Posted by
bw
18 yrs ago
I'm now nearly 37 weeks pregnant. On and off since 28 weeks I've been measuring small for the gestational age - (by external palpation.)
Now the doc says after ultrasound and fetal heart monitoring I need to be observed more closely. It's not too good but not too bad either. Baby is weighing about 2.5 kg and doing fine. Bb's abdominal circumference is measuring just borderline and I should be prepared for early induction.
Anyone been told their Bb was too small ? I've had a tough time gaining weight this pregnancy but have been eating well. If the baby is doing fine in utero right now then is it lack of proper nutrition on my part that's causing this ?
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yes, i had a small baby too. don't know if it was due to very bad morning sickness in 1st tri but my baby was delivered at 39 weeks, weighing 2.75kg.
my doc was not extremely worried but the smallness of baby was noted from 3rd tri and predicted baby would be about 2.8kg if full-term BUT:
1) i was told to rest more
2) because i was so worried, my doctor sensed that i was stressed out and ordered a CTG monitoring at 37 weeks just to assure me that even though baby was small, he was ok (and he was)
3) i really loaded up on milk drinking towards the end, anything that could help baby put on more weight!
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bw
18 yrs ago
Thanks Wheelymate. I'm begining to stress out too. The doctor hasn't told me anything - if I should eat more/rest more nothing. They are just monitoring me more often. I too had severe morning sickness - lost 4 kgs and slowly started gaining only from the 5th month. I'm sick of eating at the moment and literally have to force myself. Were you asked to eat/drink more ? I've also been thinking of drinking more milk but I just hate drinking it and it makes me too full to eat anything else !!
Also once your Bb was born, was he under special care or anything or was everything ok ? Wondering if there are any concerns for the baby once he's out?
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they are probably wondering if you IUGR. (Inter Uterine Growth Retardation.) i'm surpised your doc hasn't told you about it. You can probably do a search on the internet about it and find out more facts - but generally speaking if that what it is, it just means that for the baby's safety, your body has grown the baby smaller since your body cannot support a larger baby. After the baby comes out, generally speaking the babies do catch up.
I also had a small baby - had to deliver at 36.5 weeks due to low amniotic fluid. If your baby is active and responding well to stimulus (have you done a fetal monitoring?) and kicking, then generally speaking no worries. After my baby was born, she was in NICU for one week, but at the end of one week she was out and fine. i'm not sure if she was in NICU due to her small size (she wasn't breathing well enough on her own) or because she was born by c-section. (some studies show that c-section babies often have breathing problems vs. vaginal birth babies.)
try not to worry too much. I also didn't gain weight my last TWO months of my pregnancy. NOt a single gram. It was insane. I was eating and for whatever reason I couldn't get my weight up. Ask your doc if he's worried about this. in the case of IUGR, the recommended steps are generally early birth if your body cannot "grow" the baby. Then you have the baby and grow it on the outside.
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oh also -
if you have a semi sophisticated doctor, they should be able to chart about WHEN your baby stopped growing at a consistent rate - meaning, at one point did your baby's growth start slowing down. I forget why this is important (my father is an OBGYN and had flown to Seoul to yell at some doctors here) and he demanded that they do this for him. I'll try and find out why this was importnat.
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bw
18 yrs ago
Thanks hkcc and cara.
Yes they did a fetal monitoring today. Doc didn't mention IUGR because Bb isn't that small. (already read all about IUGR). They say he/she is borderline so as yet nothing to worry about but they want to continue monitoring to see if the uterine environment deteriorates - in that case they would prefer to induce labour as Bb is mature according to them. At 30 weeks they first detected the slow growth. Did an ultrasound and then compared with another about 3 weeks later - Bb had caught up. Now again at 36 weeks they feel Bb is small so scheduled ultrasound at 37 weeks + fetal monitoring. Called me for fetal monitoring again in 2 days time and ultrasound in a week's time. At the moment all they are saying is that baby is small but not in distress (BP normal, amniotic fluid levels normal etc). They want to make sure it continues that way till term. The way the doctor put it was that abdominal circumference measures borderline meaning not too much fat deposit on baby. Also said baby is not too small but not too fat either.
Just hope the baby is fine. Bb is very very active and has always been. I better get my hospital bag packed !!
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Hi BW,
I was definitely asked to rest more even though it wasn't IUGR, just in case you know? I think part of why IUGR happens is when there's not enough oxygen going to baby so if I continued my daily routine (lots of walking), i was competing with my baby for oxygen, which was why lying down as much as possible was the best thing i could do for baby.
like i said, i had a CTG monitoring (that's fetal monitoring where they strap stuff on your belly, right) - baby was NOT in distress and in fact, i was having mild contractions (at 37 weeks) so doc said only a matter of time.
my baby was very healthy at birth, no NIUC or anything and we were out of hospital after 2 nights (including birth night).
if your doc asks you not to worry, don't...mine tried to make things upbeat by saying that it'll be easier to have a smooth vaginal delivery with a smaller baby! and it was!!
eating: i tried and i tried and i tried and my grandma tried to help by stuffing me with food during every visit i made to her place.
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BW -
you sound just fine. If the docs are reassuring - hey at least you have a smaller baby for the birth as wheelymate mentions. anyways, external palpitations are really not that accurate - for my first pregnancy a doctor felt me and told me I was going to have a 4.5 kg baby (this is as I'm in labor.) I FREAKED OUT and then the midwife came by and I asked her again. She felt me and said, "no you've got a fat stomach, but your baby itself is small." She was right - barely hit over 3 kg.
My father says even the ultrasound estimations are not that accurate - only a rough measure to monitor baby's growth. They had estimated my baby to be smaller than it was (about 200grams) which was my doctor wanted me to wait a bit more. AT any rate, sounds like things are smooth and not to worry. You may just have a very active baby - pack your bags, get ready, set go!
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bw
18 yrs ago
Thanks everyone, I'm looking forward to the baby coming early now :) Can't wait to see Bb.
Got my bag packed and ready to go !
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MayC
18 yrs ago
My sister's baby (they are in Canada) measured small and dr ordered ultrasounds in the last few weeks of her pregnancy. They estimated that the weight of the baby would be around 6 pounds and said that it could be due to her gestational diabetes. She gave birth 1.5 months ago to a 7.5 pounds baby!!!
I was told that the diameter of my little girl's head was measuring small. I was so worried. Turned out she was fine. Her head's small and cute ;-)
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Kmom
18 yrs ago
My doctor based on ultrasound in last few days before birth told me that baby will be at least 7 lbs. My son was born 2.97kg or barely 6lbs. He was small but at 9 months weighed average for his age already. No need to worry unless the doctors indicate so.
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