"I only came from my 32-week engagement, and my doctor says I measured 35 weeks. I'm afraid my baby will be too big to evangelize vaginally."

Mod medicine tin tell united states of america a lot about how babies are doing before they're born and even what they look like. But guessing how big they are is just that — a big judge.

In early pregnancy, you might be showing earlier for a few possible reasons, such every bit:

  • Musculus tone.A meaning woman with looser abdominal muscles is more likely to produce a pronounced tummy than a mom-to-be with a very toned body. That'due south likewise why expectant mothers who take previously given birth and whose abdominal muscles have already been stretched and loosened volition tend to testify before. Your body blazon might also be at play; some women carry their babies lower, which makes them appear to stick out more.
  • Miscalculated due date.Another common explanation for a seemingly supersized tum is a miscalculation of the conception date. A 15- or 16-calendar week tummy will certainly be larger than a 13-week i, so double-bank check your due date.
  • Bloating.Your big belly could as well be caused past a bout of excess gas.
  • Twins.If y'all were earlier on in your pregnancy, in that location could exist a chance yous were conveying twins without yet knowing it: Many women who sport an impressive tum in their beginning trimester afterward discover that they're having 2 babies. Before you lot start doubling upward the layette, however, keep in listen that just as many women who popped early and became convinced they were carting effectually two babies turned out to be bearing just one. An ultrasound settles that question.

Afterward in pregnancy, your infant is maxing out on the infinite available in your uterus, which makes his weight notoriously difficult to predict. A late-phase ultrasound gauge can be off past a pound or more — which makes a huge difference in a 5-pound baby!

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Typically at each prenatal visit, your practitioner checks your fundal pinnacle (the distance from your pubic bone to the height of your uterus) with a tape measure. That number in centimeters is approximately equal to the number of weeks along you are — but one or two centimeters in either direction is no cause for alarm.

If your measurements show a discrepancy of iii weeks or more, as in your case, your practitioner will exercise a trivial investigating to effort to learn why with an ultrasound. Most of the time, there'south a harmless caption.

Maybe your due date is off by a few days or a calendar week (information technology's pretty common for doctors to change due dates). Your baby could be in a funny position or sitting loftier in your uterus, and that'southward throwing the tape measure out off. Or y'all may have a uterine fibroid or extra amniotic fluid (neither of which is necessarily a big bargain).

Additionally, if y'all've been diagnosed with gestational diabetes (which is generally screened for betwixt 24 and 28 weeks), you are at a greater risk for having a bigger babe.If that's the instance, your practitioner volition have already put you on a special pregnancy nutrition. Be sure to follow their instructions advisedly to stay salubrious and reduce baby's take chances of macrosomia (when babies are born weighing more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces).

Finally, some babies are simply larger than others due to genetics — much in the way some people are taller than others. Often, mothers who carry larger babies may detect that they or their partner were a larger infant at birth.

Your best bet is to continue eating healthily (and plentifully) for the remainder of your pregnancy. Try non to worry almost the scale or the measuring tape.

Even if your infant is on the bigger side, chances are even so good that yous'll evangelize on schedule, vaginally and without being induced. And whether your infant comes out at half dozen pounds or 9, the 24-hour interval he arrives will be thrilling.

Here's to an easy delivery and a good for you baby! Heidi Murkoff