Re: Fundal Height larger than weeks????

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Hi Darlene,

I wouldn't stress about it at all. Fundal height measurements can vary greatly due to many factors - baby's position that day, how full your bladder is, how much 'extra' there is in your abdominal wall (I have lots extra!), how flat you were laying, how much fluid there is (even within normal limits) etc. It's totally normal to vary a couple of centimeters either way, and it's also very normal for different practitioners to vary just because it's not totally "exact." The benefit of fundal height measurements is to watch the progression throughout pregnancy, ie. huge swings in either direction that they continue to see that may give a hint of something else going on. A fundal height measurement in and of itself doesn't necessarily tell you much.

I'm surprised your doctor wants an ultrasound just because of this one fundal height measurement. That seems a bit strange to me. I will say this - don't rely on ultrasound estimates of baby's size and/or weight at this point. Ultrasound measurements at this stage of pregnancy (and beyond) have HUGE variances on both the plus and minus sides. They'll probably say something like, "You're measuring31 weeks 4 days, with a +/- range of 12 days." (for example).

I am not a healthcare provider. I am a doula and am working towards certification as a childbirth educator, and I'm a mom who's been in the position of interpreting fundal height measurements (and u/s info, among other things) in my own pregnancies. This pregnancy (I'm 34+ weeks), I'm consistently measuring larger by at least 2 centimeters, if not more (no doubts on my dates). The funny thing is, though, that it totally depends on who's measuring me and all the other factors I mentioned. Sometimes they have me as 2 cm over my "weeks" (again, totally within the range of "error" anyway), sometimes they have me as much as SEVEN over! Last visit the midwife measured me at 39-40 cm (I was 33 wks). When I mentioned that the week before the other midwfie had me at 33 cm and how could I have changed that much in one week, she asked who that midwife was (big practice). When I told her, she laughed a bit and said, "Oh, he and I ALWAYS way off from each other - I'm always too generous and he's always a bit smaller!"

Finally, I know you didn't mention this in your post, but don't let this stress you out about how much weight you're gaining. I know some women get these fundal height measurements and then focus on them (sometimes with their OBs subtle suggestions, sometimes not) as saying they're "gaining too much weight" or "the baby is getting too big." Personally, as a mom of relatively "big" babies (my 31 weeker was 4lbs 1oz and my 39 weeker was 9lbs 5oz), I get really annoyed and even a little angry that some (not all) practitioners can very subtly plant a seed in a woman's head that she's making a baby that's "too big." That kind of subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) suggestion can really erode at a mom's self-confidence and her confidence in her baby's ability to grow correctly and be born just fine. I would really hate for that seed to be planted for you (and I'm not saying it is necessarily, but...) - especially at this early stage in pregnancy! I can't tell you how sick I am of hearing people (including many docs and midwives) say how HUGE I look and "boy this babe is HUGE" and "gee, how will you make it to the end" blah blah blah. I have a pretty strong self-confidence in my ability to birth a "huge" baby, but there's still that tiny voice inside of self-doubt when all you hear everyday from strangers and people you know alike is that you and that baby are HUGE! (Besides, it's just my personal pet peeve since even admittedly huge babies can still be born vaginally and without any problems at all!)

Okay, enough from me....Take care and enjoy your pregnancy! :-)

--
Noelle Haland
Mama to Ethan (stillborn 12/2/96), Max (born 10/28/97)...
...and Ellie due 4th of July 1999 (a girl!)
<noelleh@earthlink.net>

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