Ultrasound before birth

[Kitz]

Hi there,

I've been hearing some stories from friends that have got me a bit freaked out. A friend was telling me about her friend who had an emergency caesarian the other day (because labour wasnt progressing) and the cord had been wrapped around the baby's neck two times.

Secondly, I've got two friends pregnant at the moment - one is due the same day as me and she has been told by her OB that her baby is too small and may need to be delivered early. Her bump has always been bigger than mine throughout the whole pregnancy. The second friend is only 22 weeks and her bump is not much smaller than mine (i'm 36 wks). I've only gained 4.2kgs in total so far and now that my friend has been told her baby is too small i'm worried about mine!

As i'm a public patient I dont have routine ultrasound after 20 wks and I'm worried about how they pick up on these type of problems if they don't do ultrasounds? I dont mind paying to have a scan done privately if I can get a referral but I previously discussed scans (or lack thereof) to my midwife (in a general sense) and she said there's no need after 20 wks.

I dont have another appointment at the hospital for 2 weeks and I don't want to be getting more and more worried!

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Kitz

[Beach Mama]

Firstly,try not to worry too much! I know it is hard not to when you hear lots of different stories. As far as bump size goes, you can't really compare it as everybody carries differently, and has a different body shape and size. Don't forget too that there is a whole lot of fluid gong on in there as well, it isn't just pure baby!!
I'm a public patient too and the 20 week diagnostic scan was the only one that was included at my hospital... so I'm not too sure about that? How many weeks are you now? If you are finding you are too worried about it all I would call the hospital and see if something can be done and if you can book in to have a scan (depending on how many weeks you are I guess)
Not much help sorry, but good luck with it all and try not to worry too much and stop listening to other people!! Heehee! They try to help but really all it makes you do is stress - this is your baby and your journey and your belly and it will be different to every other woman in the world!!

[Kitz]

Hi Tanstar,

Thanks for your reply and reassurance. What confuses me is that I know everybody's bump shape/size etc is different and people say you shouldnt compare yourself to other people, and that there's fluid in there too etc. but if that's true then why do they use measurement of the bump at the hospital as a way of judging the size? Am I being really blonde and missing something here??

Kitz

[Beach Mama]

I'm not really sure!! Maybe someone else can help with that question - I just kow that in majority of cases they don't ultrasound for size unless there may be a problem?? I was overdue and even then they didn't scan for size... maybe different hosptials are different too. I do know that lots of ladies have said thye had a scan with an estimate of size and it turns out to be completely inaccurate!
If I was was you I would write everything down and check at your next appointment hun! yOu have every right to ask and get answers if you are worried!
Good luck!

[BellyBelly]

It is very common to have the cord around the neck - in fact around 30% of babies have it, as they play skippy and ballet in the womb. Very rarely does it get too tight that it affects circulation.

Having a scan now is not worth it. The baby is so big, that the image is less clear and you can't see much, and also, the baby's measurements will be based on it's own unique genes, so you are guaranteed to get things like, 'Oh wow your baby is HUGE, its on the 80th percentile!' or 'Oh your baby is very small, it's only on the 20th percentile' when in fact it takes small babies and big babies to make an 'average' baby. Because thats what ultrasounds work on. Are you 'average'? Is your partner? I don't know many people who are and we all work just fine.

Trust your body. Trust your baby. And most of all trust mother nature. Your body is the result of many, many generations of evolution and natural selection, and your body made it. Your body is designed to birth this baby and a healthy one at that. To reduce the chance of complications, have an active birth (there's an article on the main site about what you can do), avoid all inductions until at least 42 weeks if baby is happy (inductions can stress the baby = caesarean) and have some great support. Its important you are relaxed as you go into labour because if you panic labour could slow and you could end up with all the interventions! Trust yourself.

[Olive]

i too was tiny with DD finished work early to 'rest up' when she was born the midwives commented that she would only be 6lb but she surprised all been 7lb 5oz, she was perfect as was i, we all come in different shapes and sizes, you must just be compact!!

[Lana]

I went private and at 30 weeks my OB decided I was looking small. I then went off for scans for every 2 -3 weeks to check on the growth rate of the baby. He continually scanned between the 20-30th percentile. At 38 weeks my OB decided to induce me as the thinking was if my placenta wasn't working properly the baby would do better being fed on the outside. I was induced at 38 wks 4 days and bubby was born at 2.8kgs (6lb 4oz).

He did put on weight quickly after being born but it took until 6 months to reach the 50th weight percentile and at 8 months he has dropped under it again (I know there is also debate about how these percentile charts are constructed and what meaning they really have!).

I never got any feedback on if it was the placenta or just the baby but it all turned out well. My baby is happy and healthy and is getting into everything now. It is stressful when you are going through it though. If you are concerned I would get it checked out so you know exactly what you are dealing with. You can then relax and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy if all is ok. If the baby is on the smaller side you can then get all the information that you need about what might happen and any decisions you may have to make like induction etc.

Good luck!

[suse]

I had quite a tidy little bump and Euan was 4.2kg / 9pd 4oz. We all wondered how he fit in there.

[Olive]

lana i wouldnt worry about the charts, sophie has never made it to the 50th percentile!! were down a round the 5th
u/s also distress the baby, so best to avoid unless absolutly necessary

[Tobily]

I second everything Kelly said...and also wanted to add about the fundal height measurement.
This measurement is notoriously inaccurate and most care providers don't even bother with it any more because it really doesn't tell them much. In my two pregnancies I was never measured once (one private, and one public care) and plenty of women aren't.
The size of your bump will depend on your size and height, the size of your baby and how it's lying - eg a posterior or transverse lying baby will make a different bump to a head down, anterior baby...and also the amount of fluid. There are sooo many variables so don't compare your bump to others, it will really do your head in!

[Alan]

Hi Kitz
I just thought I would confirm what others have said.
I have attended numerous vaginal births with the cord around the neck once, twice and even three times without any problems. This is not a reason for a caesarian.
The size of your baby can not be accurately judged by the fundal height measurement. Measuring the height of the fundus is so inaccurate that many place3s no longer bother doing this any more.
The size of your bump will depend on many things including the amount of fluid, the position of the baby, your body size and shape.
It is not possible to accurately measure the weight of your baby by ultrasound.
This is an extract from Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine policy on ultrasounds.

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

There is also some suspicion that frequent routine ultrasound scans may be harmful to your baby

[Marlene]

Please do not stress about the size of your bump. I spent a couple of weeks stressing as everyone was telling me how "tiny" I was (even though I feel like a whale, LOL, and telling me I should be bigger. I even have a friend who is 24 weeks and only slightly smaller than me ( I am 34 weeks). I went and had a scan (as my DH works in ultrasound) because I was so stressed out, but the doctor said everything was perfect. Now that I look back at photos of my previous pregnancies (this is my 4th) I have realised that I carried all my babies really small and they all ended uo being over 8 pound, LOL. So as the old saying goes, "size really doesn't matter".

By the way I am a public hospital patient and I am having a routine scan on Tuesday (34 weeks). All hospitals are different.

[LimeSlice]

Kitz...Just wanted to letyou know that I was really small too - slept on my tummy til I was 7 months pregnant and the whole time people were telling me how small I was...Charlotte was 8lbs5oz! However in the last 4 weeks, plus the 8 days I was overdue, I doubled in size... I dont like all the "averages" either, but I think its normal for them to gain around 12oz a week in the last 4 weeks, so you may balloon, you may not. The point is that if your baby is stressed, this will show up mostly in the heartrates andthings they take, not the size of your bump. Charlotte's fundal measurements were on track my whole pregnancy, no complications and she only got severely distressed during labour, so you can never tell what will happen.
You less stressed = baby less stressed.
So dont stress honey!! You will have plenty of time for that after the bubs is born! lol Hang in there and enjoy the last weeks of your pregnancy - it will go by so quickly! Good luck

[maybub]

What a beautiful response Kelly Zantey, I'm sure you put a lot of minds to rest with that one - certainly did for me (on a range of different worrys). Thank you.