baby not grown since 28 weeks (now 31) - what does this mean?

[neena123]

Hello
At my 31 week appt yesterday my mw told me the baby does not appear to have grown in the last 3 weeks so she's booked me in for a dating scan tomorrow. I asked her what this meant and she said I might have to switch to consultant led care and have more regular check-ups. But I still don't know what it actually means! What could be wrong with the baby? Trying not to worry too much until after the scan but can't help wondering what the implications could be. This is my first baby. Any advice would be appreciated!

Babies grow at various rates and not in a linear fashion (although the docs would really rather they did). Particularly in the second trimester growth can be sporadic and it can mean nothing. Or it can mean that there is a problem - sometimes the umbilical cord is not as efficient as it might be and the baby needs close monitoring and sometimes early delivery to keep him or her safe. But BEFORE YOU PANIC - midwives measure using a tape measure FFS - you can be full of wind one day and measure five centimetres more than the next, it doesn't necessarily mean ANYTHING

Go for the scan, chances are the midwife is just being cautious.

Measuring the bump is notoriously inaccurate - the baby may have changed position, the fluid may have dropped etc so it could well be absolutely nothing to worry about. A scan will check everything is ok, they will prob. then re-scan a bit later to make absolutely sure the baby is developing in line with the norm. It is remotely possible the placenta is not working as well as it should so baby not growing but probably unlikely. If this is the case they may discuss delivering sooner rather than later with you.

Are you still feeling movements? I think you should just regard this as precautionary scan at the moment and try not to worry too much. Good luck.

thank-you, that makes me feel a bit better! baby's still moving around lots so hopefully all is ok

To echo everyone else, the tape measure method can be very inaccurate - according to that, both my babies 'stopped growing' at 37 weeks, in fact DS2 got smaller!

Scans revealed everything was fine and they were 8lb 3oz and 7lb 7oz respectively - no tiny babies here.

Fingers crossed for you

The tape measure thing is very inaccurate - I got sent straight from a mw appt to the hospital as DS's hb was high and I was measuring 5cm too big. We got there (20 mins later) and I measured spot on.

Both mine had delayed growth; in the end nothing scary happened- may have been because my blood pressure is on the high side- I was monitored closely and finally induced (at 36 and 37 weeks respectively), but they were fine.

just wanted to psot an update saying that I've had the scan which showed that the baby is developing normally - all measurements are average so am very relieved! proves again how inaccurate the tape measure method can be!

That's excellent news - congratulations!