I had an ultrasound recently. I'm 35 weeks pregnant but my precious baby girl is only the size of a 32 week baby. Everything seems ok, heart, lungs, brain development all looking good. Having another ultrasound in 2 weeks to ensure she is growing or will have to deliver early.
I'm so worried and scared. My two previous babies were big. 3.6 born at 40+2 and 3.8 born at 37.
Been going through shared care, and when I went to the antenatal clinic to book in with obs, the midwife told me I should have been seeing the obs the whole pregnancy with regular scans as the placenta has low protein? Don't even understand what this means. Which can cause low birth weight.
Help. I need some support and reassurance.
I suffer from depression and have been forgot in the system all this time. No counselling as it was suggested at 12 weeks but they never phoned. Already been a long hard pregnancy with 12 weeks NT scan and then amnio done at 16 weeks. Thank god all came back good at 18 weeks. Now another 2 weeks wait for growth reassurance.
Sorry for long story. Just really scared And overwhelmed. Any mummies had similar experience? Is my baby girl just small?
35 weeks pregnant, ultrasound states baby only size of 31 weeks.
35 weeks pregnant, ultrasound states baby only size of 31 weeks.
Posted in:
Mental Health, Anxiety & Depression, Parenthood Guilt, Pregnancy
5 Replies
My daughter was in the10th percentile by 28 weeks and by 34 weeks had dropped to the 2nd percentile for growth with no particular reason. Placenta was not deteriorating and blood flow was fine so to this day have no idea why she was not growng. I had to deliver at 34 weeks. I know it is hard to know they are not thriving within your body but my biggest advise would be this. 1. Lots of hearty protein dinners and eggs (also for protein). 2. LOTS of water and the most important of all - monitor bubs movements. My doctors decider that bub had to come early was reduced movement (i could usually sit there and watch my belly she was that active and scans showed her very lethargic). Every baby is different but YOU know what is normal in this pregnancy and trust your instincts. Don't hesitate to go to hospital if you feel anything is "not right". Good luck mama...
Firstly don't panic. If something was seriously wrong they would be talking about doing something now at 35 weeks. As the first responder stated if you feel something isn't right don't hesitate to get checked.
I had a small baby too, it's called inter utero growth restriction or IUGR. My baby was born at 32 weeks the size of a 27 weeker. She was only 2 pounds. But perfectly healthy. For now I suggest you rest and eat plenty of good food. I'd suggest purchasing some 00000 clothing (target 00000 is great) baby probably won't suddenly catch up so prepare yourself for a low birth weight. There are many reasons why this happens and they should monitor you closely. Best wishes and please keep us updated :)
Oh my gosh do I feel for you and know exactly what you are going through. Our youngest (9months now) stopped growing in utero at 32weeks and they failed to pick it up until 36 weeks. They also failed to pick up the fact that my waters had ruptured and that there was barely any left in there for the baby (after I had spoken about this previously with 3 different doctors at the hospital). Anyway as a result of all this our daughter was diagnosed as an IUGR (inter-uterine growth restriction) and we were sent through to a bigger hospital for emergency delivery. By the time we got there and the new hospital did all the things that the other hospital hadn't (that they were supposed to) 5 days had passed before she was delivered. I was beside myself with worry during that time, I had no idea what was happening, I was soooo angry at the other hospital and doctors and I was stuck 2 hours away from home and away from my other 3 kids :( . She was delivered via C-section at 36weeks and 5 days, weighing a whopping 4 pound or 1810grams and was put into the SCN (special care nursery) for 2 weeks. The nurses in there were FANTASTIC. To cut a long story short, in time she got stronger and healthier and we were able to go home. After a long fight since with the (clearly incompetent) doctors out here she has just been diagnosed as having Trachealbronchealmalcia so we are backwards and forwards to Brisbane now to the specialists for a respiratory condition that the doctors here (for 6months of her life) kept telling me "there's nothing wrong with her, take her home and bring her back if it gets worse".
So I guess after all that what I am trying to day is that although your buby may appear to be small and may have stopped growing it does not mean the worst, so stay strong. It will most likely be a little challenging at first but it will get easier. I remember when I was going through the whole SCN stuff thinking to myself why me? why us? what have I done to deserve this? I was having a tough time dealing with it until one day, one of the nurses and I got talking about another little girl that was in the who to me looked like she was just a normal NEW BORN baby. It was in that conversation that I learnt that, that little girl was in fact 8 months old at the time and had some serious issues when she was born. When born she weighed only 500g. It was that day that I sat there disgusted with myself at the fact that I was sitting there all depressed about the stuff we were having to go through and right there in front of me the whole time was a little girl that had been through so much more and her parents to their credit visited every day no matter what. It was a very sweet moment the moment that we learnt that on the same day that we were going home that that little girl was also finally getting to go home.
Yes I know it's stressful and quite frankly it is as scary as hell but if there is one thing that I have learnt from our whole experience it is that Mums are so much stronger than they give themselves credit for.
Best of luck with it all and I hope everything goes well for you.
Midwife here - I have come across plenty of women with low PAPP-A (pregnancy-associated plasma protein A) levels, who go on to have healthy, full term babies. It's a protein that is tested for as part of your blood tests when you go for your first trimester screen (nuchal translucency/Down's syndrome) ultrasound around 12 weeks. While the chances are slightly higher this pregnancy for you to encounter problems due to the low PAPP-A level, please be reassured that your chances of going on to have a healthy baby are also extremely good! In fact, a close friend of mine recently had extremely low PAPP-A levels (apparently the lowest her obstetrician had seen in their whole career haha) and she had a healthy boy at term with absolutely no problems. Especially if you have regular scans to check for growth restriction from now onwards. A baby the size of a 32 weeker at 35 weeks is not too worrying - as long as she has put weight on by the next scan. And you know what? If she hasn't, you'll be 37 weeks and even if your baby is small for her gestation, you will have carried and nourished her to a healthy enough gestation to be born. Well done you! Really, truly, you are doing a marvellous, miraculous thing. And don't worry about not seeing obstetricians so far, just look forwards. Not much at all would be different at this point if you had seen them. And I'd suggest asking for an urgent social work review at your next appointment. No idea how it works elsewhere, but at the hospital I work at we would be able to get the social worker to come and see you on the same day as your appointment while you're still in the antenatal clinic. It might take a bit of waiting around, but I think it'd be worth it. Wishing you and your little cherub all the very best! xo