Anyone have a small baby for its age

I went for my midwifes appointment the other day and they said my baby was small for its age. I am 34wks +6days pregnant and 3 wks ago my fundus measurement was 31cm and this week it was the same 31cm. So they gave me an ultrasound and the heart beat is good and the flow of blood through the cord is good. They say the baby weighs 2.2kg.
I am a bit worried that maybe the baby has stopped growing or something but they want me to come back in 2 wks for another ultrasound.
Did anyone else have a small baby for its age?
Did it turn out healthy?

Hi there. I would say that was an average size they have estimated for your baby. The biggest thing to remember is that provided the cord and placental function is fine, you could just be having an average size baby - don't forget that they put on the most amount of weight in the last 4weeks of gestation, so your babe still has time to grow and gain weight in there. There is nothing to gain from the measurement of the fundus as it measures nothing but the height of your uterus - not the size of the baby. Not only that, the sizing scans are notoriously INaccurate - they get the 'weight' of the baby from measuring it's femur - now if you are going to have a short baby or a really tall baby, then that measurement is going to effect the outcome of their guestimation of size.

Good luck, I am sure your baby is perfectly fine :)

Darl, I'm a bit sceptical about measurements and ultrasounds. My ob NEVER measured me and he is not a slack ob, he is a bloody fantastic ob. If he doesn't measure then I don't think there's any need to.

There are lots of posts and threads on here saying how these measurements just aren't accurate and the same goes for the scans.

But I know that it will be hard for you to get their scaremongering out of your mind.

Look, 2.2kg with a few weeks to go sounds pretty bloody good to me. My niece was born at 27 weeks at just over a kilo. My friend has just had twins who were both about 1.5kg. All three of those babies are ABSOLUTELY FINE with no problems.

Tell them they are freaking you out and that at the very least you want some reassurance.

Me 3 x over. All my babies were born healthy though, so don't stress about it. Fundal height isn't really fundamental. Personally I think it just makes the mother worry more when it isn't perfect. The way the baby is laying can also affect the height.

Love

Hi,

My baby's have all been small because i am on a medication that stunts their growth.

They constantly check their growth, especially from about 28 wks on.

As long as they fit into their lines on the graph they are happy. Mine have always been closest to the lower line on the graph, but stayed above it.

Just do what the OB recommends and ask LOTS of questions if you are concerned :)

Thanks everyone its reassuring to know that others have had small babies too. My baby is on the last line in the graph and they said that if there was 100 children lined up mine would be 13th smallest from the end.

That's not too bad really, keeping in mind that you do need those other 99 kids in the line to even get the lines ;)

It all sounds pretty good to me! my DD was born at 38+2 weeks weighing in at 2.7kgs. in the last 4 or so weeks they can put on a whopping amount of weight. bubba sounds just perfect! good luck with the rest of the pregnancy (what's left of it!) and good luck for the birth! not long to go now!!!:D

I had a small for dates baby. At 28 weeks my baby just seemed to stop growing. They tried to pass it off, because im a small person myself. When my hospital closed the birthing wards i had to transfer to another hospital and they were extremely concerned by her size. I was induced within a week. I had almost no amnio fluid left and her heart beat kept slowing and she was barely moving.When she was born she weighed just over 2kgs, her umbilical cord was like paper and was totally empty and spent 3 nights in SCN because she couldnt stay warm and her suger levels kept dropping to a level that was to low. They later found that the placenta had simply stopped doing its job properly.

How scary for you laiceysmummy, well I had my last ultrasound last week and it showed that the baby had gained some weight and is now 2.7kg. However they found that I had low amniotic fluid (like you). I now have to go in for a CTG scan on Tuesday 15th so I'll keep you all posted on what happens. The good news is that I am 37 weeks now so I think baby is pretty much "baked".

I had unexplained IUGR with #2 and this was picked up between my 32 - 37w appts as the fundal height was getting further and further from where it should have been even through stil growing! I ended up being induced at 37+4 and she weighed 2.5, the placenta was revolting and all marbly and dry but she managed to stay out of the SCN and my body knew what to do so my milk came in within 12 hours of birth and she just fattened up! Within 2 days she had gained 150g! She never lost ANY!
Now - she is 16months and a little porker! ANd hillarious, she has had NO medical probs, she was justa small bub at birth that was rather hungry and needed some fattening up!

She is the same clothing size as her big sister who is nearly 3!

I am currently 32 wks + 6 days pg with a small for age baby.
as of monday (32wks +3days) she weighs 1.4kg and has only gained 255g in 2 weeks (since 30 wks +3days).
At the moment I am visiting the hospital twice a week for CTG scans and once a week for Ultrasounds. They've run a million and one blood tests etc and can't find anything causing her to be small. So I guess I'm just having a small baby.
My theory is as long as you're comfortable that the Dr's/Midwives are keeping an eye on you and bub and every test they do comes back normal, then you can breath a little easier.

My baby seems to have "caught up" with the growth so thats good but now I have weekly ctg scans to monitor baby as I now have low amniotic fluid around the baby. The last scan was good and i am happy how they are monitoring me. Its reassuring everytime I go to the clinic. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.

I had a similar experience. At 33 weeks bub was 33, then at 36 the measurement went back to 31cm. Of course they scared me to death and I went for an u/s. Everything looked ok but they said the baby had a small head, big tummy and short legs. I could only picture a turtle. Well 3 weeks later she was born totally normal. So like some others have said, i am pretty sceptical about it all now. I think it's unfair to scare us so much. Especially when they are such small measurements. It all seems so much more, when in reality babies do vary in height. xo