Weird Fetal Size and Changed Due Date!!! Please Help!!!

[mitchellbaby913]

Ok so I am currently pregnant with my second child. My first died of Trisomy 13. She was tiny, only 3lbs 8oz. The first day of my last period was Dec 7th$ I have never had an irregular period. NEVER!! ((Except the last time I was pregnant)). When I went to my first OB appointment I would have been 10wks that day. But my Dr said that I was only 7wks 5dys. Becasue my baby was too small for me to be 10 wks. When I was pregnanct the last time the specialist that discovered the disease said that the chances of that happening again were 1%. ((He done blood work to chck my genetics)). So what I'm wondering is could my baby being small have something to do with that or could it be because I smoke or maybe twins because I have twins on both sides of my family?! I'm just curious. I go to see the same specialist again on the 18 of March ((just to he safe)). But I'm very worried and need some advice until then. Can someone please help??!!

I got a positive prego test on Jan 13, 2010. See, the specialist done genetic testing after my first died to see if the extra chromasone was genetic and he said that it wasn't. And that I woud be able to have healthy babies in the future. And that the chances of it happening again were 1%. So I'm trying to trust that. It's just really hard and it's making me really depressed. I see the specialist again on the 18th of March. I'm very ready to do that and to get it over with.

[MaerynPearl]

Twins would not cause a 3 week difference in baby size.

May I ask when you got your positive pregnancy test?

[MammaB21]

I would say it is waaaayyyy more likely that your dates are off. How long are your cycles normally? The calculations go by a 28 day cycle with ovulation on day 14. Most women have some variation of that. So if you have longer cycles and ovulate later than that, it would be accurate that you wouldn't be as far along as your LMP shows.

If your not charting it's hard to say exactly when you ovulated. Even if you have a 28 day cycle it doesn't mean you've been ovulating on day 14 all along. You could have a shorted luteal phase. Also, it's possible to ovulated twice in a cycle. That can happen randomly, so unless your charting you wouldn't notice it. Also keep in mind that ultrasounds are not %100 accurate. In fact, quite a bit less than that. Later in pregnancy they can be up a week or two off!!! They are said to be more accurate in early pregnancy, but I'm not sure how much I believe that. I'm measuring a week behind and I know my dates for sure. I'm chalking it up to a small baby because DD was small as well. That's another thing. Babies measurements are just an average. Not all babies develop the exact same. So I would say to relax and breath and trust that everything is probably fine. As your pregnancy progresses you'll get a better idea of how baby is growing and how far along your really are.

[rparker]

Smoking during pregnancy can impact fetal size. This is taken from the March of Dimes website:

Smoking nearly doubles a woman's risk of having a low-birthweight baby. In 2004, 11.9 percent of babies born to smokers in the United States were of low birthweight (less than 5½ pounds), compared to 7.2 percent of babies of nonsmokers (1). Low birthweight can result from poor growth before birth, preterm delivery or a combination of both. Smoking has long been known to slow fetal growth. Smoking also increases the risk of preterm delivery (before 37 weeks of gestation) (5). Premature and low-birthweight babies face an increased risk of serious health problems during the newborn period, chronic lifelong disabilities (such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation and learning problems), and even death.

The more a pregnant woman smokes, the greater her risk of having a low-birthweight baby. However, if a woman stops smoking even by the end of her second trimester of pregnancy, she is no more likely to have a low-birthweight baby than a woman who never smoked (6).

http://www.marchofdimes.com/professi...14332_1171.asp

Smoking during pregnancy also increases your risk of other complications such as placenta previa and PROM.

Resources to quit smoking:

http://www.BecomeAnEX.org/
http://www.smokefree.gov/

[beachlover]

First of all I'm very sorry for the loss of your baby.

Now, while smoking can cause low birth weight, it is highly unlikely to effect the size of the fetus so early on.

Did the doctor have a good view and able to get a clear measurement of the baby. There was a lady a bit earlier on than you, who's doctor had the baby measuring a week behind, but the doctor mentioned it was in a bad spot to measure and by the next week, the baby was measuring perfectly.


Really the most likely scenario is that you ovulated later than you thought, but if you are sure of when you ovulated and have a regular 28-30 day cycle and got a ++++ pregnancy test at that time your period was due, than there is the possibility that the fetus is not growing properly.

I've personally had two later first trimester m/cs (also lost two in the second trimester but those were different) where the baby was a couple of weeks behind in growth but had a heartbeat, however eventually stopped growing all together. That's difficult, but does happen.

Sadly the only thing to do really is wait and see. If you are concerned maybe you could ask your OB to have you come back in, in a week to 10 days and recheck the growth and see if baby is continuing to grow at a good rate.

I pray that all will turn out well for your little one. Hang in there, it's so stressful after a loss, especially one like you went through.