[MichelleH22]

My 31 week estimate was also 4lbs. Is it normal? And is it accuracy?

hoping to get your advice/ experience.

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[ChaoticMum]

I was told by my midwife a pound either way...so 4lb could be 3 or even 5....as for at 31wks I'm really not sure what the average would be....

 

[Chloe'sMama]

they were off by 2 lbs for my dd. I don't think you can count on the US.

It all worked out though. The though of a 8 lb baby was much less scary than the 10 lb, 5 oz baby I had... but my body did its job and she made it here just fine!!!

 

[Bellabaz]

I don't put alot of stock in the weight estimate. When I was preggo with dd1, they told me she was probably going to be over 9 lbs and I would probably need a c-section and yada yada. DD was 7lbs 14oz and born vaginally. I believe they tell you though that they have a 50% chance or being right with their estimates.

 

[Barefoot~Baker]

When I was 41 weeks with my 2nd baby, the u/s said 8 pounds, and when she was born a week later, she was 8 lbs 6 ozs, so for me it was pretty accurate.

 

[Sarahstw]

4 lbs is pretty darn average at 31 weeks. Accurate? Well, hopefully you'll never know (because the baby won't come out for a few more weeks).
My experience with the accuracy of ultrasound weight guesstimates? I've seen them be off by *2* pounds (in either direction, at term) often enough to be pretty darn skeptical... I mean, they *may* be more accurate than picking a number from 6 - 9 from a hat but I've yet to come across any studies.

 

[Full Heart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrs. Turner When I was 41 weeks with my 2nd baby, the u/s said 8 pounds, and when she was born a week later, she was 8 lbs 6 ozs, so for me it was pretty accurate.

Ditto. But it was a boy not a girl and they said 8.5 and he was 9 lbs a week later - at 42 weeks.

But I had a friend who was told she needed to be induced so the baby didn't get too big. Baby was born only 5 lbs. So they were WAY off.

 

[kriket]

agreed, they don't know whats going on. They told my cousin 6.5 lbs and hers was just over 8. Saying a pound or two isn't a big difference is ludicrous. 2 lbs on a 6lb guess is 1/3 off!

 

[Julia'sMom]

I was told I was having a "BIG" baby and all the nurses were very skeptical about my ability to push her out. Needless to say, I do partly blame the lack of support for my section. DD was only 7lb 12 oz. Not big at all.

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[LiLStar]

I think of weight estimates kinda the same way I think of this: http://pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnanc...perience-1.php

Its kinda fun to have a "prediction" but its for entertainment purposes only

 

[mammaof5andcountin]

My last son they did a us to see if he was still breach about 4 days before he was born. It said he weighed almost 10 pounds. He weighed 6.4..... so I would say that us are not very accurate. I try to avoid them at all costs, and when I must have one, I just "smile and wave boys, smile and wave" as a very hot penguin would say

 

[MamieCole]

My "8.5 lbs" DD was born at 40 weeks weighing 6lbs 15oz.
My "7.5 lbs at 34 weeks" DS was born at 37 1/2 weeks weighing 7lbs 6 oz.

My friend just gave birth to her "8lb" baby boy who actually weighed 10 lbs 3oz.

Based on my own experience plus all the other stories I have heard, they should call weight predictions late in pregnancy "Guesstimates," as they are completely unreliable. I think when they actually guess correctly it is a combination of luck and a REALLY, REALLY great ultrasound tech.

 

[mama to 2 girls]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichelleH22 My 31 week estimate was also 4lbs. Is it normal? And is it accuracy? hoping to get your advice/ experience. :

Yes that is a perfectly average normal weight for a 31 week baby.....I think the u/s's that are right about weight are just pure chance....I had an u/s at 28-29 weeks to check on my low lying placenta and they said ds was measuring right on for "average" for everything...weight, length, head circumference .....the "average" weight for a full term newborn is supposedly 7 1/2lbs......He weighed a little over 10lbs. was 23" long and had a 15" head at birth. So unless he all of a sudden just took off with growth.. for me it was WAY off.

 

[trauerweidchen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiLStar I think of weight estimates kinda the same way I think of this: http://pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnanc...perience-1.php Its kinda fun to have a "prediction" but its for entertainment purposes only

Somewhat off topic, but I hope Madame Zaritska is incorrect for me; she just predicted an 11 lb., 3 oz. behemoth!

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In any event, I don't have personal experience with ultrasound estimation of fetal weight, but I've heard many stories of the measurements being less accurate late in pregnancy than an experienced and intuitive midwife or CP who can "feel" how big the baby is, so I would definitely take an ultrasound weight measurement with a grain of salt.

 

[firewoman]

I had an ultrasound during the 38th week of my second pregnancy because I was measuring ahead. The u/s said he was around 8 pounds. Both the tech and the doctor told me the baby's weight could be as much as plus or minus two pounds different. Three days later he was born at 10 pounds 2 oz vaginally. I think weight/size measurments are most accurate during the first trimester. The bigger the baby gets, the less accurate it seems. Four pounds sounds like a normal weight at your stage of pregnancy, though.

 

[MamieCole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiLStar I think of weight estimates kinda the same way I think of this: http://pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnanc...perience-1.php Its kinda fun to have a "prediction" but its for entertainment purposes only

Holy cow...Madame Zaritska predicted a 12lb 2oz baby for me! Somehow I don't see my 5'1" 105lb self growing a baby that large, but I guess we will see.

 

[boscopup]

4 lbs is very average for 31 weeks.

Weight estimation is probably more accurate at that point than later in pregnancy. For example, an u/s at 40 weeks is unlikely to be accurate at all. I think a lot of the earlier ones are more accurate, but there are still exceptions, of course.

My own experience... Water broke at 29w, got an u/s at 29w1d saying he was 3 lbs 10 oz. He was born 29w4d weighing 3 lbs 13 oz, which is pretty much right on for 1oz/day growth. Oh, and they said he was measuring 31 weeks gestation because of that size.

(he was 29 weeks, because I charted and knew when I ovulated) So your 4 lbs is normal for 31 weeks.

But as a PP said, hopefully you won't find out if the u/s was accurate for your baby. Right now, it says your baby is on the average growth curve. That doesn't mean baby won't grow faster or slower between now and birth.

 

[Full Heart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MamieCole Holy cow...Madame Zaritska predicted a 12lb 2oz baby for me! Somehow I don't see my 5'1" 105lb self growing a baby that large, but I guess we will see.

It said mine would be 4 lbs 4 oz. I sure hope not! I think right now its double that size lol.

 

[Heavenly]

I know a lot of people that assume the weight estimate is always low, so if an ultrasound tells them baby is heavy they don't believe it. For me it was the opposite. With my third the ultrasound estimated her at 7 lbs. 2 oz. at 35 week 3 days. She was born 4 days later at 36 weeks weighing 8 lbs. 4 oz.! So she was over a pound heavier than they thought!

 

[purplemoon]

Usually they are VERY inaccurate. Some midwives are pretty good at palpatating weight, though U/S is usually flawed. I never saw the point in it anyway. Other than to suggest a big baby and needing a c/s for an ultimately 6 pound baby.