ack at the 20 week scan my placenta was lying low so I was booked in for a further scan to see if it had moved into a better position.
Daddy and I had put off discussions about birth plans pending this scan as the position of the placenta would dictate whether I opted for an elective c-section.
As it turned out the placenta had moved into a better position and there was no reason to think that Little One’s journey into the world would be impeded if we opted for the natural route.
In some ways we were quite looking forward to the scan as a bonus chance to see Little One as it has been a while. Whilst it was nice to see her, the scan was far less detailed than the previous scans so it wasn’t as exciting as before.
They did measurements as well. Daddy is about three times the size of me with a head and shoulders that would make anyone wince. Also, at the last scan (20 weeks) Little One had a portly little tummy. Today it was a bit of a shocker though, she was comparatively scrawny… Still within the realms of acceptable on the chart, just dropped down a bit on the centiles.
We had to wait a little while in the waiting room after the scan whilst the print out was put in our notes and I was a bit worried that there was a problem.
I’m fairly petite and I wonder whether it is just that Little One ran out of space to grow. I hope everything is OK and that my secret wish to have a manageable sized baby to give birth to has not come true in a bad way… I’m sure they would have said something if this was something to worry about.
Clinical Comment
Simon Mehigan Consultant Midwife
Quite a few women are told at their 20 week scan that they have a low lying placenta, the good news is for 9 out of 10 of them by the time they are rescanned at 34 weeks it will have moved…..just like yours!
Many expectant parents worry about the size of their babies. I always try and encourage them not too, Women tend to grow the right size baby for them. There are some things that can restrict your babies growth such as the mother smoking in pregnancy and if you develop diabetes in pregnancy it can have the opposite effect and make your baby grow too much.
Imagine a classroom full of 100 5 year olds all of whom happen to have been born on the same day. There will be a huge variety in shapes and sizes, a few very tall children and a few much shorter with the majority all fairly similar somewhere in the middle. If you had lined them up the day they were born there would have been a similar picture.
Try not to worry about whether your baby is growing ok, your midwife will be keeping an eye on it for you and if she is worried will arrange for another scan to check everything’s ok.
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