Fundal height is way too small for 19 weeks! Dont understand how it works...?!

[Millie26]

Hi, I know this has been discussed before but just looking about fundal height measurements and I measured mine in the loo and it's 9cm which cant be ok surely?

I know some people are hardly showing at 19 weeks too so they would be really small wouldnt they?

Is FH just used when you are a bit bigger? Do you just suddenly balloon to the measurement you're supposed to be?

Midwife checked saw tummy at 16 wks and didnt say anything was wrong so guess is ok but just wondered if anyone else had this too?

I measured from just above my bikini line to just below my belly button.

xx

Fundal height isn't something you should be trying to measure yourself IMO, even when midwives do it they get varying results.

Fundal height is the distance from your pubic bone to the top of your womb and only has anything to do with your belly button when that happens to be where the top of your womb is.

Agree with dejavous - you really need to be an expert to do it properly - also it's measured when you are lying down and they kind of press into the belly to find where the shape of the uterus is.

I've never had it done before about 25 weeks so I think perhaps it's either not relevent or too hard to measure before then

Not normally measured so early. Is this your first pregnancy? Usually takes longer to start to show first time. I didn't show at all until 23 weeks. And yes it does seem to suddenly get bigger quickly once you start to show.

No medical professional would try and measure fundal height at 19 weeks. It is too early and has no relevance at this stage of pregnancy.

Yes, you are right, I dont even know why I did it, I guess I thought it would be interesting

I lay down on the window sill. Am an absolute moron...

I've got a 20 wk scan on Friday so will find out then, it just seems so far away.

xx

I've had it done once in 2 pregnancies and then there was a hint of concern that the baby was a bit small and it was something to keep an eye on. That was at about 34 weeks. I think that 'small' baby ended up being 9lb DS2.

Fundal height is notoriously difficult to get right even for a professional and I have read some of them don't even use it. That was certainly true for me.

At 19 weeks the baby is measured in mm on scans so there is no way it can be an accurate way of measuring at this stage.

Don't worry!

I don't think you're measuring the right place, and it's also very early to be measurng it - we don't get measured by midwives until 28 wks round here.

Even then, it's a very vague indication - like Chunkychips, I've had to have late scans with both my babies because my bump wasn't big enough, but in the end DS1 was 8lb3oz - hardly small, and I'm nearly 39 wks with DC2, but the scan estimated him at 7 1/2 lb already.

At your stage I hardly showed with my first, though I showed earlier with the second. If you're worried, see your midwife, but I really don't think you have a reason to be

Millie 'I don't even know why I did it'

That would be those pesky hormones again, messing with your brain. Happens to us all.

haha, thanks! I know, I ought to get on with my work instead of taking a strip of paper and a pencil into the loos to measure my tummy

Thanks for taking the time to reply everyone.

x

Lol - sorry but that made me laugh. You didn't even use a tape measure!?

Enjoy your scan on Friday. It will be here sooner than you think.

A strip of paper and a pencil is more than my midwife uses. She just looks at you and then writes down a number But then at the other extreme I was once measured at the hospital by a consultant who I suspect wasn't used to measuring fundal heights and ended up drawing on me in biro to work out where to measure to.
Don't worry about fundal height measurements at all, they are only used as a rough indicator.

Millie very difficult to measure yourself and at 19 wks way too early for it to be anywhere near accurate! You may not even be feeling your fundus when you measure yourself. I wouldnt worry about being small this early on. If you are still small as your pregnacy progresses then you will be sent for a growth scan which will be more accurate than fundal height which is really used a a guide as it is notoriously inaccurate