So I was in the hospital the other night. I was having contractions 2 minutes apart, and thought my water broke. The contractions weren't painful...more like menstrual cramps. But they were coming more than six/hour, so I had to call. My doc said, "You need to come in."
So my wonderful neighbor came over (and while we were gone, folded laundry, washed dishes, and picked up toys, God bless her) while the boys were sleeping and we headed to L&D. I was pretty sure I was going into labor at 34 weeks/5 days.
I was relatively nervous, for several reasons, but mainly because the last bio-physical profile I had showed that she was transverse. I thought I'd felt her flip last week, but couldn't be sure. I'm also just not ready! I JUST washed all of her clothes, and I literally packed my hospital bag right before we left. She doesn't even have a place to sleep yet! Eek!
So after being hooked up to all the machines, I was definitely contracting. But they tested my fluid and thank God...it wasn't amniotic fluid. They also did a test (can't think of the name for the life of me) that shows a less than 1% chance that I'll go into pre-term labor. Which makes me a lot less nervous. I was less than 1 cm dilated and 0% effaced, so in no way was I in labor.
They did give me a BPP that night, and this baby is weighing EIGHT pounds, four ounces!!! And measuring 38-39 weeks! I know that can be off a bit, but they say from 1 lb to 1.5 lb. That means she could still be 7 lbs right now. So now it's a catch 22. I don't want to go into early labor, but I also don't want a 12 pound baby!!
They were concerned that her size is due to possible gestational diabetes, so I get to have that fun 3 hour test tomorrow (both of my one-hours have come back normal - not even close to danger zone). But there's also the chance that she's just a large baby!
So I'll have my glucose test tomorrow, and in the meantime stay hydrated and "rested" (hahahahaha. I've been ordered to lay on the couch most of the day. I think that's happened for a total of an hour today). Hopefully I won't have any birth updates within the next 2 weeks. I'm 35 weeks today! :)
Reflections of a STAY-AT-HOME Catholic, sports fanatic, pro-life activist, intermittently-avid fitness buff, political junkie, MOM...and then some. None of which I stay home for.
Hope everything goes well with your test! Glad baby girl is doing well!
ReplyDeleteWow!!! I had a false alarm at 21 weeks (horrifying) and also have been having contractions since around 34 weeks here too. I doubt I will go into pre-term labor too (at this point, seems like I've had as many false alarms as possible lol), but it can really mess with your head! So glad you have some more time. :) I am also on the other end of the spectrum size-wise, which makes me nervous, ugh. But those estimates on size can be sooo far off. I hope she is just an average size. :) And hopefully mine is too!
ReplyDeleteSorry for the block of text, but it's towards the bottom of this article and I didn't want to make you scroll a lot. :) Anyway, late-term ultrasounds to determine fetal weight are notoriously inaccurate:
ReplyDeleteTime and time again, researchers have found that it is very difficult to predict a baby’s size before it is born. Although 2 out of 3 U.S. women receive an ultrasound at the end of pregnancy (Declercq et al. 2013) to “estimate the baby’s size,” ultrasound results are very unreliable.
In 2005, researchers looked at all of the studies that had ever been done on ultrasound and estimating the baby’s weight at the end of pregnancy. They found 14 studies that looked at ultrasound and its ability to predict that a baby would weigh more than 8 lbs 13 oz. Ultrasound was only accurate 17% to 79% of the time, with most studies showing that the accuracy (“post-test probability”) was less than 50%. This means that for every 10 babies that ultrasound predicts will weigh more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces– 5 babies will weigh more than that and the other 5 will weigh less (Chauhan et al. 2005).
Ultrasound is even worse at trying to predict babies who will be born weighing 9 pounds 15 ounces or greater. In 5 studies that were done, the accuracy of ultrasounds to predict extra-large babies was only 20-30%. This means that for every 10 babies the ultrasound identified as weighing more than 9 pounds 15 ounces, only 2 to 3 babies actually weighed that much, while the other 7 to 8 babies weighed less (Chauhan et al. 2005).
The researchers found 4 studies that looked at the ability of ultrasound to predict big babies in women with diabetes. The accuracy of these ultrasounds was 61-63%, which means that for every 10 babies of diabetic women who are thought to weigh more than 8 lbs 13 oz, 6 will weigh that much and 4 will weigh less. The ultrasound test probably performs better in diabetic women simply because diabetic women are more likely to have big babies. In other words, it’s easier to predict a big baby in someone who is much more likely to have a big baby to begin with.
Care providers are equally inaccurate when it comes to estimating the size of the baby. When a care provider estimates that a baby is going to weigh more than 8 lb 13 oz, the overall accuracy is only 40-53%. This means that out of all the babies that are thought to weigh more than 8 lbs 13 oz, half will weigh more than 8 lbs 13 oz and half will weigh less. The care provider’s accuracy goes up if the woman has diabetes or is post-term, again, because the chance of having a big baby is higher among these women.
Also, I had a 9lb 0oz baby and he came right out, no problem. :) (We had no idea he was going to be that big - I was measuring right on target my entire pregnancy.)
Good luck with the testing!
ReplyDeleteAnd no more hospital trips till the birth day.
Joanna, I know they can be off, but I've had 9 or 10 ultrasounds now, and they've consistently measured her big. Even 2 different places. My 26 week u/s measured her belly at 29 weeks!! Still haven't heard back about my glucose test so praying it's normal!
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