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Growth scan accuracy?

sheilafleurysheilafleury member
edited June 2022 in 3rd Trimester
I was sent for a growth scan at about 37 weeks pregnant because a month ago I was really sick in the hospital so my Midwife wanted to check on babies growth and make sure everything was ok. The ultrasound tech told me my baby was measuring at 8lbs 3oz! I'm having terrible anxiety and I'm extremely freaked out about having a big baby now. I wasn't worried before because I have only gained 20lbs through out my pregnancy I have an average BMI and I tested negative for gestational diabetes. I also stopped gaining weight when I got to third trimester. My Midwife has been measuring my belly every appointment and I'm average every time, she doesn't seem to be worried and I was told that ultrasound weight can be very inaccurate......I'm just really scared. How accurate was your growth scan to actual birth weight? Should I be worried?
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Re: Growth scan accuracy?

  • meggymemeggyme member
    Late term growth scans are famously inaccurate. They can be off by up to a pound. I wouldn’t worry. Also, 8lbs 3 oz wouldn’t be absurdly big. My oldest was 8lbs 13oz and born vaginally. I know others who have had considerably larger babies vaginally.
    DD1: June '16 DD2: March ‘19 :::: Married since 2011 :::: USN Wife ::::
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  • paytonpedropaytonpedro member
    Ultrasound weight guesses are just that. They can vary +/-2lbs. And fwiw, my children were 8lbs 5oz and 8lbs 10oz and born vaginally no issues whatsoever. 
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  • coldlife2coldlife2 member
    edited June 2022
    Good for your midwife! The vast majority of women will not grow a baby too big for their body to deliver. Think about it from a human race perspective - all the women who used to die in childbirth, and now if all the women who would be worried about a too big baby if they’d had u/s back then actually having a too big baby added on top of that? We’d never have survived as a species!

    I’ve delivered an 8 lb, 15.5 oz baby and out of the hospital and unmedicated to boot!

    Also, even if you are ultimately told you have cephalopelvic disproportion (a baby too big to be delivered) or told you have to have a c-section for that reason, that’s probably inaccurate. American Pregnancy Association - “ Another study shows that 65 percent of women who received a diagnosis of cephalopelvic disproportion in an earlier pregnancy went on to deliver vaginally in subsequent pregnancies. In fact, many of these women had larger babies on subsequent pregnancies than with the CPD baby.”
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  • harpseal135harpseal135 member
    It can be off by +/- 2 lbs! I delivered an 8lb 12oz baby vaginally.  Doctor thought she would be over 9.5.  So, please stop worrying about a "big baby."  Your body is built to handle it.  In rare cases, its not your doctor may suggest a c-section

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  • knottieded816a72ae518b0knottieded816a72ae518b0 Newbie
    As a pregnant person I totally understand your nervousness. However, as a birth doula since 2014, I can tell you that I regularly have clients who are told a weight that it up to two pounds off, especially towards the end. I’ve also seen very large babies born vaginally with no problem. The key to not tearing is to have patience right at the end as baby is crowning. You’ll want to blow that baby out quickly, but instead breathe through it and allow your tissue to stretch naturally. If you want to do some reading on the so-called “big baby” issue, go to the website evidence based birth and search big babies. She dispels a lot of the myths using research.
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  • mallorikerr03mallorikerr03 member
    They usually give a plus or minus weight differential in grams, thats the variance the height could be. I had a growth can at 32 weeks. His estimated weight was 2,255.5 grams with a variance of +/-330 grams.
    Translated to pounds 2,255.5 grams is 4.97lbs. So if we look at averages his weight puts him at a little over a week 34 aged fetus. My second son was 8 pounds 9 ounces at 38 weeks when gestational diabetes was the reason my ob and I agreed to be induced at that time. I have no complications this round so the earliest they would induce medically is 39 weeks. I'm looking into natural ways to hopefully convince him to come out at 37 or 38 weeks. 
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