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From 20 weeks pregnant until you deliver, your doctor will be using a measuring tape to measure your belly at each of your prenatal visits. While this may look strange, there is a purpose – your healthcare provider is measuring your "fundal height."
Fundal height is a tool that allows your caregiver to assess your baby's growth rate and size. The fundal height is the distance from the public symphysis (or your pubic bone) to the top of the womb (uterus). This measurement was used in the past before ultrasounds were routinely used. Today, ultrasounds and fundal height are used together to monitor the baby's growth development.
In general, the fundal height closes matches your pregnancy week. For example, if you are 25 weeks pregnant, your fundal height should be around 27 centimeters, give or take two inches.
Some women measure "large for dates." This basically means that their fundal height is two centimeters longer than expected for that specific week of pregnancy. When the fundal height doesn't match up with your pregnancy week, your caregiver will schedule an ultrasound scan to find out why.
If you measure large for dates, try not to worry. There are a variety of harmless reasons that may contribute to this, such as a thicker than normal uterus, scarring from a previous cesarean, you have a short stature, your due date was miscalculated, a twin or multiple pregnancy, and a full bladder at your prenatal visit.
Sometimes, a larger than expected fundal height may be related to pregnancy health complications, including the following:
- There's a high level of amniotic fluid in your womb. This condition is called polyhydramnios, and it may suggest that there's something wrong with your baby or your pregnancy.
- You are carrying a large baby (a condition called macrosomia), a complication caused by gestational diabetes.
- Uterine fibroids can cause your fundal height to measure larger than normal. Depending on the location and size of the fibroids, they can complicate your pregnancy, as well as labor and delivery.
- Your baby is situated high above your pelvis. This may be due to placenta previa, or a baby that's in the breech position (head up, legs or buttocks near the opening of the uterus).
In some cases, you may be carrying a perfectly healthy infant who just happens to be larger than average. Likewise, some pregnant women may measure small for dates. In many cases, this doesn't mean anything is wrong with your baby. However, if you measure small for dates, it may be caused by intrauterine growth restriction – poor growth of an infant in the womb.
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