I am currently 37 weeks pregnant and after my ultrasound last week the doctor has asked me to come back weekly for a bio-physical ultrasound. He said that because my baby is measuring small, her estimated weight was 4lbs 15 ounces and he said she should be around 6lbs, that he just wants to keep an eye on things. My son was also small, he weighed in at 6 lbs 1 ounce at birth. Has anyone had this type of ultrasound done?
a biophysical or level 3 u/s is the same as a regular one, only they detail more stuff.. it's not any different than the other ones you had except that it takes a little longer and they look at more stuff. I had one with my son and everything turned out perfect..
R.,
I had a biophysical ultrasound at 39 weeks. My Dr. also thought my baby was small and wanted to measure the baby . They first estimated his weight to be a little over 5 pounds through an ordinary ultrasound but the biophysical U/S showed that he was about 6 pounds at that point. They measure the baby's heartbeast, activity(that part was hilarious!), size and amniotic fluid level. It's not a big deal and absolutely nothing to get worried about but be prepared to be at the office for more than half an hour. I had a healthy baby boy weighing almost 7 pounds. He's now 18 months and a very active toddler.
Hope this helps! Good luck with your pregnancy and hope all goes well.
I don't know much about bio-physical ultrasounds, but I wanted to tell you that ultrasounds aren't very good at predicting weight at this stage. Early u/s are very good for determining dates & size, but as the pregnancy progresses it becomes more & more inaccurate. Bio-physical u/s may be more accurate, like I said I just don't know much about them. For example with traditional u/s at 36 weeks with my son it was suggesting he was something like 5lbs already. My OB was talking about inducing as soon as I got to my due date for this "huge" baby I was going to have (babies generally gain about lb a week for the last month or so). Well I resisted the induction, went almost 2 weeks past due and my "huge" baby weighed 6lbs 1 oz. I've heard similar stories in both directions from many moms. Just take it easy, eat well & if you want to humor your doctor have the u/s- but don't worry about them.
Hi R. - I had tons of these done with both my daughters because I took hypertension medication for both my pregnancies. It's like a regular ultrasound, but they look for specific points on a checklist that the baby must pass. They are heart rate, "practicing breathing" (which is seeing whether or not the baby's diaphragm looks like it's filling with air; it's not really, it's just the muscles moving and preparing for the first breath), activity and muscle tone, and the level of fluid. It sounds nerve-wracking but they are quite common. It is nothing to worry about! Both my girls turned out perfectly, weighing 8 - 8.5 lbs. It's actually good for peace of mind to see that all is well. Good luck!
