fetal measurement

[HAPPYJOBO]

Im 32 weeks pregnant and i was measurement the other day by the GP who said my baby's lengh is only 29cm and behind on growth. I checked the Internet and the average lengh for a baby at 32 weeks pregant is about 38/40cm. The Gp said to make a midwife appointment for another 2 weeks to get it checked out. Now im really worried. When i had my 20 week scan they said i had a very big baby, so im very confused now.

Has anyone had the same issue or in the same boat?

Worried first time mum to be

[Psychick]

Please dont panic. For a start, measuring is only an estimate and a guideline and also, if it was something toworry about, the doctor wouldve had you go straight up to the hospital.

As I said, its only an estimate and chances are if your midwife measured you now, she may get a different measurement. They measure you from time to time to make sure baby is growing ok and you may be measuring 29cm simply beacuase baby may have been laying right back. Babies are all born different lengths so will there for grow at slightly different rates and measure slightly different too.

Just do as your doctor has said and see your midwife in a couple of weeks. You will be 34 weeks then and should start to see the midwife more anyway which is routine.

[redcrx]

also, what your GP more than likely measured, unless he scanned you, was the uterus size which on average corresponds to the numbers of weeks you are, not the baby size (they are curled up inside you with legs tucked in). The 38/40 cms you have read about is the overall baby length, not the sixe iof uterus.

so you are measuring 3 weeks under, possibly, but as psy says its a rough guideline. Babys position changes the size and some babies are slightly smaller than others.

It does not necessarily mean there is something wrong but if its still low or there are other concerns then you may be sent for a scan to check baby is thriving ok.

theres also the chance that the GP did not quite measure right, the measurment sahould be taken from the top of the uterus to the pubic bone.

[HAPPYJOBO]

Thank you very much for your answers. Its hard not to worry but what you both have said makes perfect sense and its made me feel much better. Hopefully i will know more when i go back at 34 weeks, thank you :)

[myselfness]

another thing to mention that my mams been telling me is that babys have growth spurts at different times, just like people... so what may be "small" at one point, is actually just waiting for its next growth burst.

they said all 4 of my mamskids were small and we were all over 8lbs so nothing to worry about

[Goodsoulette]

Mum ( who is a midwife) says she hates it when GPs do the measuring because they almost always get it wrong (due to not doing it often) on something that is already a wooly practice. Unless you have the same midwife measuring you all the time then its going to vary greatly.

I had to have lots of growth scans, its good they are keeping an eye on it but Im sure everything will be fine.

[pinkcowprint]

when i went for my check up at 31 weeks,i only measured 28,she said to come back in 2 weeks to check and they may have to send me for a scan to see why it was growing much!i panicked so much she really frightened me,went 2 weeks later and had grown another 3cm and 3 weeks after that it had a massive growth spurt of about 6 cm,she couldnt believe it!i am now worrying im going to have a big baby!!haha!please dont worry,you would know if there was something wrong let me know how you get on with next measurement.x

[carron81]

hi

here's my measurements so you can compare -

32 weeks - 30cm
34 weeks - 30/31cm
35 weeks - 33 and 1/2 cm
38 weeks - 34cm

I was also worried because at my 32 appointment it was with the GP instead of the midwife and she was saying I was really small and to go for a scan.

This really paniced me, I spoke to a few friends and they put my mind at ease and reminded me that everyone was different. I then spoke to the hopital and they also said it is nothing to worry about but best to get it checked out.

Went for a scan at 35 weeks and the growth is fine.

Also, they said it could be a number of reasons for smaller measurments - the baby could've been in a different position, different midwives measuring from different areas of your stomach

Now the baby's head has dropped down so thats why my measurements looks like theres been little growth over the last 2 appointments

My friend is also pregnant. Her measurments at 32 weeks were 33cm and she's had a healthy wee boy. So it just goes to show how everyone is different

[HAPPYJOBO]

Hello everyone, I just wanted to thank you all for your feedback. Ive just had my midwife appointment and the midwife said she was happy with my baby's measurements. Im now 33 weeks and 5 days and she measures 34cm.

Its all so confusing these days. The doctor told me i was behind in growth, the midwife said im bang on and the internet said i should be like 49cm by now.

Who ever is wrong or right ive been told the baby is pointing down and has a healthy heart beat so im happy :)