Measuring ahead in pregnancy

What does it mean if your baby is measuring big for your dates?

There is a lot of diagnostic testing that is completed while you're pregnant. Likely, you're already an expert on everything from nuchal screening to the four chamber heart exam. However, there are some tests that are a little more ambiguous, and may lend themselves to various answers running around your brain. A good example for these is the fundal height and ultrasound size testing. You may measure perfectly for your due date, or larger or smaller, depending.

Measuring ahead in pregnancy

When you're pregnant, your provider may routinely take a fundal height measurement — the distance from your pubic bone to the top of your uterus. This screening is one way to track your baby's growth. Fundal height is the distance from your pubic bone symphysis pubic to the top of your uterus fundus. Taking a fundal height measurement is an easy, inexpensive method of checking to see that your baby is growing well. If you're pregnancy is considered high-risk, your provider is likely to forgo fundal height measurements and use ultrasounds to track your baby instead. If you are getting your fundal height measured, remember that the measurement isn't used to estimate your due date — your last menstrual period and your first ultrasound exam will be used for that. But it can provide information about your baby's size as well as how much amniotic fluid is in your uterus. Too much or too little amniotic fluid is uncommon, but it can put you at risk for complications. The fundal height measurement isn't diagnostic you wouldn't receive treatment based on a measurement that's off , but it's one way to screen for a problem with your pregnancy. Your fundal height measurement changes as your pregnancy progresses. Here's a range of typical fundal height measurements during pregnancy:. About an hour after delivery, your uterus will go down to where it was at 20 weeks around your belly button. After that, it will slowly return to its normal size by about 6 weeks. Beginning around week 24, fundal height measurements are routinely taken at each prenatal visit for women who are having a low-risk pregnancy.

Will I struggle to give birth, or even need a C-section? Healthy Lifestyle Pregnancy week by week.

A fundal height measurement helps estimate the size of a fetus during pregnancy. In general, the measurement is defined as the distance in centimeters from the pubic bone to the top of the uterus. After week 24 of pregnancy, the fundal height generally is expected to match the number of weeks of pregnancy — plus or minus 3 centimeters. For example, if you're 27 weeks pregnant, your healthcare professional would expect your fundal height to be about 27 centimeters. Some factors can make a fundal height measurement less accurate.

Some babies are smaller, and some are like yours — showing off a bit by growing faster. Just as kids grow at different paces outside the womb my second child was taller than my first by the age of 4 , babies grow at their own pace inside the womb too. Your baby could just be having a little growth spurt. This condition can cause your baby to grow larger than average. The estimated due date is based on the date of your last period and could be off by a week or two. This could, in turn, make your baby a bit chubbier. Trust me on this one. As a mother of five, I can confirm this is true! Your healthcare provider uses a device called a transducer, a wand-like device that sends out high-frequency sound waves.

Measuring ahead in pregnancy

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Professor Basky Thilganathan , a Consultant Obstetrician and spokesperson for the RCOG , seems to agree, and stresses to us: "Most women who have a small baby or a large baby are having a healthy small baby or large baby. Media Requests. The number where the tape reaches the top of your uterus is your fundal height. Where to go next. But fundal height measurements can offer reassuring signs of steady growth. In: Essential Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Your gift holds great power — donate today! BMJ Oh my gosh, is my baby going to be massive? Or you may have a uterine fibroid or extra amniotic fluid neither of which is necessarily a big deal. Follow Mayo Clinic.

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For example, if you're 27 weeks pregnant, your healthcare professional would expect your fundal height to be about 27 centimeters. Answer From Mary Marnach, M. Professor Basky Thilganathan , a Consultant Obstetrician and spokesperson for the RCOG , seems to agree, and stresses to us: "Most women who have a small baby or a large baby are having a healthy small baby or large baby. Clinical Trials. Products and services. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies. Your big belly could also be caused by a bout of excess gas. Healthy Lifestyle Pregnancy week by week. Measuring large for gestational age means your fundal height is more than 3 centimeters larger than expected for your stage of pregnancy, based on your due date. But guessing how big they are is just that — a big guess.