If your baby is very large would your fundal height measure larger?

[AmyG89]

Ok as the title says I have a question about gestational size. I have gestational diabetes that I am trying to control through diet. Since gestational diabetes "usually" makes babies larger they are keeping an eye on his size at my weekly appointments. They take my fundal height measurement and I have a growth scan next Wednesday to get exact measurements. At 32 weeks my fundal height was measuring 34 weeks and at my 34 week appointment he was still measuring exactly 34 weeks. I was concerned that there was no growth in 2 weeks time but my doctor assured me that he was most likely measuring larger at 32 weeks due to his position and this is actually a good thing that at 34 weeks he is measuring exactly 34 weeks. She mentioned that if he starts measuring larger towards the end of my pregnancy they will induce me so I have a chance of giving birth naturally rather then needing a c-section.

So my question is if he is larger would my fundal height definitely be larger?
Is this an accurate way of determining fetal size?

I am just nervous if my fundal height continues to measure on time they will wait for me to go into labor on my own and I'll end up with a 10lb baby and emergency c-section....

[nic374]

I think considering ur sugars are high I think your baby is still ahead of his gestional age for size, thats how my u/s where too even in the beginning. Its ture sometimes they shift and there is alot more to them than what they measure, 27lbs isnt terrible but ur pixs u look like ur carrying bigger for your weeks. I would just be careful especially that last month 36-37 weeks foward thats when all three of my girls really gained alot of weight in my stomach. Just because he is measuring the 34 weeks and u are 34 weeks doesnt mean he isnt the size of a 36 week baby. The sugars i believe have everything to do with the baby's weight towards the end. I personally didnt eat bad sugars but i loved bannas i would eat like 5-6 of those a day at the end and cherries too, another lady i know her baby was big also and she ate alot of fruit at the end. I think because of the high sugars in the fruit it aided in the baby being really big at birth.

[AmyG89]

I've gained 27 lbs at 34 weeks. My Dr. and I disagree about my due date. She is sticking to 11-1-11 since my LMP was 1-25-11 but I KNOW for a FACT that I ovulated at day 12 since I was tracking it and DH & I only had sex once during that time. The hospital where I get ultrasounds done have my due date at 10-27-11 and that's what I'm going by. Every ultrasound since my first ultrasound at 7 weeks my baby has always measured between 4-8 days ahead. Fundal height was always measuring on track until 32 weeks when he measured 34 weeks and now at 34 weeks he's still measuring at 34 weeks?

[nic374]

No I didnt get any kind of growth scan, my doctors where horrible I just went in for my 40 week appt on 8/26 and they told me that my cervix wasnt thinning or dialting but they felt the baby was really big so they had me go to l&d that nite to start cervidille the following afternoon i had delivered her on 8/27 her edd was on 8/28.  But its good they are watching his growth thou,  The fundal height isnt always good but I will say I think it depends how u carry the baby on how accurate the numbers are, also prepregnancy size I think helps because i was really thin before i got pregnant , and turned out 9 months later with a extra 85 lbs on my body weight so if u didnt have alot of belly fat prior to pregnancy I think that will give the fundal height more accurate numbers, more baby less fat to measure :). I would just be extra careful the last month of pregnancy watch your sugars really, really close and that will help the baby not be so big so if u wanted a vaginally birth you could have one instead of c-section, I didnt start to really get super pregnant until the 3rd trimester, and the last 3 days before they admitted me to start labor, my mom said my stomach all of a sudden got really big. Have u gained much during pregnacy? Are u normally measuring 2 weeks ahead or a week ahead on the funal height?

[waitn838]

i can share my latest fundal height with you even though i am carrying twins

i was exactly 24 weeks and my fundal height was measuring 35 weeks....fundal is not a good measurement....as my doc explained to me it is to check to make sure there is growth but i get frequent u/s so i know my babies are growing but most women dont get that many so that is how obs make sure babies are growing

[AmyG89]

Wow that's scary! I would like to avoid all of that! Did you have a growth scan towards the end to check size? I have one next week but I'll only be 34.5 weeks so he still has some growing to do.

[nic374]

I agree with nicole getting a membrane strip at 37 weeks is a good idea, my baby was 9lbs 7ozs and i always measured 2 weeks ahead at my 40 week appt i was 42 cm, I had a very hard birth I was able to get her past my cervix but she got caught on my pubic bone so they had to break my daughters collar bone so i could delivery her, a emergecy c-section is really bad with a shoulder dysocia which i had because it could have been death to my daughter because they would have had to push her back inside my womb not to mention her heartbeat was already in the 90's because she was stuck in the birth canal,Im so luckly that she didnt suffer  nerve or anykind of brian damage and she has fully control of her arm now. sometimes it dosent go that way with just a collar bone break and the child has limbness in there arm until it is corrected by phyiscal therapy or surgery because of the traction the doctor is doing to delivery the baby, and i didnt have the gd, but did almost fail the 3 hour test my sugars where boderline

[AmyG89]

Good idea Nicole! I will ask her at my next appt. and see what she says. Thanks!

[NicMom]

Why don't you just ask them to strip your membranes starting around 37 weeks. If they do that a few times it might put you into labor on your own.

[AmyG89]

Thanks ladies! It's frustrating they even do these stupid measurements if they are so inaccurate. My Dr. just has me concerned that I would need an emergency c-section or something if I cant push him out on my own due to his size. I was hoping that if my fundal height wasn't that far off from my gestational age then it would mean my baby wasn't overly large. I appreciate all your help. I wish they would induce me a week early to avoid this stress however she told me that induction comes with a higher c-section rate as your body is being forced to labor when it isn't ready.  

[mamaof4410]

I agree. At 26 weeks my fundal height was measuring 32 weeks. My son was 8lbs 15 oz and they had him weighing 10lbs. based on what they "felt" in my tummy. So it's just an estimation and the only way you will know for sure is when your baby is born and how big your babies were in previous pregnancies. My first was 7lbs 3oz, 2 was 8lbs 8oz, 3rd was 7lbs 12 oz. 4th was 8lbs 15 oz. Good luck to you!

[Heatherm4]

I agree too! It's not accurate at all! The baby can change positions, which can change it. If it's a different doc or midwife everytime that's measuring, that can change it. Your baby can tuck themselves in there pretty good.
When I was pregnant I was measuring small for a good while and I ended up having a 9lb 3oz baby!

[Clysta]

I agree, it's definitely not 100%. When I was 33 weeks I was measuring at 27 weeks. Delivered her at 39 weeks weighing 6 pounds 12 ounces and 20 inches long. If they measure just slightly off it will be off, if it's a different doctor who does it it'll be off. If baby is lying weird it will be off, fluid levels can make it off, as can a contraction. I wouldn't be concerned at all. :)

[NicMom]

Fundal height is not 100% accurate. Did they tell you that it can also change according to what position the baby is in or how settled they are in the pelvis? Mine goes up and down by 2 weeks from appointment to appointment and we don't worry at all. Ultrasound is a much better way to get an idea of how big the baby is and even that isn't 100%. I've heard of women being told they are having 10 pound babies only to have a 7 or 8 pound newborn.

[Ashelen]

There is actually no accurate way to predict how big a baby will be..fundal height is one of the LEAST accurate ways to tell, and ultrasound is only a slightly better guess...when I was pregnant with my son they kept saying that he was going to be "well over 10 lbs"...turns out I just had a lot of fluid.

I was offered a c-section, turned it out, and he was only 7lbs 10oz and out in a few pushes..so I'm very glad I turned it down!

I mean with GD you have a greater chance of him being larger, but I would just see what happens because fundal height measurements can be ALL over the place..and having a small fundal height just means you have a small torso so you could still have a big baby YES but if I remember correctly you're taller, right? So most likely you would have a big fundal height with a big baby....but again it's all a guess anyway so I wouldn't rely too much on it either way.

You have me on FB (or here, but these MH galleries can be confusing to flip through) so if you want, msg me and I'll link you to my album from my pregnancy with Grey and you can see how massively huge my belly was near the end (my fundal height was off the charts) and he turned out normal...with Kahlan my fundal height was always behind (I think I was 34wks on my fundal height when I delivered with her at 40wks) but she turned out 7lbs 6 oz and 19.5 inches so not small at all, lol.  

sorry for the rambling I've had a massive migraine and the meds are kicking in a bit so I'm a little disjointed right now.

[mamaofonetrying42]

I dont think so. but yet im not a Dr. I think the only way they can tell is by U/s( and even that isnt 100%). I mean every women carrys a baby differently...I always meansureed right on, yet logan was only a 5lbs baby?? I mean look at the ppl who doesnt saw at all, yet they have a 6lbs baby...But Im sure they will keep an eye on you...And totally think they will do another u/s before baby gets here!!

[PetiteWonder]

fundal height is not accurate for alot of reasons...  When I was 31 weeks, I was measuring 26 weeks.. My ultrasound showed I was measuring exactly 31 weeks...

I am now 35 weeks measuring 30 weeks.. thats 5 weeks small..  Doctor is not concerned because the baby has dropped and is really low.. and my previous growth scan showed normal develop....

Your scan will give you a better idea but for now try to recognize that fundal height can be off for a number of reason... If your baby has recently dropped a bit then it could have caused the no change in fundal height...

its really hard to tell but there is a number of factors that can impact fundal height... everyone is differnet and like ultrasound measurements fundal height are based on the average of what is expected.. Not all of us are average...