Measurements of Mom and Baby

[Anonymous]

So my wife went in for a dr. appointment two weeks ago. She was 31 weeks the day she went in. The nurse said she only measured 28 weeks and suggested that we come in for an ultrasound. We went in later thay day and the baby, fluid, etc. measured fine -- the baby actually measured almost 32 weeks.

My wife went in again today and the dr. said she is still measuring 28 weeks and that she had only gained one pound over the last two weeks. The dr. said that we should come in for another ultrasound, in 1.5 weeks. The dr. didn't seem too worried, but also wasn't very informative.

We're not really worried given that the baby measured ahead of schedule two weeks ago, but we were wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I think these measurements vary so widely. My OB admitted to me that measuring fundal height is actually a horrible way to guess gestation but for lack of anything else it continues. Ultrasounds become fairly inaccurate overtime in predicting weight and gestation, which is why the docs use early ultrasounds for dating. I measured as much as 4 weeks ahead and the baby was supposed to be "huge". I had him almost two weeks past my due date and he was 7 13. As far as one pound over two weeks, I also found that for me weight gain varied. Some weeks, I would gain one pound other weeks only 1 pund in 3 weeks. I think it averages out in the end but few people gain at the exact rate that the books say you should. I would try not to be too worried. GL!

[Anonymous]

I started to measure behind at 32 weeks and beyond. At 38 week u/s, my son's stomach was measuring behind, I went in for c-section that evening. He was 5lbs. 3 oz. when he was born, the placenta had failed. He was healthy otherwise, and started gaining weight at the hospital. He's now in the 80% for his weight at 15 months.

[Anonymous]

Like your wife, during both my last pregnancy and the current one, fundal height has measured behind schedule while the baby measured almost 2 weeks ahead according to ultrasound. I don't know how accurate the current ultrasound measurements are, but my daughter was born 10 days early at 7 lb. 12 oz. (as predicted per the measurements).

Based on my own experience and stories from friends, I really don't think those fundal height measurements are reliable. But, can't hurt to get the ultrasounds just to be sure, right?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't worry too much. As you say, the baby is fine and your wife feels fine (right?) so why worry? The doc. doesn't sound concerned either.

You have some good replies so I won't repeat, but I do want to add that you may want to consider your wife's frame - is she petite or tall? That may make her belly measurements even less accurate. Also, how has her weight gain been? That too can make the statistics and predictions inconsistent.

[Anonymous]

Same thing is going on with me... I'm consistently measuring 3 weeks behind though an ultrasound a couple of weeks ago showed everything is normal. My doctor says your size has a lot to do with how big your mother got during pregnancy, so your wife should ask her mom.

Turns out, my own mother always measured 2-3 weeks behind, too.

I'm 5'7", if that means anything. Mom is 5'5".

[Anonymous]

I measured 1-2 weeks behind on the fundal measurement, but the ultrasounds showed my baby being 3 weeks ahead on the growth charter. In my case, the ultrasounds WERE right and my baby weighed over 9 pounds. That said, I think that both the fundal measurement and ultrasound measurements are unfortunately very unreliable. My friend who's an OB said that the fundal measurement can become less accurate as the baby moves down. And as for the ultrasounds, I know plenty of people who were told that their babies would be huge and they weren't. Best of luck. Hopefully you can get more info at the next appt....

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all of the replies and words of encouragement. Very much appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Yes, I had the exact same thing happen. The doctor kept saying I was small, the ultrasound kept saying the baby was big. Basically, the ultrasound tech rolled her eyes at my doctor and everything turned out just fine (8 pound baby born at 39 weeks).