Baby measuring small at 31 weeks

Lusterb5@gmail.com · January 2013

Im 31 weeks pregnant and i had an ultra sound the other day and the doctor said my baby is 2lbs 14oz. My doctor now wants me to come in twice a week for non stress tests. Im nervous that hes so little and hope he has a growth spurt in there soon. What does everyone think? Did other people expierence this or have a small baby and was everything okay after?

Thanks ladies

RussianMommy · January 2013

It is impossible for your dr to know how much your baby weighs. Ultrasounds are wrong all the time. My friends baby was born 7 wks early at 3 lbs and he survived just fine

mrsjjohnson2010 · January 2013

RussianMommy:
It is impossible for your Dr to know how much your baby weighs. Ultrasounds are wrong all the time. My friends baby was born 7 wks early at 3 lbs and he survived just fine

Correct me f I'm wrong but doesn't the ultrasound give the baby's weight. I thought they take a measurement of the thigh, upper are and head to determine weight?

mrsjjohnson2010 · January 2013

RussianMommy:
It is impossible for your Dr to know how much your baby weighs. Ultrasounds are wrong all the time. My friends baby was born 7 wks early at 3 lbs and he survived just fine

Correct me f I'm wrong but doesn't the ultrasound give the baby's weight. I thought they take a measurement of the thigh, upper are and head to determine weight?

mrsjjohnson2010 · January 2013

I wouldnt stress! Do you feel your eating enough? Ensures are always great; to help LO gain more nutrients. Your LO will gain weight, everyone doesnt have 10lbs babies

Bee112309 · January 2013

Those measurements are notoriously off, though, by as much as 2 lbs in either direction. I've known more than one person to be told they were having a 9lb baby and have a 7lb baby, or be told that the baby was measuring at 5lbs and was born 6 lbs.

[Deleted User] · January 2013

Bee112309:
Those measurements are notoriously off, though, by as much as 2 lbs in either direction. I've known more than one person to be told they were having a 9lb baby and have a 7lb baby, or be told that the baby was measuring at 5lbs and was born 6 lbs.

Yup, they can give you a weight estimate. It is a 2 pound +/- estimate.

RussianMommy · January 2013

mrsjjohnson2010:
RussianMommy:
It is impossible for your Dr to know how much your baby weighs. Ultrasounds are wrong all the time. My friends baby was born 7 wks early at 3 lbs and he survived just fine
Correct me f I'm wrong but doesn't the ultrasound give the baby's weight. I thought they take a measurement of the thigh, upper are and head to determine weight?

No, they are still not correct. See PP

amykins1283 · January 2013

My BFF gave birth to a small baby, 4 lbs 6 oz at 35 weeks exactly (she had a c-section because of severe pre-e) and aside from being small and early she was healthy. She had to spend 15 days in the NICU learning how to feed, regulate her body temp, and getting her weight up but other than that she's totally fine. I doubt that her baby was much bigger than yours at the same gestational age and her doctor was never worried about the growth. More than likely she would have been around 6 1/2 lbs full term which isn't unusually small.

pinottoparenthood · January 2013

Like PP's said, ultrasounds can only estimate weight, so it's impossible to know for sure. All babies grow at different rates, and yours still has approximately 9 weeks to grow more. I wouldn't stress out about it! Just continue to eat healthfully, let your doctor monitor the situation, and more than likely everything will be totally fine. Some babies are just smaller than others, but as long as your baby is developed and ready to be born, everything will likely be normal and baby healthy.

dande2129 · January 2013

sofamonkey:
Bee112309:
Those measurements are notoriously off, though, by as much as 2 lbs in either direction. I've known more than one person to be told they were having a 9lb baby and have a 7lb baby, or be told that the baby was measuring at 5lbs and was born 6 lbs.
Yup, they can give you a weight estimate. It is a 2 pound +/- estimate.

This.

They are measuring the baby's femur and/or thigh bone, head circumference and abdomen and then essentially placing those numbers into a basic equation to come up with the weight. They have no way of knowing the exact weight of your baby, and bear in mind that each baby is different in terms of body size. DS was 7 lbs 7 ounces when he was born but he was not a chunky baby. He was 21 inches and thin, and has been tall and thin ever since.

IncogNeato · January 2013

Did they give you a percentile estimate for weight?

https://www.baby2see.com/medical/charts.html

I often looked at this chart because both of my LOs stayed around the 10-15% throughout pregnancy and I got additional growth U/S. Since they stayed on the curve instead of losing percentiles, the verdict was that they are just little but healthy and I didn't need NST.

If your baby is measuring below the 10% which it looks like is the case, then he/she will technically be considered growth restricted and they will continue to monitor you. If at some point it looks like LO is struggling or no longer growing they will talk about induction. Many IUGR babies do very well, though, and there are many IUGR moms on the preemie board.

It is still possible that your LO is just a healthy but little baby. Follow drs orders, eat lots of protein, and try not to worry too much! I would post over on the HR or preemie board for support and advice as well.

IncogNeato · January 2013

Teacher Clark:
RussianMommy:
It is impossible for your dr to know how much your baby weighs. Ultrasounds are wrong all the time. My friends baby was born 7 wks early at 3 lbs and he survived just fine
When babies are very small, growth US are very important. A lot can go wrong in a short amount of time with very small babies in utero. I'm glad your friends baby is okay, but that is not always the case. It is very important to listen to your dr concerning cases like this. Everything could turn out fine OR things could go downhill quickly. We aren't talking an average for gestational age baby and special attention is needed.

Yeah, ditto this. A growth U/S done at almost term can be off by 2 pounds but one done at 31 weeks is very unlikely to be off by that much. A baby measuring at 2 lbs is probably not really 4 pounds.

OP- Try not to worry too much, but trust that your doctors are doing exactly what they should. I have been in your shoes with both of my LO's and, luckily, they were just healthy, small, and in the normal range of things but I do know of many people who had IUGR babies that still did quite well. Just keep taking care of yourself!

lkm2006 · January 2013

IncogNeato:
Did they give you a percentile estimate for weight?
https://www.baby2see.com/medical/charts.html
I often looked at this chart because both of my LOs stayed around the 10-15% throughout pregnancy and I got additional growth U/S. Since they stayed on the curve instead of losing percentiles, the verdict was that they are just little but healthy and I didn't need NST.
If your baby is measuring below the 10% which it looks like is the case, then he/she will technically be considered growth restricted and they will continue to monitor you. If at some point it looks like LO is struggling or no longer growing they will talk about induction. Many IUGR babies do very well, though, and there are many IUGR moms on the preemie board.
It is still possible that your LO is just a healthy but little baby. Follow drs orders, eat lots of protein, and try not to worry too much! I would post over on the HR or preemie board for support and advice as well.

This, while it's true doctors can never know an exact size, they know/see a lot more on the ultrasound than we do so if it's something your doctor is taking seriously, I would consider that a good thing. Your doctors have you and your baby's interest at heart and extra monitoring can only be a good thing.

My first DS was diagnosed as growth restricted at 28 weeks and this one at 32 weeks. I'm not sure what the case is with your baby, but mine start off at a very normal percent (DS1 was 75% at 20 weeks, DS2 was 45% at 20 weeks) and gradually drop. At 32 weeks, DS2 was in the 15% with his head measurement on track, his stomach about two weeks behind and his femur length 3 weeks behind.

Did they mention your babies growth being symmetrical or where the limbs lagging behind? That's usually a sign of growth restriction because all of the nutrients will go straight to the baby's brain.

nyki06 · January 2013

I had an ultrasound at 29 weeks and was told that at that point they could be off by 8oz.

jensriot · January 2013

Teacher Clark:
RussianMommy:
It is impossible for your dr to know how much your baby weighs. Ultrasounds are wrong all the time. My friends baby was born 7 wks early at 3 lbs and he survived just fine
When babies are very small, growth US are very important. A lot can go wrong in a short amount of time with very small babies in utero. I'm glad your friends baby is okay, but that is not always the case. It is very important to listen to your dr concerning cases like this. Everything could turn out fine OR things could go downhill quickly. We aren't talking an average for gestational age baby and special attention is needed.

This

Lusterb5@gmail.com · January 2013

Thank you all. I appreciate all the feedback

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