Should I be worried about estimated birth weight of 5.5lbs?

[KT1983]

Just wanted some info from anybody who has had similar with their pregnancy or any advice really....

I had a midwife appt at 28weeks & was measuring small. I was sent for a Growth scan the next day & baby was a little on the small side ( it was her tummy that was the measurement that wasnt quite right for dates) So they booked me in again for 32 week Growth Scan. Which I had yesterday...
Baby is still small & her tummy has not grown much, her weight at 32 weeks is 3lbs 12oz... Is that about right? they said she is JUST hitting the 15th Centile line...whatever that is?
They also gave us the approx birth weight of 5lbs5oz...Which is tiny
Im so worried that she is not going to be healthy at that weight? And what if I go into labour early?

They also said that if she is still not growing well enough at 36 weeks when they check her again, that they decide wether she is better out than in.

They also said everything inside was normal - Bloodflow/fluid/placenta etc...So no real reason as to why she is small.....

Am I over reacting as its first baby? Has anyone had similar? Is 5.5lbs really too low?

Wheelybug - Just curious, did you have a CS or did they induce for a natural delivery?

They tried to induce me but I didn't go into labour at all (some fake contractions on the syntocin) so they ended up doing a c-sec which although wasn't ideal, wasn't the end of the world either.

She was small - but strangely robust. They say that babies who are growth restricted in the womb tend to be quite robust when they come out.

They can do specialist doppler scans (usually done by consultants/ senior registrars) where they can trace the flow of blood round the body. If the blood flow is being more directed up towards the brain then it shows there is a growth problem as the blood gets directed to where it is needed most (hence why the abdominal circumference is quite an important indicator). I think that's quite an interesting fact ! The human body can be an amazing thing.

Sorry if im being a bit thick ....but, they told me that her Abdominal Circumference is the place where the problem is - The smallest growth.

They did check the blood flow to the brain and that was ok...so perhaps she is just small?

My third was supposed to be a 5 lb growth restricted puny little thing. She was 7lbs9oz at birth. She also had/ still has a small abdominal girth. They got it so wrong with her, and put us through a fair bit of stress in the process. If they have done a blood flow scan, and the placenta appears normal, it could be that they have it wrong...

Sorry to worry you KT - low abdominal growth can show there is a problem, hence why they probably did the extra dopplers but its good news if the dopplers show everything is ok. It wasn't until the dopplers showed a problem (which also corresponded with no growth in dd) that they acted on it until then I was being very closely monitored. It could also be that your baby just has a slim waist (although dd did have a growth problem there she remains very slim waisted as is her father so I suspect hers was a combination of factors)

I think the fact they are not seeing you for another 4 weeks is a good sign - they are not overly concerned of a problem but just keeping an eye. At your stage I was being scanned at least 2 weekly.

Try not too worry. My ds was born 2 days late and weighed 6lb 9oz, was 56cm in length, and I was harassed all through my pregnancy ever since they measured him on the 20 week scan, where he measured smaller then normal. His smallest part was also his abdominal circumference, and his longest part his femur. Also had the blood flow test and everything done and they said he was fine just small. He put weight on very quickly after he was born, and was chubby within a few weeks of birth. He is now 8, probably about average height, maybe taller, and have to tighten the waist on all his trousers because he has a small waist and stomach still!

I had numerous growth scans during my 2 pregnancy and both my dd's were born at term and weighed 5lb4ozs. They were perfectly healthy just tiny. They are still tiny, probably aklways will be, since dh and I both had birth weights of 4lb something or other i guess they were always going to be. With dd1 everyone was a bit concerned and then when I had dd2 they just said oh you just make small babies.
I had pre eclampsia, they were never worried about the size and onl;y induced me once the babies had stopped growing iyswim. try not to worry.

Hey KT - it sounds like we are having a similar experience right now!

Check out my thread here:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk?call=ThreadsImOn
Lots of helpful people have given advice and shared their experiences. My baby did not grow at all between 28 weeks and 32 weeks. I also had low fluid which prompted steroid injections and very close monitoring - thankfully that seems to have resolved itself. I have another growth scan on Monday and if there has been no growth they will want the baby out. Obviously, your baby is bigger than mine at around the 15th centile.

As NatalieJane has pointed out it is more that they don't know what, if anything, is restricting growth. From what I have read about IUGR (defined as being at or below the 10th centile), the prognosis is better with assymetric IUGR (where the head is within normal limits but the abdominal growth is restricted) than symmetric IUGR were the baby is in proportion.

I don't know when you are moving house but I would be keen to transfer care ASAP to get a second opinion. Some of the responses on my thread seem to indicate that this kind of restricted growth might be an early indicator of pre-eclampsia. Not meaning to scare you but it would be as well to watch out for any symptoms
www.preeclampsia.org/symptoms.asp

Sorry, my thread here:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/premature_birth/662935-Preparing-for-a-premature-baby

Ds2 was IUGR; delivered at 38+5, 4lb 15 - didn't need any help and bf straight away. Hope another positive story helps.

My son weight less than 5lb 5oz. In fact he was 5 lb 1oz at 37 weeks. He was healthy but just petite.

He is now a healthy six year old who loves life.

It is worth remembering that as far as the centiles go, some babies have to be on the 15th, or the 5th, and come on the 95th, otherwise the whole thing would be useless. 50th is just the median and there are plenty of babies that are perfectly healthy that are far below it.

I was up at the hospital every week towards the end with my DD she was 5llb 12 oz born and absoloutely perfect. She's still tiny now but don't be fooled she can more than keep up if with her friends the same age! She'll be 2 in Feb.
I think its just the way she's meant to be as do most ppl. It is really worrying I remember. But in my case they were keen to let me stay pregnant as long as she was happy because the smaller the baby the harder they find it to keep their body heat apparently. but it still means your on tender hooks from one week to the next!
Hope everything turns ok. I'm ceratin it will!

I was born on my due date weighing 4lb 4oz. I was perfectly healthy, just small. I breastfed immediately after birth, and in fact ended up having to be breastfed not only by both my mother but also by a friend of hers as initially my mum couldn't keep up with my demands! My mum says that the only differences were that I had to be kept very warm and that she had to fold the terry nappies three ways rather than two .....!

When I was pregnant with my own daughter, she was measured as 5th percentile at 32 weeks and I was warned that they may do a Caesarian at 36 weeks because of this. At 36 weeks, however, she was at the 15th percentile and she was eventually born naturally at 41 weeks weighing 7lbs 2oz, i.e. perfectly normal.

Best of luck!

Thanks everyone for your stories - Making me feel a little better about it.

I know one thing for sure...She is a very strong little baby as Im getting kicked 24/7!!

Upwind - Il have a look on your thread now.

KT - given that she was small at 28 weeks there is every chance that your baby is just small

Everything else is normal (which it has not been in my case). I would definitely try to see your midwife regularly to get blood pressure, urine, fundal height checked and register with the new hospital ASAP!

Is your fundal height below also upwind?
Yesterday I measured 28cm - So im 4cm below that I should be...ish...

Yes, I am 4/5 cm behind what I should be, based on fundal height. Hence the growth scans.

My DD was 4 weeks early and was 6lb (bit more than 5.5 I know but still 'small')but perfectly healthy. She ended up being very rotund indeed a few months later and at 17 mmonths is now beginning to slim down.
I don't think 5.5 os anything to worry about at all- I'm sure they will be fine.
Plus point- was a 'relatively easy' (ha ha) labour

I had a growth scan yesterday as the hosp consultant said i was measuring 32 weeks with a tape measure (im 38+1) and it said that baby weighs 5lb 4. Im freaking out as they want to induce me on thurs because growth has slowed -fluid/cord etc all ok and no health problems throughout pregnancy ....my oldest is 14 and weighed 6lb 2 and my youngest is 10 and weighed 8 lb 1 when born!