37wks pg, told baby to small and will need to be induced at 40wks?

[SANA]

this is my first pgnancy and so far all has been fine, at a routine antenatal appointment last week the MW said the bump was measuring a bit small and sent me for a scan this week, consultant has assured me the baby is about 5pds 7oz, blood flow is fine and booked me for another scan next week. He has also advised that if I go beyond the my due date that I should be induced which I really want to avoid. I just cant see under what circumstances I should be induced if the placenta and the baby is fine, when I asked the consultant on this he was just really vauge and that this was his recommendation........despite my persistent questioning

anybody come across this or have any advise as to what to ask the consultant next week

Hi Sana. My first pregnancy was similar - all ok until 36 week check when sudden lack of growth prompted a hospital visit. A scan suggested 4lb baby - good heartbeat.etc but small. First was admitted for bedrest, but then they decided to induce. This was traumatic but DD1 arrived at 6lb 2oz. (Very skinny - absolutely no extra fat, but healthy). I was a bit miffed as not 4lb so maybe she should have stayed put, but followed advice & had healthy baby. I would take all advice and follow prof. recommendations. Good luck & don't worry as you'll be monitored closely now.

Hi SANA,

The person you need here is mears who is a current midwife. I used to be a midwife but not for the past three years so my advice will be rusty.

I'm not sure why your baby is small - it could just be that this is the way he/she is meant to be.(the most likely reason)
The other thing they could check is if the
placenta is functioning well (babies sometimes grow more slowly because the placenta has become mature) but you said the blood flow was fine which I assume is how they checked the placenta's functioning.

You can expect your baby to gain about 1/2 a lb a week in the next 2-3 weeks which actually makes him/her around 7lbs at birth (not that bad actually).

My advice would be to see what the scan shows next week - if the baby has gained weight then the chances are that he/she is just meant to be this size. Doctors are so frightened of being sued these days that they jump on the slightest concern.

Ask him if you can have daily monitoring instead of induction - if the scans seem reassuring and the heart traces are fine on monitoring I can't see why you'd need induction.

Mandy

PS: I'm sure mears will tell you if I have any of this incorrect - it has been a while.

With my third pregnancy my doctor and MW were obsessed with my baby being small. Had a scan where he was said to be on the small side and a repeat scan which showed he was small but had grown. Refused further scans despite the MW constantly measuring my bump - in one day three MWs masured and all came up with different reading! He was born over a week late and weighed 6lb 10oz. Wonderfully healthy. Almost forgot, both Dr and MW were convinced he was breach but he just had a bony bottom!

Sometimes health professionals "forget" that mentioning things causes often unnecessary anxiety. That vague answer leads to many sleepless nights. Hope your visit is more satisfactory next week. Go armed with questions and write down the answers. Don't leave if you are not satisfied with the replies. Good luck.

Sorry. Just realised you said you are 37 weeks.

I had dd1 in September and she was 5lbs 12oz. I had an extra scan at about 25 weeks as they were concerned for her size but all OK. I then had to have another and a placenta blodd flow check at around 38 weeks as they were concerned again. The local consultant who referred me at 38 weeks was appalling - he advised me that he was sending me for a detailed scan to check the baby's size. When I asked what would happen if the baby was too small, he just said that I would be induced immediately - I just burst into tears and panicked. Luckily the midwives were fantastic and calmed me down.
As it tuned out - everyhting was OK - as long as the placenta and cord are functioning properly then the baby is generally not in danger. And if they are begining to fail - then better out than in!

As it was dd1 was perfeclty healthy - just small for no particular reason. Unfortunately the concern doesn't go away as she was then subjected to extra blood tests etc just to make sure there was no underlying cause.

She is still small - 12lbs 4oz at 5 months but is perfect and is developing well - rolling, almost sitting, laughing, babbling.

TRy to relax and use the opportunity of the scan to relieve any worries.

Message withdrawn

Thanks for all the replies, had a very worrying night, have been keeping a close eye on the baby movements and its seems to be moving fine

I am pretty small myself and my mum reassured me last night i weighed at birth just over 5pds at 41wks.not sure if this is related, will ask for scans to monitor the placenta and then do what feels right, i just feel at this stage that if the baby and the placenta are fine and the baby is on the small side its better in then out

Hi, I was induced at 37 weeks as I had pre eclampsia and dd was small for dates, they thought from the scan she was only 2lb, but she was actually 4lb 8oz when born.I actually felt relieved when they noticed she was small, as i'd been saying for weeks I did'nt even look pregnant. Being induced was scarey, but the paediatrician was there as she was born and knowing they were prepared for her to have problems was reassuring in a way, and although she had jaundice and feeding took a while to establish she was small but perfect, I think it's good to talk to your consultant, and the nurses,keep asking lots of questions if you are unsure or dont agree with them.
I wanted a totally natural birth, and did'nt but it was'nt bad and I've had 2 since with no intervention at all !
Good luck, try not to worry too much, and keep us posted on your progress !

AAARGGGHH! As a student midwife I hate to hear about this.

You, yourself, have just said you're small so you're baby's unlikely to be a whopper!

The scans are reliable within 2lbs anyway, so you could potentially have a baby 2lb bigger!

It's your right not to be induced. Keep badgering and pestering until they give you the research to back up the waffle they're telling you.

Everything sounds great!

Thanks Oatcake, the hospital are going to hate me by the time I have finnished with them, I have chaged the consultant I am seeing next week as want second opinion, will let u all know how it goes

SANA - hi - I too was very small and baby was small...as he was my first I ended up being monitored regularly and booked in for an induction at 38 weeks because he had levelled off on the charts (loads of growth scans...) He was 4 15 and absolutely fine.....I would resist induction a second time round without asking a lot more questions...as I think things were fine...they were just erring on the side of caution.

I was told I was going to have a small baby with ds and the consultant was wrong in my case too. The midwives didn't think the baby felt small and they were right, he was 7lb, so perfectly normal. If you are small you probably aren't going to have a huge one, whoever said that is right. I'm not a midwife, just thought I'd add my experience.

I was monitored from 22 weeks due to dd's size and all along my hospital were happy just to monitor in case she stopped growing. Up to 37 weeks all was fine but at 37 weeks they found she hadn't really grown in 2 weeks so I was whipped in and induced (further complicated by high blood pressure). I had heard lots of stories about weights being wrong but actually, dd was almost spot on what they had said and weighed in at 4 lbs 9 oz. She is almost 3 weeks old, putting on weight - has just moved up clothes size today (from early to tiny baby !!).

what I would say is insist on just being monitored while db is still showing growth, even if this means daily heart traces. If they insist on induction, its not ideal but at the end of the day dd is fine, and bensmum3 had a similar experience to me and all fine there. Apparently when I was in hospital there were another 3 4 lbers in the ward too ! It was my due date yesterday and it was quite a relief to think now that it is all behind me !

Even with the growth stopping with dd, the midwives and doctors were saying that it could still be genetic as both dh and I are small.

Good luck !

I would have thought that as long as the baby is still growing (a bit) then its better off in than out, for as long as possible?

Stock questions for consultants who are telling you what to do -

What would happen if we don't do this?
What will happen if we wait a week?
Are there any alternatives?
What are the benefits for the baby and me?
What are the risks for the baby and me?
What evidence is your advice based on?
Thank you for your advice; we will consider it carefully and let you know our decision.

I had a similar thing happen to me. This started around 34 weeks when my midwife said I measured small and sent me for a scan. I had a scan at 35 and 26 weeks. They measure the head, the waist (or something in the middle) and the length? Can't quite remember. Plus they emasured the blood flow to the placenta and my fluid.

Growth was beginning to slow down; they weren't overly concerned but did mention to me induction might be on the cards. I never saw the same OB or midwife twice at the hospital. At my 37 week appt. I did not have a scan but I saw a different OB and he said the baby was going to be a fine size and that all was normal and I had nothing to worry about.

A week later, at 38 weeks, I had another scan and saw yet another OB and she said immediately that we woul dhave to induce. I was shocked since the week before I'd been told all was fine. To this day I don't know if I just had an over cautious OB.

Anyway, my induction (luckily) wasn't too bad and I had a quick labour and delivery at 38 weeks 4 days. My dd weighed 6lb 5oz but my uterus never grew beyond 35 weeks (lucky me hey?)

If this happens next time round I will ask more questions and probably request more monitoring plus a second opinion. They may laugh at me but at least I would have tried.

Good luck. I hope your next scan brings you some definite answers.

With me his head was on the line, but his waist measurement camme off the line and was going in a straight line. I had regular growth scans, and regular heart monitoring in the week leading upto the induction......basically they felt 'better out than in' and that at 38 weeks he'd be fine...actually did a sweep, which I think, had I been left, would have worked, as my labour took less than two hours! My cervic dlation chart was a vertical line ......
Only scarey bit for me was that it ended in near c'section as his heartbeat bottomed out, bit I did the last cm between delivery room and theatre!

I am going to ask all the questions this week at my scan on Tuesday, I have been told its the the babys abdominal measurements which are below average, why did some of u agree to being induced?

I ahd the sam ething with DS, the hospital told me that he would be about 4lb at term, I had him at 35+5 and he was 5lb 2oz. Even now they say he had growth retardtion (hate that word sorry) because its in his notes.

Fundal height concern at 37+2 too (due Sept 21st)... been really healthy pregnancy. But a 3rd diff midwife at my local birth centre checked me this afternoon and reckons my measurement actually gone down 1 cm to 34 cm. I am small, partner small so we're not likely to have a whopper ... and I've been feeling great with wiggly bump. But she insisted I go to local hospital for blood flow scan. No such scan available there on the weekend ... they put me on heart monitor for full hour and heartrate perfectly fine ... plus a local midwife who saw me a lot in the early stages thought I had grown nicely and had no concerns. Has booked me in Tuesday for more heartmonitoring and then scan if necc, but I know I'll just fret till then. Perplexed especially by different styles of communication and urgency between the MWs now and don't know what to do ...

Hi, at 33 wks i had a scan to check the babies size because of concerns he was too small for the age, Scan showed he weighed 4lb. Had another scan today now at 35 weeks and he has only put on 4oz. The doctors told me thats not enough and the best thing to do is to get him out very soon on friday in fact. Scan showed placenta is functioning well and blood flow is normal, baby is active and i feel fine. Im wondering if i should just keep monitoring baby daily and have another scan. Does anyone have any advice please very worried about babies size at this stage.

Kiminz, start another thread so you get fresh advice - I was about to respond to the OP when I checked the date.

FWIW, I was told DS2 wasn't growing, was v small, bump measured 4 weeks behind dates, etc, etc. He was 8lb 1oz at 40+4 - the blood flow through the placenta was always fine on scans and he was very active too.

Thank you wickedwaterwitch first time on here

Way too late - hope everything went well for you, Sana. My understanding about the post dates thing is that the placenta starts to degrade. I've seen placentas looking a bit raggedy - I've not looked into the research, but I'd guess they'd be less effective, even with healthy blood flow in the major vessels visualised by ultrasound.
A Cochrane review (systematic assessment of medical trials) concluded that routine induction post 41 weeks labour reduced the incidence of perinatal mortality. It is known that post 42 weeks perinatal mortality and morbidity is inceased in otherwise low risk pregnancies (I'm paraphrasing from the review here) www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab000170.html

34 weeks and being sent for growth scan as not grown much in last 2 weeks. last time I was measured seemed to have grown more than usual so hoping its just a blip. Hoping for homebirth so hoping all is ok. Hve a 3 year old who was 6lb 5oz and I am only 5 ft so maybe I just have small babies!

hi, my daughter just been for a scan/growth check at 34+6, shes 16 and petite, midwifes measurements av been on the top line every week and scan today shows under the bottom line, they say baby weighs 4lb 6oz at the min and shes gotta av another scan in 3 weeks, any comments plz xx