Measuring Small at 34 Weeks

Dear W.,

Please don't freak out, not good for you or baby. The important thing is that everything looks okay. Babies come in all sizes and the size they start is not always an indicator of how they will wind up! The important thing is that the baby is okay and developing reasonably close to the doctor's time table (sometimes they are wrong!). Try to relax and know that you still have a few weeks for baby to gain weight.

If the doctor isn't concerned, I wouldn't worry. My son was full term and only 6.0 lbs at birth, and perfectly healthy in every way. Some babies are just small.

Good morning, W.! First off, do not take everything the doctor says at every visit too literally as it is just an estimation to be on the safe side. When I was pregnant my son also "measured small" at around that many weeks up until his birthday at which point he came out at 19 1/2 inches and 7 lbs. 6 oz., so the docs were not correct after all! He was wedged deep in my pelvis so I believe that is why he was measuring small as they cannot account for and measure that angle, if you can imagine! So please, try not to worry too much. Your baby is more than likely growing just fine and the doctors are just being extra precautious (which if only they knew how much their "precautions" can get us mommies-to-be going). Try to enjoy the rest of your pregnancy and take care of yourself as that is the best way to nurture that little one inside. I hope this helps:) Don't forget to breathe too;)

Awwww I so understand getting freaked out over things. When I was pregnant I went to Dr. Patel ( he is a certain kind of dr that looks at all the body development of the baby, etc. My mind is blank as to what "kind" of doctor he was) and when they were checking my son's development they asked if I ate that morning ( I didn't because I was nervous) and told me to leave and go get something to eat because my son wasn't moving around a lot.. Talk about FREAKING OUT!!!! I thought there was something wrong with my son! I got in the car and started crying.... When I got back I asked 10 times "are you sure he's okay" and they assured me that he was fine just not a super active baby and they needed him to move around so they could look at everything. Then they freaked me out by saying not all of his 4 chambers of his heart were fully developed but that it was okay. And it WAS okay....
Doctors/nurses become robots sometimes and don't realize that us hormonal, paranoid, pregnant moms need reassurance 100 times over .... If they said everythings okay, they MEANT IT... They wouldn't tell you something that wasn't true...I understand what your going through.. I'm sure MOST moms do...
Good luck and remember if they "thought" something was wrong, they would be more concerned and tell you flat out....Congrats!

W.,
I wouldnt be too concerned. Your doc is watching you. Are you a big person, how about your husband? I am on the opposite spectrum as you. I am 33 wks pg & are measuring big & so is the baby in the ultrasound....both my uterus & the baby are measurign 36 wks. But, my husband is a big guy. I'm small. So I guess this baby got his Daddy's genes. So it is probably something similar for you. And one other thing, ultrasound is just an estimate of the size of the baby. They told me my first son would be 9 lbs 5 oz, he was 7lbs 12 oz.
If you are concerned, ask your doc a million questions. You pay them a lot for this pregnancy, they should answer your questions.
Good luck!!!
H.

Hi W., I know it sounds scary but I am sure you have nothing to worry about. They almost always underestimate the size of the baby using ultrasounds, etc. I had always heard that but didn't really believe it until I had an ultrasound at the hospital the day before I was induced at 36 weeks (he broke my water at 35 weeks but then didn't come out-long story). The day before they induced me, they told me if I was lucky he would be 5 pounds. Between the being born so early and low birthweight I was expecting, I was for sure he was going to wind up in the NICU. The next morning I had a healthy, happy and perfect 6 pound, 15 oz. baby. They were off by 2 pounds! He was not even 'small'-just average birthweight. Just keep the healthiest you can and remember at this point the b aby is almost as long as they will get but gains 1/2 pound a week on average the last 4-5 weeks :)

Hi W.,
I know it is hard not to worry over every little thing when you're pregnant, but if there was reason for concern your doctor certainly would have told you so. Ultrasounds are notoriously inaccurate measurements of size. I was told my daughter was small for her gestational age, yet she was born 2 days before her due date at 8lbs 11oz! So please, try not to worry. It's great that your doctor is monitoring you and you'll get another glimpse of your baby in a couple weeks! Just eat well and take care of yourself, and try not to worry unless your doctor tells you there is something wrong. good luck!

If the re-check is 2-3 weeks then I wouldn't worry.
If you don't feel as many movements (I think its a few an hour) then eat/drink something and lay down...if it's still the same then call your doctor.

I had GD and was told I had a 5lbs baby who was born two weeks later at almost 8lbs.

You really never know!~

If your concerns persist, call the dr...they are used to panicky pregnant ladies! ;)~~
(that is being said with lots of love!!)

At this time no there isn't a need to freak.

If you are diet control g/d then consume low carb (thats the most important thing to monitor is the carb intake) snacks more often.

I was eating literally every two-three hours with my fourth born daughter.

Trust me darlin, you don't want to give birth to a big baby. My first three children were 8 plus pounds the biggest weighed nearly 10.

My littlist baby weighed in at an easy 6 pounds 5 ounces...I litterally sneezed her out.

You don't have much longer to go (I know it doesn't seem that way.)

Hang in there and don't worry until you have reason too...

Wishing you a happy healthy rest of your pregnancy

If you have any more questions....I'll be happy to help!

BEST WISHES

Well I wouldn't freak out. I've had 2 children and I definetly prefer them to be a little small since i gave natural birth and when I had my 2nd child who was bigger than my first I definetly had to work more and push a LOT more. If your OB/Gyn does not say anything you shouldn't be worried at all.

Hi W.,
My doctor also told me that I was measuring small at one point - I think it was also around 34 weeks. Up until that point I has been measuring right on target. Everything was fine, though. My doctor reassured me that all was well - and it was. As long as your doctor feels that everything looks okay, I would find comfort in that. I wanted everything to be perfect when I was pregnant, so any little thing that was off really got me upset. I delivered a very healthy baby boy who is now 18 months old and not the least bit small! I'm sure your doctor wouldn't take any chances if they thought something wasn't right. I think I ended up having an ultrasound because I was measuring small, but the ultrasound was fine. You could always tell your doctor that you would feel better if you had an ultrasound. I'm sure though, that they would have ordered one if they thought it was needed. Good luck, try not to worry, and enjoy this special time! I hope this helped!

Ultrasounds are NOT accurate for gestational size. My son was born early and less than 24 hours before he was born, the ultrasound showed a 6.5+lb baby...he was born under 5.5lbs! I've had friends who were expecting 7.5lb babies and ended up with 8.5-9lb babies based on ultrasound. It simply isn't accurate.
If it were me, I would never allow early induction (or worse, c-section!) due to size purely based on ultrasound. Is your belly continuing to grow and expand? Your doctor should be taking belly measurements. Are you continuing to gain appropriate amounts of weight?
Get a second opinion from a neonatal specialist before allowing such invasive actions. Your baby is safest in the womb until HE is ready to come out.

HI W.! Oh...being pregnant gives you so many worries. I am now too..and I understand..totally! As far as your situation goes, don't even worry at all. I have come to learn that dr's just make good guesses...and that is about it. When I was pregnant with my daughter, they told me that her abdomen was measuring small. I freaked out..thinking her organs would not have space to develop, etc. They also told me she would be about 8 lbs at birth. Well, she came out at 6lbs, 14 oz's. Of course they lose weight after birth, so I had to run out and buy newborn clothes..since they led me to believe she wouldn't need them. As far as the abdomen..no issues. She is one healthy kid. The only thing that did happen from that whole experience was that I had to have A LOT more ultrasounds than I was comfortable with, and had stress that wasn't necessary. Take a breather..your body is working beautifully to make your perfect baby!!!
A. :)
and ps..like that other mom said, count your blessings..I would rather give birth to a smaller baby!!!

DO NOT FREAK! :>) I have measured small w/ all 4 of my babies until right at the end....enjoy this time and don't let fear take it away from you! Blessings

Small might mean length not weight. Diabetes puts on extra weight for the baby. THey also may have figured your due date wrong by a week or so. Relax it is probably nothing.

My family we are all small if your a girl ( about 5 foot)and only boys get a chance to be 6 foot.

And dont forget boys can have huge growth spurts as the grow up. I knew a boy in high school who shot up 2 feet over one summmer.

my daughter measured small from 26 to 38 weeks. only the last two weeks did she measure fine (and mostly because at 38 weeks the baby starts dropping so they don't worr as much about size) she was born 7 lbs 13 oz and was 20.75 inches long. the midwives decided after she was born that she measured small because of the way she was positioned. she had her spine aligned with my spine and her face pointing out instead of her spine aligned with my stomach and her face pointing in. don't freak out. they did increase my eating during the time period she was measuring small, but i couldn't really follow that diet because of terrible heartburn.

When I was pregnant with my first, I was always measuring small for gestational age. My little girl was born at 37 weeks at 4 lbs 9 oz, 17 1/2 inches in length. A little on the small side. The first month, I think she gained 3 lbs. To put this into a better perspective, my little girl is now 26 months and you would not even know she was born small.
Don't worry about what percentage your baby is in, her doctor uses the growth chart to see the overall trend, if she goes from the 50th percentile to the 10 percentile and stays the doctor will notify you of things to do. Don't worry to much. Relax and enjoy this down time, because once the baby is here everything is a blur.
Good luck.

You are freaking about because it's your baby...
So many thoughts going through your mind; and our world is stressful. Take your prenatal vitamins, eat healthy, drink water, moderate exercise, meditate. If happy with your partner, make love. And get plenty of rest. Put your feet up and an ice pack on your neck. And god bless.

I was told my 3rd child was measuring small around 36 weeks. 4 weeks later she caught up and was born almost 8 lbs. She wasn't even the smallest of my 3 children! Don't stress. Baby still has 6 weeks to grow!

You poor thing I know that you are very scared and being uptight this late in your pregnancy is the worst thing you can do. Get your mind off things...sleep,watch movie, clean etc. You should not let the words of your Dr replay over and over its not worth it, it can make the situation worse. If your doctor is talking about an induction I would seriously question Why????? It is normal to deliver as late as 42 weeks so please let them make an extremely strong case. I was 1 day overdo and they wanted me to schedule an induction...I said hell no!!!! I delivered 4 days later at 7lbs 9oz.

W. - In my 3rd pregnancy, I was diagnosed w/ gest. diab. In the repeated ultrasounds, they told me the baby was going to be ~8lbs 13ozs. and was measuring large (for me...both previous babies were in the mid- to low-6lb-range). The measurement was supposed to be within 1-lb. Well, they took the baby at 39-weeks to be safe and she clocked in at 7lbs 6ozs. She's very healthy today (now 2.5-years). Well outside of that 1-lb range they assured me. My advice? Eat healthy. They use the best tools they have, but the tools are flawed and inexact. Again, just eat healthy. Do your best not to stress. It does you and the baby no good. (I know, easier said than done)
Best of luck!