big baby!

I just had a 35-week "growth scan", and the ultrasound doctor said my baby is 3.8kg (plus or minus whatever the error is).

I'm 35 weeks and two days, going on my "official" dates. 35 weeks and 6 days going on what I think is my real due date.

How huge is this estimated size for this gestation?

How much do babies grow in their last few weeks in utero?

I am not small myself, either in weight or in frame. I have fairly broad hips, etc. I'm not really worried about my ability to birth a large baby. But this does seem awfully large for only 35 weeks, to me.

I do know that scans can be way out. Not sure how often they are way out, though. Has anyone seen a study of the accuracy of scans at this stage?

It is a bit worrying, much as I'll try to be sensible about it.

Please, does anyone know more about this?

Trying not to worry, but still, 3.8kg seems horribly big for this gestation...

How much do babies grow in the last few weeks?

they can be very inacurate!! i seriously wouldnt worry at all!!!
goodluck hun and stop stressing!

Yep totally agree with AJP...they can be very innacurate!!

Without going into detail I know a few women who have been told the same thing and birthed babies well below the estimated weight!!
As far as I know they don't do much more growing in the last month..they just chill out and relax and wait for the big moment!!!

If your health providers were worried then they would tell you so and give you more information!

You will be fine!! Can't wait to see a birth announcement and the weight details....hehehe

:hug: Don't be scared Tenar. Babies do grow bigger in the last trimester, but as the others have said, scans can be pretty inaccurate when it comes to predicting size. I can't tell you how many stories I've read where people have had c-secs for 'gonna-be-huge' 6 or 7 pounders. :think:

Besides that, you've said you think you're actually closer to 36 weeks, you say you're not hobbit size yourself, and to be honest often a heavier baby's weight is in length anyway, which isn't really a huge problem in terms of getting it out. Plus babies are pretty squishy, to help them get out. My first bub was 9lb4oz, I'm not the world's hugest person, and I birthed him just fine. I also know of people who've birthed much bigger babies just fine too.

Wishing you well for these last few weeks. :hug:

more often they are inaccurate than the other way around.

tenar,

these scans can and more accurately usually are very out in the estimates!! If I can offer one piece of advice about this ....forget about it! A friend of mine had her baby on monday morning, she was 40w on the sunday. She had a growth scan at 36weeks and was told her baby would be AT LEAST 9 and a half pounds but more around 10 or 11 pounds, she was induced because of this, luckily she was given the gels and had a quick labour without the need for the drip or any other forms of intervention but turns out bub was 8pd 11!! Not huge

Ash from memory was bigger than that. I *think* he was 4kg at my 36 week scan. He ended up being 5kg baby. So you probably looking at a 9 pounder which isn't really very big at all hun.
I myself am also large framed and I birthed Ash no worries :)

There was a woman at the clinic i went to with DD when she was a baby that had an inducton at 37+3 because her growth scan showed a 4.3kg bub at 36 weeks. He came out 2.1kg and spent 2 weeks in SCBU. Seriously, don't worry about it!

Bx

Oh, I'm so glad to learn that others have had such large weight estimates at 36 weeks and it's been OK.

Thanks everyone, especially hoobley and missymoo84 for those stories.

I will try not to worry about it further.

tenar just enjoy these last few weeks!! :hug:

i had sizing scans in the last 6 weeks of my last pregnancy because of my diabetes...
at 36 weeks bub measured 4kgs and was born 4.2kgs EXACTLY what the told me in my last scan prior to going into labour then having our caesar.
Hun enjoy the rest of your pregnancy and try not to worry!!

During the last 4 weeks of pregnancy the baby gains one ounce (around 28-30grams) per day. This is the time where they lay down their fat so to speak. So working on averages this babe has the potential to gain 784grams over the next 4 weeks (28 days), making bub to possibly be 4.58kg, which about 10lb2, so not huge (trust me, once you've had a 10lber even that doesn't really seem huge anymore LOL) and allowing for them to be out a bit, he could be smaller. I would say either way he's going to be perfect and you'll do just perfectly in getting him out.

Thanks Trillian! I didn't know how fast they grow around this time. That's not as fast as I was imagining last night, in my worry. 10 pounds seems manageable to me - not so large as to cause a problem for someone with my kind of frame, I think (and hope).


Katones, thanks for sharing your story. How many weeks were you when you had that last, 4.2kg scan?

38 weeks + 6 days
he was due on the 17th and born on the 12th weighing 4.265kgs

Tenar, another thing I forgot to mention is that when they do the calculation, they also include a measurement taken from the femur. So call me crazy but I hve always wondered what the relevance of that s because you can have a super long 6lb baby or a really short 10lber, and if you are tall yourself, it's likely that you will have a longer than average bubs, so that may have skewed the result as well kwim?

After DS was born I did heaps of reading and some people think scans in late pregnancy can go as much as a kilo over or under. 4 weeks before my god son was born his mum was told he was too big and would have to come out soon. A week later they wanted to give her steroids injections because they though he was too small and his lungs might be underdeveloped. They can never be 100% sure. Don't worry too much just enjoy the last few weeks of your pregnancy and relax as much as you can.

Tenar. Last time I was told at 36.5 weeks "this is already a 10pound baby"

She was born naturally 3 days later weighing a little under 9 pound.

Hoobley - oh my goodness, that is a huge difference in weight prediction. Glad everyone was ok.

Tenar - my sister was told that her boy was going to be huge and that his head was huge (my sister has a large head circumference) and he ended up being smaller than her first child and the head wasn't big at all. I often wonder how accurate they are.

Try not to worry and enjoy. You will be cuddling bubs in no time!

A friend of mine had an estimate done at 38 weeks and was told her baby was 9pounds, she ended up going in for a C Section the day after her due date and her baby ended up being 8.5 pounds. So I wouldn't worry to much, I have been told they are not always correct. My Cousin didn't even get a scan or estimate on her baby and they just told her he feels like he would is average size around 7-8pounds and she ended up trying to get him out for 18hrs and then had to have an emergency C Section and when they weighed him he was 10pound 10ounces! Her first baby as well and she is only small, but she was 2weeks overdue!