August 2013 Moms
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Had a "growth" ultrasound today ....
I've had a couple of high BP readings (literally - 2) throughout my pregnancy. I'm 31 weeks and my OB wanted to do an ultrasound to measure growth. Found out baby weighs approximately 4 lbs 9 oz, which tech said was in the 79th percentile.
So, that means he's bigger than 79 percent of babies at this stage of pregnancy? I'm wondering why this is useful information, since so many different factors can factor into birth weight (size of parents, etc.)
Anyone have any thoughts?
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Re: Had a "growth" ultrasound today ....
I had the same test Friday and was in the 42nd percentile. They said baby should be between 7 and 8 pounds. My ob said if it looked like the baby was going to be over 10 pounds they might schedule me a csection.
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Baby Boy M - 08/01/2013
Expecting Baby Bean February 2017
In my experience, these ultrasounds aren't all that useful. I understand the idea behind them, but they are often off by 2+ pounds in either direction. For example, I had one done at 37 weeks in my last pregnancy due to gestational diabetes. The baby was projected to be 8lbs by my due date. I was induced 2 weeks later and DS was 9lbs 11oz. On the flip side, a friend of mine was talked into an early elective c-section at 38 weeks after a growth ultrasound estimated her baby at over 10lbs. Her daughter was delivered at 5lbs 14oz. Quite the discrepancy. I wouldn't take too much stock in it. My midwife was much more accurate at estimating the baby's weight by feeling the baby. She guess 9 1/2 lbs...pretty close! If you've had some high BP's, your doc is likely just trying to see where the baby is at in the unlikely event that you develop pre-e or something and have to be delivered early. It's just a precaution.
BFP #1 mm/c at 12w1d
My last one was at 37 weeks. They told me he was only about 6 pounds so everything was fine. He was born four days later, and was 7 lbs. 9 oz. May not seem like a big difference, but a pound and a half is pretty big when you're only talking about a few pounds.
Ditto this. A weight estimate based off of an u/s can be off by 2 pounds in any direction. One u/s to determine growth is essentially useless. Multiple u/s at set increments can help to see growth on a predictable curve, particularly when a growth restriction is a concern.
I wouldn't worry much about what the doctor said. Kiddo could still gain a ton or have just completed a growth spurt. No one knows and induction or c/s for a suspected large baby is not recommended by the ACOG.
DD2 8.22.13
MMC 1.4.17 at 16w
Expecting #3, EDD 1.29.18
It's just a statistical measurement. Most people don't really have a good grasp on statistics - it would likely only be alarming if your baby was measuring outside of one standard deviation of the mean (that's 15th to 85th percentiles). For sure if you're 2 standard deviations out, it raises alarms.
I'm measuring behind by fundal height, so I'm going for a growth u/s next week. Baby was 40th percentile at 21 weeks, so it will also likely be a cause for concern if she's dropped in percentiles a lot since then.
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Yeah, this.
79th percentile is just another way of saying "totally normal." Unless there are other problems, your doctor is probably not going to be worried about anything other than <10th or >90th. And if you and your SO are particularly large, the high end might not even raise any eyebrows.
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I get them done bc I have asthma and they want to make sure baby is growing properly and getting enough oxygen.
I too had some higher BP readings and at the previous US baby was at the 25th percentile so my doctor had concerns that the BP might be hindering her growth (along with the fact I have fibroids). I had the growth US at 26 weeks and after monitoring my BP three times a day for two weeks all is good. Baby is now at 52%.
Because of a large fibroid though, I have another appointment scheduled at 30 weeks to ensure baby is still growing. So I figure its better to see if there's anything going on (or not).