Confused on measurements! please help ?!?

Question

my midwife that i see every 2 weeks measures my stomach and keeps saying im measuring a week big.. 32wks was measuring 33wks for e,g....

but i went to the hospital last night as i had a concern about my waters breaking (turns out ot be ok though)..but when i was there a midwife measured me stomach and said i was measuring at 30 weeks ! now im moe than 33 weeks =S

which one shoudl i go with ???

so confused, completely different measurements

i od have a small bump compared to other people so maybe this new measurmeent is right =( =S

Answer 1

Ok, for a start fundal height ISN'T an exact science, it's simply a tool doctors and midwives use to confirm that a pregnancy is PROGRESSING normally.  

Measurements are taken at each visit to confirm the uterus and thus the baby are growing.  What your caregiver is looking for is a logical increase in measurements within a normal range - not a specific measurement ie: at 33 weeks you MUST be 33 cm.  If you think about it, it would be impossible for every single pregnant woman to measure exactly the same at every given day of the pregnancy.  Babies and mothers come in all different sizes.

In addition, it depends who does the measuring.  It's more useful if the same person does the measuring as they will do it pretty much the same way each time.  Some caregivers measure patients a little differently, especially from the public bone end.

Finally, in the third trimester, fundal height is unreliable because babies start to vary in size, and some will "engage" (drop down into the pelvis) earlier than others, which will reduce the fundal height.  

For a midwife to say you are "measuring big" because you are 33cm at 32 weeks is ridiculous.  "Measuring big" would be someone of small build presenting at 25 weeks measuring 35 cm.

I wouldn't bother "going with" either measurement.  Fundal height should never be used to date a pregnancy.  Use the date of conception (if known), date of last period, and/or ultrasound measurements to assist you in knowing how far advanced the pregnancy is.

Answer 2

This has never happened to me or anyone I know, why does it matter how big your stomach is? Weird. Everyone grows at different rates, one of my friends had a smaller bump at 9 months than I did at 6, there are so many different factors to take into consideration, I certainly wouldn't worry about it x

Answer 3

I would just go by what your doctor have told you. i too measured bigger with my oldest son and ultimately when they measured me at 37 weeks I measured 40 weeks and had my son 3 days later

Answer 4

hey gosh i hate when that kind of stuff happens well i was 39 weeks measured at 35 weeks!! but my baby was just smaller. i know ppl kept saying your too small to be full term!! but i took it as a good thing lol but maybe your baby will be a lil small mine was 6lbs and 5 oz but now is 4 months old weighs 16lbs so they grow quick good luck

Answer 5

The best kind of measurements are those done by ultrasound. If this has you concerned you could request one.  

As far as measuring your belly with a tape measure it's all subjective and the measurements are so small that each midwife could have been off by just a little and missed a week or two.  

I say it's nothing to worry about.