Too much fluid?

[jennifer413]

My MW wants me to have an ultra sound next week (38 1/2 weeks) because she thinks I could have too much fluid because my fundal height was at 40 on Thursday. I really don't want to have another ultrasound, but everything I've read about too much fluid sounds pretty scary. Has anyone heard of this?

[koalove]

with all of my pregnancies i have had more than average fluid. my midwife has never been concerned. measuring fundal height is a horrible way to determine if theres dangerous amounts of fluids. my fundl height fluctuates from week to week, sometimes going up, sometimes down. ive been measuring 43 weeks by one midwifes standard for 3 weeks and my friend who is a midwife, though not my primare care provider, measures anywhere beween 37 and 41 weeks, depending on the baby's position. nobody has ever mentioned any cause for alarm. ive never even heard of it being a problem. if i were you, sine you are so close to term, i would just wait it out. if you arent experiencing symptoms of the dangerous condition (im assuming theres syptoms present when it is really an issue) its not worth a proceedure you are opposed to.

[eli's mama]

at around 30 weeks my MW wanted me to have an u/s to check my fluid levels. For all the reasons I'm sure you've read about, I consented. My fluid was on the high side of normal but still normal. And I was reassured that kidneys and bladder etc. were all functioning normally. At this point I'm glad I did it and I would do it again if she asked me to now just to make sure, however, for things like cord prolapse and stuff, it's not like you can predict that stuff. My MW still says I have "ample" fluid but is fine with what the earlier u/s reported. I guess I'm not much help! But I do have lots of fluid and all is still ok.

[Angelorum]

My SIL was suspected of having twins late in pregnancy because of a high fluid level. She was measuring something like 43 cm at 36 weeks? I can't remember exactly. She went in for an ultrasound and found she was just carrying a single, with a lot of fluid. She did get her fluid level evened out, though I'm not sure what they did, I think it was just diet/supplement stuff, and gave birth to a perfectly healthy little girl at home with no complications. So, high fluid is not always disastrous or scary.

That being said, you're only measuring 2 cm ahead? I've never heard of that being much cause for concern this late in a pregnancy. My understanding was that it can change a lot depending on baby's position/depth in the pelvis etc. I would question your midwife more before consenting to an ultrasound about the accuracy of fluid estimates by ultrasound and what possible courses of action she would want to take if they did think you had a higher fluid level.

[eli's mama]

Oh, I guess I could have told you that my MW recommended regular exercise and rest during the day as well as eating things like watermelon and cucumbers to normalize the fluid levels. I like the rest part, I've been doing a lot of that.

[GoldmanBaby09]

I agree that fundal height alone doesn't seem to be enough to justify an ultrasound. I measured 40cm at my 37 week appt and my midwife wasn't concerned at all. Is it possible your baby is posterior and she was feeling more space towards the front of your belly from the baby's position and maybe attributing this to extra fluid?