10th Centile at 36 weeks

Hi ladies.. Anyone else needed growth scans to monitor baby's growth? I had one at 34 weeks to monitor fluid levels as I had a hind water leak & spent 4 days in hospital, baby was on the 14th centile on the chart and weighed 4lb 8oz which I thought was a good weight? But they wanted me to go back & I did, baby's now on the 10th centile at 36 weeks & 5lb 2oz, gaining weight but falling off the centile chart! Back again at 38 for another scan! Any previous experiences with centile measurements or small babies.. Or even misleading readings on charts etc!

We had lots of scans because of placental blood flow issues. They said she had chubby cheeks and was on the 80-90th percentile. When she was born she was 3.2 kg and only on the 50th percentile. The percentile measurements are really an estimation, they will be charting the changes over time. Are you a small person? What about your family?
DD now has a head at almost the 100th percentile and weight and height on the 75th. So that's spot on for our family.

Yeah I'm not overly tall or big and DP and his family are all small, although his sisters baby never was small! This is the 3rd scan claiming she's small so I'm now more inclined to believe, keep thinking it'll change, maybe it will by 38 weeks! Some people when I've looked in forums who's baby kept descending below the 10th percentile were induced etc after 38 weeks just hoping that's not the case for me!

It sounds like bubs could possibly be just the right size for your family. Remember that the percentile charts are a sample of the population and imho not necessarily an accurate picture of the population.

scans can be highly inaccurate and i would be hesitant to base my care decisions on that alone. Are there any other markers that they feel warrant all these extra scans? ie are they concerned about flow or fluids?

FWIW when i was pg with DD1 i was told that i was measuring big etc and she was born at a teeny 2.7kgs lol (and was perfectly fine and healthy).

what is your care provider saying about it all? It seems they are thinking induction maybe?

I had all up about 6 extra scans through my pregnancy they thought she could have been growth restricted.. And at one point she dropped under the 10th centile.. It was scary but I delivered at 39weeks and she was born 6 pounds. So on the small side but otherwise perfectly healthy!

My OB told me that so long as bubs is still growing then your belly is the best place to be, even if it's only small growth.. Trust your doctors and try not to google!!! Your docs will evict bubs at the first sign that something is not right, so try to trust their judgement..

At one stage I was 36w5d and bubs was measuring 32w4d..
She is now 4months old and a chunky 5.5kgs! :)

Monitor her movements and do something to relax yourself.

I've had a view complications this pregnancy, threatened miscarriage at 17 weeks, hind water leak at 32 and needed steroids and AB and a 4 day stay in hosp, I also have group b strep! No mention of induction just hoping baby either stays on 10 or goes up as I've heard on forums that anything under 10 they may want to induce, although blood flow was healthy & fluid levels weren't worryingly low! Placenta was matured and asked if i smoked though, think she thought I was lying by saying I didn't but still they didn't seem like it was causing a problem! It's probably just a precaution bringing me back, some of the google stories I've heard with baby's being in the 10th centile are quite ex treen though! As you say google is never the answer!

Also remember that 10% of kids are that weight or smaller. do we need to induce labour early for 10% of babies just due to suspected size?

Yes but anything below that is a small amount of children who haven't been growing and need nutrients they aren't recieveing so yes it would warrant an induction I believe! But I haven't been told this personally, just women on other forums have had to be induce ld below the 10th centile as their child was no longer thriving!

Being in the smallest 10% doesn't mean you haven't been growing, or need nutrients. It's means you're in the smallest 10%.

I'd agree with meow and HotI being in the smallest 10% isn't necessarily a problem. I think it would be more of a problem if the baby was found not to be growing or to be losing weight and they moved from a higher percentile to a lower percentile. Best of luck with the next scan and hopefully everything is going fine!

She has moved from a higher percentile to a lower, from 45, to 14 to 10 that's why I'm hoping it doesn't go below 10 at my next scan! The decrease has to have a reason, even though the fluid levels are okay she isn't increasing in height and weight like she should be!

When was your scan showing her in the 45th percentile? If it was a long time before the others the drop might not be as significant as it sounds
Fingers firmly crossed for your next scan!

From what I was told by my doc when I went through this - so long as the baby is growing (even minimally) and the head and abdomen are growing at the same rate then all is ok: I think the main thing that they will be looking for in your next scan is that the fluid levels are still ok and head isn't bigger then the abdomen or vice versa.. Because these can be indications that there is something wrong.
My daughter was spot on growth until 24 weeks and then she started to drop down in centiles until birth.. Although she was born quite small at term her placenta was perfect, and at one point she was in the 9th centile..

She's been 45 the whole pregnancy until I had the hind water leak at 32 and that's when fortnightly scans started showing decline!
My placenta is matured and they keep asking am I a smoker even though I'm not so think they're looking for a reason why the placentas not what it's supposed to be but it's obviously nothing major or they'd have said something.. Baby is in proportion, well I haven't been told any different! I just hope she has a growth spurt and alls well at the next scan. I know everyone is just trying to justify a small baby but as a FTM it's hard not to worry especially when I have no one else who's had tho experience even though it's common! She's had her steroids at 34 weeks so that's a major positive!

Many hugs :hug: this must be a stressful time (understatement I know!).

It is good news that everything is in proportion and levels are good. I reckon that no matter the scan results this next time, it is probably worth an extra visit with you care provider to have a big ol' debrief. you are getting to the business end and as you said, this has not been a plain sailing pregnancy...i am a true believer in getting all the worry out of the system with those that will help you bring baby earthside. it feels so good to dump it all on them instead of carrying it all on your shoulders lol.

Thanks Cassius your so right.. I just want everything to be straight forward and be in the know with everything! I'll most definately be asking more questions next time round wether we get the thumbs up on progression or they decide more scanning etc.
Never good having something linger over your pregnancy, although it's not hindering my excitement of labour! Can't wait to meet our little lady!

Jason was 4lb 3 at 36 weeks. He was born by emergency csect after placenta failure. My ob has diagnosed IUGR that was sadly missed even though i was high risk having 4d scans constantly. Hes 8 months now and doing fab x
He is on vitamins and folic acid and was in NICU for 12 days xx