Hi, I went to my midwives apt last night for my 38 wk check up and my fundal height measured 33 wks, I have been pretty much on track save 1cm whole pregnancy - am now panicing about this. Has anyone else had this happen to them. Still getting a fair bit of movement with baby and kicks hurt sometimes my belly is so stretched! I am a lot smaller than my first baby, ive put on 10kgs rather than 20 with my first
lots of movement is a good sign but I would imagine that with a measurement like that they will want to keep a close eye on you to make sure bub is growing ok. The chances are, though, that your baby has dropped into your pelvis creating a bit more room at the top. Do you feel a pressure between your legs all of a sudden?
The best person to tell you if you should worry is your midwife so perhaps give her a ring in the morning to find out if she is concerned and what she thinks might explain the measurement. She has palpated your belly and will have a better idea what is going on than anyone else.
Thanks! I saw the obs last night, she measured me at 34 and said baby was in pelvis, it doesnt feel like it is in fully (keeps coming in and out) - heartbeat all ok but she has booked me in for a scan on tuesday to check bloodflow and fluid and size of baby. Still getting lots of movement so trying to relax a little. Im not sure what the outcome will be as she didnt say if the fluid around baby isnt much maybe that would mean I would be induced?
After 36 wks my midwife stops measuring fh because the measurements are inaccurate after this time. Reason being is that bub is getting into position to birth and is most likely dropping down into your pelvic area and reducing the fh size.
One of the things the scan will be looking is to see how the blood flow of the placenta is going. Sometimes the placenta doesn't function as well towards the end of the pregnancy and then the baby doesn't grow as much. It might then be termed a IUGR (Inter uterine growth restricted) baby. If that is the case they might start discussing induction with you as apparently it is easier to feed them up on the outside than the inside. Doesn't mean there will be anything wrong with the baby at all they will just be smaller and require feeding more often as a newborn.
In the last few weeks of my pregnancy my FH measurements went up an down by up to 5cm. It all does depend on where the baby is lying. Bum out meant I was bigger that week or if she was stretched out a bit more it meant I was under.
If you are getting loads of movements still then I wouldnt put much stock into those measurements.
I had my first three kids in NZ and they dont even do the FH anymore because it is so inaccurate.
Thanks so much for your comments it has made me a little more relaxed, I should have though to ask more questions of the obs but in the heat of the moment was a bit shellshocked as my first pregnancy was so smooth! Just holding breath until Tuesday now trying to relax as much as possible! Will let you know what outcome in on Tuesday.
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Fundal height measuring small
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