I had a doctor’s appt. yesterday afternoon. I was expecting it to be pretty “routine” as it hasn’t seemed like much is going on this week (other than my typical pain.) :-)
We brought Samuel with us to finally meet my doctor, Dr. Jean-Baptiste (if you don’t remember, she is also Haitian.) So it was fun when we got there for all the staff to meet him. And he was so patient and did well in the check-up room with us too.
So all started out pretty routine – measuring my belly (36cm) and then using the hand-held Doppler to hear the heartbeat… but she said it seemed “a bit low” so she wanted to get a monitor on me just to do a second check. She also decided she wanted to measure the amniotic fluid. So I spent about 40 minutes on with the monitor on me. The heartbeat ended up looking fine and I was having some stronger contractions. Then she got out the ultrasound equipment and measured the fluids, which were also at good levels. She also shared the news that it seems he has flipped around and in the right position!!! (great news!) Maybe my crawling around on all fours and trying new sleeping positions has been working (thanks Heidi!)
However… she said “I am just looking at a small baby. I want to have you go to the other clinic and have them take measurements again – like the last time, just to see what they are seeing.”
She told us if the baby was above the 10th percentile (SGA, which means “Small for Gestational Age”), then they would let things play out and target Week 39 for delivery, but if the baby turned out to be below the 10th percentile, then she would probably want it out sooner (just to be safe if it had stopped growing, so they could address any issues sooner than later.) She just wanted to be on the safe side and get things checked out.
So they called over to the other clinic (better equipment) and got us in. We had to rush as it was already 4:50pm. The technician took all the measurements and also told us that he is pretty low in the pelvis and faced like he should be right now (YAY!) However, when I asked about his size, all she said was “he is a bit on the small side, so I am having out doctor review the results right now.” Then the doctor came in and said he was just below the 10th percentile and that he had talked with my doctor and I should expect a call from her. He said there was no “urgency” to getting him out right now, but that she would probably want to discuss next steps and timing for things.
So… she did try to call last night, but we weren’t at home yet. However her assistant setup an appt. at 9:45 on Monday to be monitored again and I am assuming we will find out what we are going to do next. My mind is going crazy over not knowing the plan… is it going to be next week, or the following?! Is this really going to be THAT soon?
Will keep you posted after Monday's appt…
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About 10 percent of fetuses are low birth weight. A health care provider may suspect fetal growth restriction if the mother's uterus measurement (fundal height) is lower than expected. This can be confirmed with a series of ultrasounds that will monitor how quickly the fetus is growing.
Measurements can be taken of the fetus' head and limbs and compared with a growth chart to estimate fetal weight. In some cases, fetal growth can be improved by treating any condition in the mother (such as high blood pressure) that may be a contributing factor.
The health care provider will closely monitor the well being of a growth restricted fetus using ultrasound and fetal heart rate monitoring. If these tests show that the baby is having problems, the baby may need to be delivered early.
The main causes for Low Birth Weight:
- The two main causes of LBW are early delivery, also known as preterm birth, and poor fetal growth. About 70% of all LBW babies are born preterm - before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy.
- The remaining 30% of low birth weight babies are born at full term, but did not grow properly in the womb.
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