Big fundal height variance....how common is it?

Verdict from today's midwife app. Fundal height measuring 40... oh yay! I'm currently 34 wks 3 days. I guess there is an upside... they obviously aren't majorly worried cos I am getting a scan but that's in 2 weeks - so can't be urgent. She seems to think that it's more likely to be combination of fluid and my muscle separation so that the baby isn't being held up and in but looser so it's not giving an accurate measurement. Last app. it measured 2 weeks ahead... I think I was 31 wks and it was 33 fundal. I don't know how to feel right now, should I be worried or not and I want to cry but that's probably a combinaton of stuff and hormones.

I know that if my dates are out (say I got one AF at start but was pg) then the baby will come of it's own accord prob before 2 wks anyway...but what I don't want is another c/s ... they can't induce me if they think it's growing too fast/big or whatever cos I've had a c/s before.

How many have had such a huge variance in a fundal height measurement??

Mel (Arimeh), hun thanks for your msg earlier too.

Alan :( is it common??

Is it the same midwife measuring you at each appt?
It can also be due to the babies position as much as other reasons.

No, different midwives... 2 different ones today and both getting same measurement of 40. They did say it could be partly due to the muscle separation ... the baby could be in positons which appear bigger cos it's not held in as tight.

I was always ahead a few weeks in fundal height with DS and was told this was common in subsequent pregnancies.

For what it's worth, my ob hardly ever measured it, I don't think it's that big of a deal, just an indication.

Thats a good point Willow. I remember my OB last tiem saying it didnt really matter what the measurement was, it was more important that it was increasing.

I was always at least a week or 2 ahead with all of mine :)
DD2 measured smaller than DD1, but was born over a pound bigger!

Yep, at 34 weeks last pregnancy I measured 44 weeks. LOL

DS was 4.02kgs.... not ridiculously huge like they wanted me to believe. ;)

It can depend HUGELY on which way the baby is laying! At my 36 week check they checked my height, I was always 2cm more than my weeks from about 20 weeks, and I was 42! She said "oh that can't be right" and checked it again, same thing. The MW goes "um I am going to get the doc" which scared the bejeebers out of me. I got up and walked around when the doc came he checked me and I was only 39! She checked as soon as he walked out and I WAS 39, Ash must have been laying funny she said.

Fundal height is notoriously inacurate, to the point where many caregivers (both ob's and midwives) don't measure it anymore.

If you are measuring so far out of whack, my advice would be to refuse any more measurements. All it's going to lead to is more hand wringing on the part of your CP's for no good reason...which is going to lead to more tests and interventions for you.

If your abs are separating anyway this will be the case even more so.

Nialda...that's a huge difference!!

Tobily, how does ab separation make it worse?? Is it because the baby can just stretch out more??

my fundal height has been different each time also but i've also been measured by different midwives. last week at 36 weeks they said i was spot on but this week at 37 they said i was 35.5, and then at 35 weeks i rememeber them saying i was 34.5. but no-one seems concerned about it either.

I'm glad to see this thread because my last appt when I was 27 weeks, my height was that of a 30 week bub. I asked the doc if that meant I was having a huge bub and he said no, it just means the thats the fundal height and not to worry about it. Of course I did worry about it a little............ Good to see it is not that 'serious' a measurement :)

Ozzy, I am sure you will be just fine and if you did get your period once while preggers (that happened to my mum too) then all that means is that you'll have your bub sooner than you thought :). Best of luck