30 Weeks Pregant and Ultrasounds.

Don't be afraid of a big baby. Many women have them and they are just fine. Both my babies were 10 lbs and so were my grandchildren. They're all fine.

With my first pregnancy I had an ultra sound done around 30-35 weeks because of the same reason. Everything was fine and I ended up having an almost 9 lb baby two weeks late! Good luck.

Measuring "big" is common...and most reasons for being larger than average mean nothing for mother or baby. Your doctor likely wants to use the ultrasound to guess if the baby will be larger than normal...even though ultrasound had a notoriously large margin of error.

I measured large througout my pregnancy. I was overweight when I got pregnant, but actually had no net weight gain through my pregnancy. I delivered a 6 lbs. 7 oz. healthy baby girl at 37.5 weeks. It turns out that I had a TON of amniotic fluid.

Try not to worry too much...moms deliver babies of all sizes all the time.

I went through that with my first pregnancy and the outcome was that my baby's amniotic fluids were increased. Basically, when my water broke, I had more "water" than average. But everything was fine with both me and my daughter. The doctor would rather be safe than sorry - just think of it as an extra chance to see your little one pre-birth :)

Good luck!!

I measured too big with my son as well. I was send in for an ultrasound twice to check it out. They decided he had extra water and that was why I was measuring big. After lots of freaking out on my part, I had a perfectly healthy 8 1/2 pound baby.

I wouldn't freak out, but be happy your insurance is paying for you to see your beautiful baby again.

Please don't bother getting the ultrasound. Doctors do this all the time to find an excuse to tell you that your baby is *huge* and that you *must* have a Cesarean. They tried this with me, telling me at 34 weeks that my daughter was already weighing in at around 8lbs, and that she might weigh 10 by my due date.

When my daughter was born, she weighed in the 7lbs range. Ultrasound is not an exact science. Don't get the ultrasound just cuz your baby is supposedly "big". At this point in your pregnancy, the only reason you should ever get an ultrasound is if the baby's health is in question.

Keep in mind that their definition of "big" is based on a 28-day cycle. Thing is, the majority of women do not have a 28-day cycle, so the due date is often wrong. Also, the further you get away from the conception date, the harder it is to guess a baby's age and therefore an inexact science to tell you what is their "percentage" on the growth scale.

My babies measure larger than average and I'm having ultrasounds every 2-4 weeks but this is not too much of a concern. With the ultrasound the tech will be able to tell you where your baby ranks compared to the average baby (mine are at 60%).

One thing you should ask about is to be tested for gestational diabetes, if you haven't had this test already (ask to see the results). Babies whose moms have GD (as I do) tend to be on the larger side and this needs careful follow up after week 28 through delivery - possibly with a c-section- to reduce any risks to you or the baby. Uncontrolled, GD can lead to excessive weight gain and broad shoulders on the baby (who's feeding on more glucose than normal) and make vaginal delivery a lot more complicated.

Probably just wants to make sure the baby isn't coming well before you expect ! I am 36 weeks tomorrow, and am getting an ultrasound Friday to check baby growth, size, position, etc to see if we are on schedule. Don't be worried :-)

No matter what they measure, the baby will come when they are ready. No need to worry :) And if it's true, maybe your baby will be here sooner than you expect!

yeah, i got an ultrasound at 30w4d, and good thing i did. my son is measuring about 2 weeks ahead (he's gonna be be huge :( ) my tests are all normal too. just a precaution, nothing to worry about (i'm 32 weeks now)

I wouldn't be concerned. It is probably just a growth ultrasound where they measure different body parts of your baby to estimate their weight and height. Doctors usually like to do this for a couple of reasons, to know if they should let you carry past your due date (if the baby is big they may want to induce you as you reach your due date instead of waiting for you to go into labor by yourself). Your baby gains an incredible amount of weight at the end of your pregnancy, like a pound a week, so if it looks like your going to have an 8-lb plus baby your doctor may want to talk to you about the possibility of a C-section too. If you do end up needing a C-section knowing the size of your baby helps.

With my first I was measuring 4 weeks ahead of schedule by 36 weeks (so I was measuring 40 weeks). I am a type 1 diabetic and complications came up, so we decided to induce at 36 weeks. Well, after 24 hours of labor and me not progressing more than a 2-3 dialation we went in for the c-section. Well, the growth ultrasound I had had a couple days before estimated my son to be around 7 lbs., so the doctor made an incision for a 7 1/2 lb baby (they cut through multiple layers and so going back and making the incision bigger is not an option) well, my son was 9 lbs. 5 oz. and ended up needing to be vacuumed out of my incision because the opening wasn't big enough. He was fine and so was I, he was just bruised on his arms from the doctor trying so hard to grip him and get him out. With my second she just concluded to cut me from hip to hip to make sure their was enough room for my daughter, again another c-section at 36 weeks, and she was 9 lbs. 10 oz. I am now 31 weeks pregnant with my 3rd and already measuring a few weeks ahead.

It is normal for you to go into "worry" mode, but if all your tests have been good so far and you are healthy then I would *try* not to worry. If anything, try to find comfort in the thought that your doctor is taking every precaution so that you and she will be as prepared as possible for this baby to come into this world healthy and happy.

It helps to write down all your questions, even ones for the sonographer, and ask them about everything during your exam. Ask about what you should prepare yourself for if you have your baby early. Something we didn't know was that boys learn the "sucking" technique in the womb later in gestation than girls do. So, with our first he had a feeding tube and was in the special care nursery until he could learn to eat on his own, meaning that he would suck the formula or breast milk out of the bottle. Our daughter, however, didn't seem to have a problem with eating. They both had to go to the special care nusery for low blood sugars (which is a result of my diabetes) but once her blood sugars regulated we were able to take her home.

I hope this is helping and not worrying you more. My SIL just had her baby in April and had her 2 1/2 weeks early and everything went great - both are healthy and happy. So, I'm sure the ultrasound is just precautionary, take your husband with you and just try to calmly enjoy seeing your baby - they look great because they have fat on their little bodies and you can get a sense of what they will look like.

Good Luck!

I measured "big" with my second child. The doctors did ultrasounds and scared me half to death when they told me at 36 weeks that he was likely to be almost 10 pounds when he came out. I am very petite, so this was quite distressing. Turned out, when he was born at 38 weeks, he weighed 7lbs 6oz - exactly the same as his brother. So, just like every other post says, don't worry. Even with an ultrasound, it is a guess at best.

I had to have an additional ultrasound around weeks 28-30 with my first pregnancy for other reasons, but it ended up that i was measuring about 3 weeks ahead of schedule in that ultrasound. (so baby was "big" for what they thought it should be) Well, ends up it was three weeks early to the day that I had a perfectly healthy 7lb. 2oz. baby boy!

Just thought I would share an experience!

I am measuring big also. An ultrasound showed that I have a higher volume of amniotic fluic than is usual (but still in the normal range). I have ultrasounds every three weeks to make sure it stays in the normal range and the baby is fine, which has been the case so far.

I also have a uterine fibroid that tends to grow when I am pregnant, which makes me bigger than I should be.

Good luck!

I just went through the same thing. I measured 5 weeks ahead. I had an ultrasound end everything was on schedule as before. I wouldn't worry.
good luck:)

Hi PS,

I don't know you, but it's likely that if previous tests come back looking fine, you probably are.

While I was pregnant and working with doctors, I found that I was constantly being referred for ultrasounds. In fact, I fought with my doctor and wouldn't go to some of them because it seemed like overkill. I believed he was sincere in wanting good, current information but several times, there was nothing to be done if the news had been bad. My guess at the time was that the hospital system I was in preferred to be safe than sorry and to have the best information at the moment. I was already of a mind to contact a midwifery team because I wanted a home birth (which no hospital would condone), and the ( to me) excessive ultrasounds only made me go looking elsewhere faster. We birthed a hale and hearty little boy at home and my pregnancy had no complications whatsoever.

So the long answer to your question is, if your gut feeling is that you are fine, and you feel fine, and your tests look fine...well, you know the old saying..."if it looks like a duck"...? You probably are fine. I myself would be curious enough to ask what the doc is wondering about, what they might be expecting to see, and what the doc thinks might be done. They usually have good intentions.

As long as you don't have gestational diabeties or anything else that could cause an abnormally large baby, I would skip the ultrasound. Most of the time the doctor's are wrong on the size and weight of the baby and the decisions made are based on the ultrasound results. I have seen too many women go in for an early induction or c-section because their baby was "too big" to deliver, only to discover they had a small baby and could have had an easier natural birth. If there was cause for concern for any other issue it would be different, but if they just want to see how big that baby is, I would serious figure out what your birth plan is and decide if you want to have it drastically changed by something that chances are will be inaccurate.

Is this your first? If so, I wouldn't worry, with both my sons I measured bigger than what they said I should and both of them were early, my first was 4 weeks early and my second 6 weeks early! They are probably off on your due date and you are measuring bigger than what is expected at 30 weeks, and you may be more than 30 weeks. It is usually nothing to be worried about it, and if you are worried, ask your Dr. why you would be measuring bigger than expected and if you should be doing anything different.

My guess is she is thinking that perhaps you are due sooner?

Hi I went thru this last year when pregnant with my 2nd child. I had the ultrasound and was told that he was big but not to worry. I ended up having him 5 weeks early and he was 8 lbs 3 ozs and had to spend 5 days in the NICU because he couldn't regulate his blood sugar on his own. Turns out I had undiagnosed gestational diabetes and that is what affected his blood sugars so much and also why he was big for his age. I had the glucose test earlier in the pg. and it was fine. The diabetes came on after.....if I were you I would check into later onset gestational diabetes. Probably not!!!! but just in case...
Congratulations and best of luck!!!

Hi,

It sounds like your doctor may want to check your amniotic fluid index, or maybe she suspects more than one baby. Have you had any ultrasounds done before? Just how much bigger are you measuring? I always measure bigger, and twins is always suspected. She also may be wondering if your due date has been miscalculated, and want to take measurements of your little one. I'm sure everything will be fine. You might just have a buffalo in there, LOL. My son was 9lbs., 6 oz. He was so big! Try not to worry. And let us know what your ultrasound reveals.

K.

Take it with a grain of salt! I had an ultrasound at 33 weeks and was told that my gestational diabetes was causing my daughter to be very large! 9-10 pounds was the guess, and I was induced at 37 weeks. Guess how much the baby weighed...? 7lbs 1oz.

I had two high risk pregnancies and, starting at week 27 I had to make bi-weekly visits for NSTs and an ultrasound each time. If you do the math, you'll see that for both pregnancies I had no fewer than 20 ultrasounds! In my case, my babies weren't measuring big, rather he wanted to keep an eye on the amniotic fluid levels (they look for four pockets and can 'measure' how much is in there). Both of my boys are absolutely fine and healthy despite a lot of extra TLC in utero!