Estimating Fetal Weight Through Ultrasound

[BellyBelly]

Take a look at this position statement from the Australiasian Society for Ultrasound In Medicine which concludes:

"No formula for estimating fetal weight has achieved an accuracy which enables us to recommend its use".

http://www.asum.com.au/open/P&S/d7_policy.pdf

[Lucy]

Ha ha......my GF whose hubby is a radiologist mentioned this to me the other day......

And if anyone wants anecdotal proof: my DS was "measured" at 38 weeks and it was "guesstimated" he would be close to 10lb. He came out at 6lb13oz. Over 3lb difference....which is a massive inaccuracy..........

[Danni]

you definitely hear of major 'miscalculations' all the time. Why do they bother?

[Yael]

I hear that their estimates are about as accurate as Melbourne weather forcasts!

[Rachel]

lol Yael - as said, why bother!! My OB doesn't guestimate, he just says average weight! With differences of up to 3 pounds I can see why!

[{sarah}]

Zander was supposed to be around 7lb & he turned out to be 8lb 14oz so pretty close to a 2lb difference there as well! I just can't believe they all keep doing it even though they know it's inaccurate.

[Kirsty EW]

Gussy was estimated as 1000g the morning before his birth and he was 1010g!

[Cherie]

NIce timing Kelly, especially since my 32wk old bubby was apparently 3kgs already

My OB wasn't worried - he said they're usually inaccurate, and no reason to change our birth plans because of it.

[Rach75]

jack was supposed to be 9lbs 9 oz a week before he was boirn he weighed 8lbs 12 oz apparentlt it can be 1lb either way so jack was in there

[krysalyss]

Hmmm. this is relevant to me as I am going for an ultrasound on Tuesday because they think he may be a little too big (my measurements are 37cm at 34 weeks). So I will see what they say about it. I really want a natural birth and would hate to be convinced to do otherwise and then find out the baby was a normal size.

[Lucy]

Krysalyss.......my advice, having been placed in the same situation you are in when I was pg with my son, would be to hold your ground and be confident that you can birth naturally: don't let them scare you!!

I was induced with my son Charlie, as they said he would be "so big" and whilst I still had an awesome birth with him, the induction meant a fast and furious labour that wasn't as perfectly paced as my elder daughter Olivia's labour or my youngest daughter Lexie's labour........

Charlie was induced at 38 weeks and I gave birth standing up vaginally with no other pain-relief and no tears or stitches andin hindsight, I just shouldn't have agreed to the induction.......(as I said, it was still a fantastic birth, but I do wish I had not "believed" the "guestimate", as it was totally inaccurate!)

Best of luck!

[Lilly-Pilly]

Ashlea was guessed to be 6lb 8oz and she was born 6lb 5oz so that was pretty accurate!

[babymuddle]

all through my preg with ds i was continually told that he was small for weight. at about 38wks they actually took us on a tour of the neo natal unit and showed us small babies and said that he would be on oxygen for two days. needless to say i was racked with guilt over what i had done wrong to cause this, i didn't drink,smoke etc etc. delivery day arrived two weeks later and ds was born weighing 3.9kg (it's think thats about eight pounds). they even had the audascity to turn around and tell me that ds had gained over four pounds in the week since they're last scan and that it was my fault.

[TwinsMummy]

i was told twin 1 was - 5pound and twin 2 was - 3pound 4ounces at 36 weeks. Twin 1 (chanel) was born 5pound 4ounces and twin 2 (hannah) was born at 4pound 9ounces at 36 + 6 weeks. i cried for days as i thought shed have all sorts of problems becuase she was tiny. but the twins were born at good weights.

[Cherie]

they even had the audascity to turn around and tell me that ds had gained over four pounds in the week since they're last scan and that it was my fault.

Of course! That's a far more logical explanation than the ultrasound guesstimate being inaccurate

[Trillian]

I think it is hillarous that they even try and they are so convinced that they are right sometimes kwim? Too proud to admit they could be wrong too. I have never had a late enough scan to know that sort of thing, but I could tell that Erin was smaller than the other two in length (52cm) cause she just didn't feel as big, but even though Lindsay and Paige (56 and 57cm) were really long, they could have been long 6lbs' too.

In the great big scheme of things, once the baby is in there, it has to come out one way or another and the size isn't going to make one lick of difference if you ask me.