re going to have a big baby and then go on to have a very normal-sized baby, than I have of anyone ever actually having a big baby. I was told I was ‘measuring big’ and my baby was 6lb 4oz at birth. Lots of my friends similarly told as such, one even had a planned C section as she was so worried about this and her baby was 7lb 4.

It was the other way around with me, I had different MWs at each appointment and the measurements weren’t consistent and they were worried baby wasn’t growing as expected so was referred for a scan around the 35 mark. Sonographer said all was fine, that different MWs can have a different technique when measuring the belly that can waru cm here and there and that DS was actually bang on the same size as my DD was. Perfect I thought - nice and easy delivery. Well labour comes and I’m pushing out a little chunk.

Anyways, point of the story - your belly measurement isn’t always the most accurate. The ultrasound isn’t either 😂

I was told my first would be huge. She was 7lb 8oz and all new born clothes were too big for her. We had to go out and get tiny baby clothes.
I'm sure they probably get it wrong the other way too. It's only a guestimate.

I had a scan at 41 weeks and 3 days. Sonographer confidently said it was a big baby, at least 10lb 4oz. DD1 was born under 48 hours later and weighed 8lb 4oz. She did not lose 20% of her body mass in under two days. And I am 5 ft 9 and DH is 6 ft and based on my height she was a bang on 50th centile baby. She was long and skinny. Scans can be way off. An obstetrician wrote something along the lines of estimating weight from a scan is like looking through a keyhole at a rotund man in a bath and guessing his weight. I ignored size estimates for DD2. She was also 8lb 4 at birth but was not long and skinny, she was shorter and rounder 😀

First baby. Measured big throughout. Born 10lb 5oz, natural delivery, no pain relief, some stitches afterwards. No problems.

My third baby they kept saying after multiple growth scans that she would be big and estimated over 9lb - born at 39 weeks weighing 6lb 13oz

Fourth baby they kept saying after multiple growth scans that he would be big and estimated over 9lb - born at 38 weeks weighing 7lb 3 oz.

They were not big 😂

I was told my baby was measuring big, the midwife said it was probably because my husband is tall etc.

My DD was born at 42 weeks weighing 7 lbs 15 oz which is bang average. I don’t think bump size is an accurate indication and sometimes they don’t know what they’re talking about!

I was told at several midwife appointments that my baby would be at least 9lbs. When she was born, she was 6lbs 10!

I know of many friends who were told they needed a c section as their baby was measuring ‘huge’ and going to be 11lb+. All were actually about 7lb!

I had my second baby on Monday. At 38 weeks I had a scan and was told he weighed 9lb8oz. He was born 6 days later weighing 8lb10oz. Normal vaginal birth.

Everything on this thread is anecdotal, and no one can tell you how big your baby will actually be. Please look at Dr Sara Wickham’s website and also read up
on the Big Baby Trial. That trial found that in 60% of cases where women were told they were going to have big babies, they didn’t.

And even if you do have a big baby, the chances are your birth will be absolutely fine with no issues.

I think growth scans are handled really badly in the NHS. There’s so much fear mongering. They’re notoriously inaccurate and often presented by doctors as fact, when actually they are a rough estimate and often wrong.

Good luck OP!

Was told "average baby" both times and they were 4kg and 4.2kg. Both vaginal unmedicated births with 2nd degree tear first time and I don't even know what second time (v easy birth). Just to reassure you that a bigger baby doesn't mean you can't have a straightforward birth.

They all seem to say that and every story I hear ends with ‘and the baby was about 7-8lbs’

I measured very big at 8 months pregnant. I had a slightly smaller baby than average. This was about 17 years ago, so not sure if more acurate now.