Fetal growth chart

[ted]

Does anyone have a url for fetal growth chart? What I'm looking for is
the bell curve or some other kind of chart that gives you percentile
growth of the fetus by the gestation week. I want to know what the
doctors are refering to when they say the baby is in the nth
percentile for weight, height etc.

Thanks.

[Dally]

ted wrote:

> Does anyone have a url for fetal growth chart? What I'm looking for is
> the bell curve or some other kind of chart that gives you percentile
> growth of the fetus by the gestation week. I want to know what the
> doctors are refering to when they say the baby is in the nth
> percentile for weight, height etc.

This is a really scary question. MUST you be so quantified? Can't you
be more fuzzy, as in, "the baby seems small, let's check for problems"
or "the baby seems large, let's check for problems"?

This is a slippery slope you're going down, on a quest for normal. I'd
stop right now if I were you.

Dally, mother to three unique people

[jacquel]

"ted" > wrote in message
om...
> Does anyone have a url for fetal growth chart? What I'm looking for is
> the bell curve or some other kind of chart that gives you percentile
> growth of the fetus by the gestation week. I want to know what the
> doctors are refering to when they say the baby is in the nth
> percentile for weight, height etc.
>
> Thanks.

Gosh - shouldn't the doctors supply you with that? I mean if they are going
to use the statistics, wouldn't they have the source for back up? I would
much prefer to get my data from doctors [who presumably have access to the
data] than from an unverified website.

jacquel
- BSc [Statistics] ;-)

[toypup]

"ted" > wrote in message
om...
> Does anyone have a url for fetal growth chart? What I'm looking for is
> the bell curve or some other kind of chart that gives you percentile
> growth of the fetus by the gestation week. I want to know what the
> doctors are refering to when they say the baby is in the nth
> percentile for weight, height etc.

Do the docs tell you that? My docs never told me anything about what
percentile my babies were in until they were born.

[Phoebe & Allyson]

ted wrote:

> Does anyone have a url for fetal growth chart? What I'm looking for is
> the bell curve or some other kind of chart that gives you percentile
> growth of the fetus by the gestation week.

For weight, there's one here: http://www.ivfer.com/pg_calc.htm (scroll
down). FWIW, I've never seen a non-weight pre-birth measurement that
was in percentiles; I've always seen the measurements expressed as weeks
(meaning you'd be 50th percentile for that week). Plus or minus one
week isn't unusual in the first trimester, plus or minus 2 weeks in the
second, plus or minus 3 weeks in the third.

Do bear in mind that being high (or low) on the charts doesn't
necessarily mean *anything* about the baby's well-being, and that
ultrasound measurements can be quite inaccurate, depending on the
quality of the machine, the abilities of the sonographer, and whether
the sonographer's goal is to get the 100% most accurate measurement or a
good enough measurement.

Phoebe :)

[Tori M.]

I almost always new what percentile my daughter was in before she was born
because she was dropping in percentiles before she was born. If she had
dropped bellow the 9th % I would have been induced.

Tori

--
Bonnie 3/20/02
Anna or Xavier due 10/17/04
"toypup" > wrote in message
news:9xlzc.22943$Hg2.18203@attbi_s04...
>
> "ted" > wrote in message
> om...
> > Does anyone have a url for fetal growth chart? What I'm looking for is
> > the bell curve or some other kind of chart that gives you percentile
> > growth of the fetus by the gestation week. I want to know what the
> > doctors are refering to when they say the baby is in the nth
> > percentile for weight, height etc.
>
> Do the docs tell you that? My docs never told me anything about what
> percentile my babies were in until they were born.
>
>

[0tterbot]

"toypup" > wrote in message
news:9xlzc.22943$Hg2.18203@attbi_s04...
>
> "ted" > wrote in message
> om...
> > Does anyone have a url for fetal growth chart? What I'm looking for is
> > the bell curve or some other kind of chart that gives you percentile
> > growth of the fetus by the gestation week. I want to know what the
> > doctors are refering to when they say the baby is in the nth
> > percentile for weight, height etc.
>
> Do the docs tell you that? My docs never told me anything about what
> percentile my babies were in until they were born.

that's because there's no way to tell reliably until they are born. i can't
imagine a responsible person even bringing that up(!)
kylie

[Tori M.]

"0tterbot" > wrote in message
...
> "toypup" > wrote in message
> news:9xlzc.22943$Hg2.18203@attbi_s04...
> >
> > "ted" > wrote in message
> > om...
> > > Does anyone have a url for fetal growth chart? What I'm looking for is
> > > the bell curve or some other kind of chart that gives you percentile
> > > growth of the fetus by the gestation week. I want to know what the
> > > doctors are refering to when they say the baby is in the nth
> > > percentile for weight, height etc.
> >
> > Do the docs tell you that? My docs never told me anything about what
> > percentile my babies were in until they were born.
>
> that's because there's no way to tell reliably until they are born. i
can't
> imagine a responsible person even bringing that up(!)
> kylie
>

I wish you were my Dr! I followed Bonnies growth curve while I was pregnant
with her that I still have a hard time not wanting to put weight on her!
Now I just know that she will be about 10% of the growth curve and try not
to worry about it... yeah right. I had 8 ultra sounds with Bonnie and I
have had 3 already with #2.

Tori

--
Bonnie 3/20/02
Anna or Xavier due 10/17/04

[0tterbot]

"Tori M." > wrote in message
...
> "0tterbot" > wrote in message
> ...
> > "toypup" > wrote in message
> > news:9xlzc.22943$Hg2.18203@attbi_s04...
> > >
> > > "ted" > wrote in message
> > > om...
> > > > Does anyone have a url for fetal growth chart? What I'm looking for
is
> > > > the bell curve or some other kind of chart that gives you percentile
> > > > growth of the fetus by the gestation week. I want to know what the
> > > > doctors are refering to when they say the baby is in the nth
> > > > percentile for weight, height etc.
> > >
> > > Do the docs tell you that? My docs never told me anything about what
> > > percentile my babies were in until they were born.
> >
> > that's because there's no way to tell reliably until they are born. i
> can't
> > imagine a responsible person even bringing that up(!)
> > kylie
> >
>
> I wish you were my Dr!

well, any time you want a completely unqualified doctor, let me know ;-)

I followed Bonnies growth curve while I was pregnant
> with her that I still have a hard time not wanting to put weight on her!
> Now I just know that she will be about 10% of the growth curve and try not
> to worry about it... yeah right. I had 8 ultra sounds with Bonnie and I
> have had 3 already with #2.

is this being suggested to you for any reason? if there's no compelling
reason, don't have them - there's nothing they can tell you beyond what you
probably already know.

afaik, up to a certain point in pregnancy (iirc the 3rd month or so) foetal
size (but not development - they will develop at their own pace whether we
want them to or not) is a good indicator of the gestation week. after the
foetus reaches a certain age, the size estimated by ultrasound is
meaningless. estimating the size of a near full-term foetus by ultrasound is
particularly unreliable & there's simply no point.
kylie

[Bruce Bridgman and Jeanne Yang]

"Tori M." > wrote in message
...
> "0tterbot" > wrote in message
> ...
> > "toypup" > wrote in message
> > news:9xlzc.22943$Hg2.18203@attbi_s04...
> > >
> > > "ted" > wrote in message
> > > om...
> > > > Does anyone have a url for fetal growth chart? What I'm looking for
is
> > > > the bell curve or some other kind of chart that gives you percentile
> > > > growth of the fetus by the gestation week. I want to know what the
> > > > doctors are refering to when they say the baby is in the nth
> > > > percentile for weight, height etc.
> > >
> > > Do the docs tell you that? My docs never told me anything about what
> > > percentile my babies were in until they were born.
> >
> > that's because there's no way to tell reliably until they are born. i
> can't
> > imagine a responsible person even bringing that up(!)
> > kylie
> >
>
> I wish you were my Dr! I followed Bonnies growth curve while I was
pregnant
> with her that I still have a hard time not wanting to put weight on her!
> Now I just know that she will be about 10% of the growth curve and try not
> to worry about it... yeah right. I had 8 ultra sounds with Bonnie and I
> have had 3 already with #2.
>
> Tori

Is there a medical reason for all the ultrasounds? I thought the prevailing
wisdom was to limit the ultrasounds.

What's wrong with being at 10 percentile? :) I'm asking because I was
always at the very low end of the weight chart but above average for height
growing up and it made me nervous that my mother and doctor were nervous.

I also thought it was very difficult to predict birth weights. If it is,
then how can doctors get a reliable measure of fetal weight over the
pregnancy?

Jeanne

[Tori M.]

"0tterbot" > wrote in message
...
> "Tori M." > wrote in message
> ...
> > "0tterbot" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > "toypup" > wrote in message
> > > news:9xlzc.22943$Hg2.18203@attbi_s04...
> > > >
> > > > "ted" > wrote in message
> > > > om...
> > > > > Does anyone have a url for fetal growth chart? What I'm looking
for
> is
> > > > > the bell curve or some other kind of chart that gives you
percentile
> > > > > growth of the fetus by the gestation week. I want to know what the
> > > > > doctors are refering to when they say the baby is in the nth
> > > > > percentile for weight, height etc.
> > > >
> > > > Do the docs tell you that? My docs never told me anything about
what
> > > > percentile my babies were in until they were born.
> > >
> > > that's because there's no way to tell reliably until they are born. i
> > can't
> > > imagine a responsible person even bringing that up(!)
> > > kylie
> > >
> >
> > I wish you were my Dr!
>
> well, any time you want a completely unqualified doctor, let me know ;-)
>
> I followed Bonnies growth curve while I was pregnant
> > with her that I still have a hard time not wanting to put weight on her!
> > Now I just know that she will be about 10% of the growth curve and try
not
> > to worry about it... yeah right. I had 8 ultra sounds with Bonnie and I
> > have had 3 already with #2.
>
> is this being suggested to you for any reason? if there's no compelling
> reason, don't have them - there's nothing they can tell you beyond what
you
> probably already know.
>
> afaik, up to a certain point in pregnancy (iirc the 3rd month or so)
foetal
> size (but not development - they will develop at their own pace whether we
> want them to or not) is a good indicator of the gestation week. after the
> foetus reaches a certain age, the size estimated by ultrasound is
> meaningless. estimating the size of a near full-term foetus by ultrasound
is
> particularly unreliable & there's simply no point.
> kylie
>

I had so many with bonnie due to my large size and it was a more acurate way
to keep track then a measuring tape would be. The estimate ended up being
almost right on for her weight at birth. They suspected IUGR with her since
she kept dropping in percentiles.

Tori
--
Bonnie 3/20/02
Anna or Xavier due 10/17/04

[0tterbot]

"Bruce Bridgman and Jeanne Yang"
> Is there a medical reason for all the ultrasounds? I thought the
prevailing
> wisdom was to limit the ultrasounds.

me too.

> What's wrong with being at 10 percentile? :) I'm asking because I was
> always at the very low end of the weight chart but above average for
height
> growing up and it made me nervous that my mother and doctor were nervous.

i've often wondered that myself. 10th percentile is certainly normal. under
the normal range is abnormally small. arent' people strange?

i could only imagine worrying about 10th percentile if both parents were
tall or of a big build & one would expect their baby to be of the same
build - it might be a worry in that case.
kylie

>
> I also thought it was very difficult to predict birth weights. If it is,
> then how can doctors get a reliable measure of fetal weight over the
> pregnancy?
>
> Jeanne
>
>

[Tori M.]

"0tterbot" > wrote in message
...
> "Bruce Bridgman and Jeanne Yang"
> > Is there a medical reason for all the ultrasounds? I thought the
> prevailing
> > wisdom was to limit the ultrasounds.
>
> me too.
>
> > What's wrong with being at 10 percentile? :) I'm asking because I was
> > always at the very low end of the weight chart but above average for
> height
> > growing up and it made me nervous that my mother and doctor were
nervous.
>
> i've often wondered that myself. 10th percentile is certainly normal.
under
> the normal range is abnormally small. arent' people strange?
>
> i could only imagine worrying about 10th percentile if both parents were
> tall or of a big build & one would expect their baby to be of the same
> build - it might be a worry in that case.
> kylie


The only reason the 10th percentile was bad was because at 4 months
gestation she was at 25% then the the next she was at 20% then the next she
was at 15% If she had not been falling a month behind at each ultrasound I
am sure it would have been fine but she was not growing at the same rate.
They, Drs, said that with IUGR sometimes the baby is not getting what it
needs from the mom and they grow better outside the womb. Luckily for me
the guy at the stage 2 ultrasound said he thought my due date was wrong and
since he was the expert I got to go into labor naturaly. Bonnie was born 3
days before the orriginal due date and she was the same size as I was born 1
month early.

Tori
--
Bonnie 3/20/02
Anna or Xavier due 10/17/04

[Christy84065]

I am afraid I am getting off the beating path here, but I have
recently heard conflicting information. 1)Ultrasound does not hurt or
harm the baby at all. 2) Ultrasound should be used sparingly... Is
this another one of those "we don't know the damage it could cause, so
just don't do it." explanations? I found myself running into those
excuses alot in my pregnancies. I found it extemely annoying and sort
of offensive, like "We don't care enough about researching about such
an important time of your life." Anyways, just curious, not pregnant
right now but hope to be in the future.

[Ericka Kammerer]

Christy84065 wrote:

> I am afraid I am getting off the beating path here, but I have
> recently heard conflicting information. 1)Ultrasound does not hurt or
> harm the baby at all. 2) Ultrasound should be used sparingly... Is
> this another one of those "we don't know the damage it could cause, so
> just don't do it." explanations?

Well, no one can say that u/s does not hurt or
harm the baby at all because you can't prove a negative.
The best you can do is say that no study has demonstrated
any harm.
That said, there *have* been studies that have
raised questions about u/s. In vitro studies have showed
that it can produce cavitation. Multiple in vivo studies
have shown that it increases left-handedness in boys (which
is not earth-shattering in and of itself, but raises the
question if it can affect handedness, what else can it
be affecting that we haven't measured yet?). Beyond that,
there are studies that are controversial and uncorroborated
and not as strong as one would like methodologically that
raise the spectre of other possible problems, some of
which are more serious.
Because it cannot be proven to be safe, and there
are some niggling possibilities out there than haven't
been squashed, most responsible medical bodies recommend
against the use of routine u/s. The ACOG, for instance,
says that NO u/s should be done in pregnancy without a
medical indication, not that most OBs follow that guideline.
On the other hand, most people set the bar pretty low for
"medical indication" because it seems like it's pretty safe,
so there's not much impediment to using it if there is
actionable knowledge to be gained from using it. People
also often overestimate the value of the information to
be gained from routine u/s.

> I found myself running into those
> excuses alot in my pregnancies. I found it extemely annoying and sort
> of offensive, like "We don't care enough about researching about such
> an important time of your life."

That's not a particularly fair characterization
in this case. There have been multiple large, longitudinal
studies of the use of u/s in pregnancy. But no study is
perfect, and when you're talking about the use of u/s in
pregnancy, I'll bet even you can't sit down right now and
list all the possible effects one might look for. After
all, would you have put handedness on a list of the things
to look for in a study on the safety of u/s? Just think of
all the diseases, conditions, behavioral issues, etc. that
would have to be studied, ideally with long term prospective
double blind studies, before we really could say that we
knew it was safe with a straight face? In fact, right
now it would be darned hard to get large numbers in a
double blinded study because you'd have a heck of a time
getting study volunteers to be in the control group!
How many women do you know who'd be willing to go through
a pregnancy without an u/s? I went through two of my
three that way (and had u/s in the third at the end only
for medical indication), and most people thought I was stark,
raving mad, if not insufficiently interested in the health
of my baby.
Yes, it would be better if we had more data.
Yes, it is offensive (to me, at least) that obstetrics
has a history of being somewhat cavalier about the
introduction of new, unproven technology (x-ray pelvimetry
and DES, anyone?). Yes, it would be better if clients
were more critical of the use of technology/testing
(evidence is weak on *many* of the tests routinely
performed in pregnancy, not to mention many of the
procedures used in childbirth). But it's not as simple
an issue as people being unwilling or uninterested in
doing the research.

Best wishes,
Ericka