Will my baby be born big?

ericamanuela · April 2012

I'm curious, each time I get an ultrasound I'm told that my baby is measuring large for it's fetal age.I'm 28 week and went for an ultrasound yesterday. The doctor estimated a little over 3 pounds and the average weight for 28 weeks is 2.2 pounds. Should I be concerned that I'm going to deliver a large baby? I've heard that ultrasounds can be quite innaccurate when it comes to measurements and what size the baby acutally is when he/she is born.

chouli77 · April 2012

You're right, they can be inaccurate up to a couple pounds even. They measure length and estimate weight from that. Could be you're having a "long" baby. Are you or your DH tall? My LO has measured anywhere from 1 day to 11 days "ahead" from the get-go, and since he's an IVF baby we know exactly when he was made.

mamayo26 · April 2012

It really is just an estimate, there really isn't an eact way to tell until he arrives. how are you measuring as far as your bump goes? Are you big there too?

cchill01 · April 2012

I wouldn't give it a moments thought for all the reasons PP mentioned.

Also, you have no idea when you'll go into labor. You could be measuring ahead because your dates are off by a few.

At 29weeks, my LO measured 3lbs 3oz and I was told she/he was EXACTLY 50th percentile. So, you're not ahead by much.

AndromedaEclipse · April 2012

It's a very inaccurate estimate. My SIL was repeatedly told she'd have a 10 lb baby so she watched her diet very carefully. Even then, they said he'd be at least 8 or 9 lbs. He was barely 6 lbs...

YaMrWhite · April 2012

AndromedaEclipse:
It's a very inaccurate estimate. My SIL was repeatedly told she'd have a 10 lb baby so she watched her diet very carefully. Even then, they said he'd be at least 8 or 9 lbs. He was barely 6 lbs...

Probably bc she stalked her own diet! LOL

ericamanuela · April 2012

I'm not tall and neither is my husband but I'm adopted and have no idea what kind of genes run in my family. It is true that it's not the most accurate science. I also know of a woman who was told that her baby was going to be 10 pounds, induced her because of that and the baby was 7 pounds. How will they know during labor if he is going to be too big? How can they tell? Ultrasound? Hopefully they won't just find out when he's not fitting through my birth canal!

jc0n15 · April 2012

My LO measured the same at 28 weeks. I was a big baby and both myself and DH and tall so I wasn't surprised when I heard this.

mwitter80 · April 2012

ericamanuela:
I'm not tall and neither is my husband but I'm adopted and have no idea what kind of genes run in my family. It is true that it's not the most accurate science. I also know of a woman who was told that her baby was going to be 10 pounds, induced her because of that and the baby was 7 pounds. How will they know during labor if he is going to be too big? How can they tell? Ultrasound? Hopefully they won't just find out when he's not fitting through my birth canal!

When you can't push him out, that's how they know he is too big. Even very small woman can birth huge babies, and very big woman can't birth small babies. They will wait to see how your body opens up for birth and if you can't get the baby out you'll have a c-section

kjem182 · April 2012

I actually asked my OBGYN this morning how other people on here are getting size estimates-we've never really gotten one. She said that it's all really inaccurate and she's seen inductions done for women who they thought would have large babies, only to have the babies be pretty small (like a pp said). She won't even give me an estimate beyond my fundal measurement. So I wouldn't worry!

hollyg1920 · April 2012

Take a deep breath....

your labor will not progress if baby is to big and it is rare that you will make a baby to big to deliver vaginally

I know people who are tiny, tiny and have pushed out BIG babies....

cchill01 · April 2012

kjem182:
I actually asked my OBGYN this morning how other people on here are getting size estimates-we've never really gotten one. She said that it's all really inaccurate and she's seen inductions done for women who they thought would have large babies, only to have the babies be pretty small (like a pp said). She won't even give me an estimate beyond my fundal measurement. So I wouldn't worry!

I wish all doctors would take this perspective. No one can tell what your body is capable of until you get into labor. Inducing people for size is just setting them up for failure and a c-section.

In most cases, you only grow a baby that you can physically birth. If you are one of the few who does, there will be signs during labor. Plus - having a baby a week or 2 early doesn't make them that much smaller....it just makes your body not ready.

TedandJaclyn · April 2012

It doesn't sound to me like you're measuring all that big. At 26 weeks 1 day I was told LO was 2lbs 2oz and this was 61%, and at 28 weeks 3 days i was told she was 3 lbs and this was 44%...so I guess they use different formulas for calculating % but my OB was very happy with this size. Btw, I'm very small (5'1" and 102lbs pre-pregnancy) and they haven't said anything to me about LO being too big to push out or anything like that.

You might find this website interesting: https://www.baby2see.com/medical/charts.html

Want a personalized experience?

Will my baby be born big?

Re: Will my baby be born big?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards