Measuring baby's weight in utero

virginiaunicorn11 · April 2015

I've been reading that frequently over-estimating babies' weight is one more contributor to unnecessary c-sections, which I'd like to avoid. But I also see lots of women on here referring to their babies measuring large or small. I definitely get excited about every measurement, but DH and I also remind ourselves to take it with a grain of salt.

Obviously I discuss this with my doctor and have been doing my own research. But just curious on your own experiences (as STM+, nurses, etc) and opinions on the issue, if you care to share.

What are your thoughts on measuring babies' weight in utero? Reliable? Not at all? Does it matter? Any other considerations I'm missing?

KaLikeAWind · April 2015

Good thread question. Curious about this myself.

HoosOnFirst · April 2015

My doc doesn't give me ANY specifics about the baby's weight. Which I first thought was weird since everyone on this board seems to have been told if they are measuring ahead or behind. But my guess is that he's trying to avoid any unnecessary panicking or decisions like the ones you mentioned. All he ever says is that she is measuring "average for my size"!

karaelaine1991 · April 2015

hoodoll82 said:
My doc doesn't give me ANY specifics about the baby's weight. Which I first thought was weird since everyone on this board seems to have been told if they are measuring ahead or behind. But my guess is that he's trying to avoid any unnecessary panicking or decisions like the ones you mentioned. All he ever says is that she is measuring "average for my size"!

Yep, this is me. So far I haven't gotten any feedback about LO's weight after the anatomy scan. But the noninvasive measurements that they take at every appointment apparently are on track so I'm just going with it!

TheNewMrsY · April 2015

Personally, I take weight from u/s with a grain of salt. They can easily be way off. That said, it was pretty accurate with DD1 but I know not to expect that it would always be that way. When they palpate my uterus at each appt, I think they're just looking at consistent growth from one appt to the next. Measuring big/small from there might prompt another u/s to make sure baby and fluid levels are ok. That's just my take on it

jjschweim · April 2015

I was told I would probably have at least an 8 lb baby from the ultrasound (and GD) they took, ended up I was induced that afternoon due to low fluids. He was born only weighing 7.2oz. I always take it with a grain of salt and heard from multiple sources to never completely rely on ultrasound and uterus measurements.

mommalombardi · April 2015

From my experience some doctors can be way off and some right on point. With my first they told me she was measuring big from the start..and the last ultrasound they thought she would be atleast 9 lbs. She came out 9 lbs 3 oz! Then on the other hand my good friend was on the heavier side and because of it they told her her baby was measuring big..they she was diagnosed with gd and then they were measuring him to be 9 or 10 lbs..so they induced early..and she ended up with a csection and a 6 lb baby! It's just crazy how much of a difference it is. And it baffles me..my doc has been telling me this baby is actually measuring right on schedule..then one week she's measuring 2 weeks ahead..then weeks after she's back on schedule again. I don't think they will ever be accurate til the baby is here!

knwilliams01 · April 2015

Since being in the hospital I've had daily ultrasounds with the high risk ultrasound techs - aka lots of chatting time. She said they are usually much more reliable for small babies. When babies get large it is very easy to over estimate their size.

lovethatcolosun · April 2015

I'm not sure about the weight part, but they've been telling me I'm measuring ahead based on the "measuring tape" measurement of my uterus. They are doing an ultrasound next week to check on her measurments. I'm guessing I'll be having an 8 pounder. I was 8#3oz when I was born, my husband was over 9#. My DS weighed 8#13oz and was 22".

KarasTwin · April 2015

lovethatcolosun said:
I'm not sure about the weight part, but they've been telling me I'm measuring ahead based on the "measuring tape" measurement of my uterus. They are doing an ultrasound next week to check on her measurments. I'm guessing I'll be having an 8 pounder. I was 8#3oz when I was born, my husband was over 9#. My DS weighed 8#13oz and was 22".

That's how they came up with my most recent measurement last Friday. She said they'll do the same at my appointment in 2 weeks and if necessary do an ultrasound. I am skeptical as my sister's doc told her that her daughter would weigh about 7 and she came out at 8#4oz. They have told me he was exactly the right size at all other appointments so I was a little surprised to hear he was 1 1/2 weeks ahead

lovethatcolosun · April 2015

@KarasTwin I'm curious to see too. In my A/S's I was measuring about 5 days ahead, now the past two appointments my uterus is measuring ahead. Obviously the baby will come when she wants to, but it's always nice to have a heads up. ;;)

virginiaunicorn11 · April 2015

I was 9 lbs at birth and DH was 9 lbs 12 oz! I would guess our kid will be big too, but we shall see. Thanks for the responses, ladies. You're kind of confirming my suspicions. Especially @KarasTwin I can't believe that happened to your sister, eek!

devyns2nd · April 2015

My Dr is pretty realistic, or I should say she feels the same as I do. I know how late my period was and there is a short window of when I could have gotten pregnant. Our baby is measuring big but considering they give you a two week "give or take" we would be on the "take" end of things. I assumed my due date was off anyway. My Dr pretty much said that some baby's are bigger but the ultrasound is about as accurat as a LMP guessed due date. She doesn't even consider it.

...I'm not saying everyone's Dr is wrong or that ultrasounds are useless or anything like that.

KarasTwin · April 2015

amark11 said:
I was 9 lbs at birth and DH was 9 lbs 12 oz! I would guess our kid will be big too, but we shall see. Thanks for the responses, ladies. You're kind of confirming my suspicions. Especially @KarasTwin I can't believe that happened to your sister, eek!

I know! When my BIL called us in the waiting room we were like are you sure? Apparently my dad weighed about 10 pounds. Lord help me, I don't know if I can push out a baby that big.

lovethatcolosun · April 2015

KarasTwin said:

amark11 said:
I was 9 lbs at birth and DH was 9 lbs 12 oz! I would guess our kid will be big too, but we shall see. Thanks for the responses, ladies. You're kind of confirming my suspicions. Especially @KarasTwin I can't believe that happened to your sister, eek!
I know! When my BIL called us in the waiting room we were like are you sure? Apparently my dad weighed about 10 pounds. Lord help me, I don't know if I can push out a baby that big.

Luckily fat is squishy! Lol

TheEA · April 2015

My DS was measuring 2 to 3 weeks ahead my whole pregnancy. I had an ultrasound at one of my last appointments and the doctor said he was around 9.5lbs. I ended up getting induced a little less than a week before my due date because we wanted to avoid a c-section. I ended up not progressing in labor and had a c-section anyway. My son weighed 8lb13oz and was 21 3/4".

mrs1374a · April 2015

With my DD I had a sonogram at 39 weeks abd 6 days, she was 7 lbs 10 oz. 2 days later at 40 weeks and 1 day I went into labor and she was born weighing 7 lbs 13 oz. so pretty close.?

virginiaunicorn11 · April 2015

TheEA said:
My DS was measuring 2 to 3 weeks ahead my whole pregnancy. I had an ultrasound at one of my last appointments and the doctor said he was around 9.5lbs. I ended up getting induced a little less than a week before my due date because we wanted to avoid a c-section. I ended up not progressing in labor and had a c-section anyway. My son weighed 8lb13oz and was 21 3/4".

Was the "we wanted to avoid a c-section" due to size of baby? Here is the type of situation where I am thinking it could go either way and weight estimates can trigger medical interventions.

But this is me as a FTM trying to understand things, and is by no means to question or comment on your situation, so I really hope I don't come off that way. Thanks for sharing your story!

hswan26 · April 2015

I had an ultrasound with DD at labor and delivery as I was being induced. They were right on the money. I think it depends on the machine and the tech for how accurate it is.

eeyoreem · April 2015

I think unnecessary inductions cause more unnecessary c-sections. Ds was 6 days late and 10# and I had no problems pushing him out. I have GD with this pregnancy and so I expect a large baby (which I did anyway because all our family is big babies on both sides) I will not agree to an induction based on weight and I'm not planning on a C-section either because of weight but I have the background to deny it.

dasheydog · April 2015

My doctor thought my son was going to be about 8 pounds and he turned out being 9 pounds

klkonwi · April 2015

Our docs are wrong 1 lb in either direction in general....... But we recently have one doc who has been doing more growth scans close to deliveries/inductions and he has been right on the money lately. It really does depend on accuracy of the doc. But as a general rule in the 4 yrs I've been in OB they can be wrong 1 lb either way. I've seen small women push out 9 lb 10 lb and I've seen large/tall women not be able to push out even 6-7 lb babies. Everyone's labor will be so different....... I really don't worry too much about size. However if you feel your baby is huge...... I believe you can feel that discomfort in pregnancy..... Blah.

auburnmamma · April 2015

U/S measured DS at 7lbs3ozs at 39w6d and one week later he was born at 6lbs 8ozs.

megtyrrell · April 2015

At my last ultrasound (28 weeks), the tech said my baby was weighing in at over 3 lbs already. The tech and the doctor (an MFM) were acting really concerned and kept asking me questions about my health, any conditions I might have, etc. They also asked me how much I weighed at birth. I feel like they were really overreacting because I am healthy (no GD or any other condition that might make for a larger baby) and everything with my baby looks good... I just thought it was really strange because all babies seem to grow at different rates and I'm not sure about how accurately an ultrasound can determine weight.

KiwiMumof3 · April 2015

I was told that I wouldn't be able to deliver naturally over 7lbs based on my size. I had an 8lb10 and 10lb5 completely natural with zero intervention or pain relief. I think that it isn't always worth stressing about the size, unless it affects the health of you or the baby. I am apprehensive about delivering another large baby and am starting to have regular growth scans to put my mind at ease, but I know that they aren't as accurate as I would like. My measurements from tape have put me as a little under but my last scan showed freakishly long legs and above average. I'm just going to focus on growing a healthy baby and try not to put to much emphasis on size.

nicnnatesmom · April 2015

My doc has her own sono tech on staff. I've used them for all 4 of my previous kiddos. And also for this 5th kiddo. My sono tech and doc both say babies weight can be off by 1 lb either way. And for me my kiddos tend weigh a pound under what the sono scan says. They said my current kiddo is weighing 3 lbs 1 oz at my 28 wk scan. And doc was a little concerned b/c baby is on the bigger side. But not overly. I'm pretty meh about all of it though. B/c none of it has been accurate for any of mine.

celliott72 · April 2015

We had a growth scan today and was told that the baby is measuring almost 2 weeks ahead. Dr said based on what he sees, he thinks that baby is 4lbs 11oz (at 32 weeks, baby should be about 3.8). He also said that 4.11 is probably a little high and 4.3 is probably more accurate. I don't know if this info will help anyone but thought I'd share haha!

taboullio84 · April 2015

My first 3 measured within ounces of what they said. My 4 they induced me BC they thought he would be close to 10 pounds. He was born 8 lbs. 6ozs.

PhoenixFrances · April 2015

I was told I was measuring ahead by a week at yesterday's visit so this thread couldn't have been at a better time! Great to hear all the information. All my babies have been "big" with my smallest weighing in at 7lbs 11oz so measuring ahead would not surprise me but what surprised me most was that I have measured right on this whole pregnancy and not gained much. Well this last month I have managed to catch up.. Not really sure if it's baby or mama growth!! Lol either way baby is healthy and I'm happy about that!

megmama · April 2015

My daughter was supposed to be "8 lbs" so they went ahead and had me go through with vaginal, and sure enough she was 9.2 lbs! So you never know!

letylove1 · April 2015

Had my growth scan yesterday and was told baby girl is weighing about 5.6 pounds and I'm 32 weeks 5 days! I would like to believe she's at least a pound lighter or im looking at a HUGE baby at birth!

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