Hi all,
I'm 24 weeks pregnant with a little girl after losing my daughter Isabella last year at 24 weeks. I've had a scan today and she is looking ok but on the lowest centile there is for growth, two weeks ago she was measuring way ahead. They've told me not to worry and that she may just be a small baby and to come back for another scan in two weeks. Isabella was growth restricted so I'm just hoping that the same thing is not happening again. I was just beginning to relax after having major anxiety in the last few weeks, man I am so dammed scared :(

i'm not surprised you're scared! i think eliza could be onto something, try and push them to let you go back in one week. i hope you have at least some medical staff who understand how scary that is.

in the meantime we are here while you are waiting for the next scan, whenever that might be.

What they said. Not remotely acceptable to leave you waiting and panicking for 2 weeks - you need support and comfort and care RIGHT NOW. Start stamping and shouting and get it.

If it turns out to be nothing, they'll forgive you and forget it; if it turns out you 2 need help, you'll be so glad you did.

I don't think I'd be scared in your situation. I think I'd be out of my tree with terror! It sounds like this situation is the 'Perfect Storm' to increase your very understandable fears. Whatever happens I'll be thinking of you.

I agree- push for a quicker scan or some better explanation. Your doctors are there to help you and that help includes tending to your emotional well being, too.

I am thinking of you....

I also agree. I really despair of pregnancy professionals sometimes. They seem to do a lot of guessing and waiting instead of getting on with it and checking the goddamn obvious - and this after telling you they understand your fears and will keep a close eye on you. The way I see it, your bub is of an age now where she possibly could survive outside the womb, so they owe it to you and to her to be thorough from now on.

I just had a similar battle with my hospital. I'm a public patient and see a different obstetrician every time. There is one that just seems to want to fight me every time I see him. My first son died with no fluid around him, but my bump was measuring fine and my blood pressure was fine and his heartbeat was fine, blah blah blah - until he died, because I wasn't getting scanned and no-one realised he'd been struggling for weeks with no fluid. So this time I am insisting on regular quick scans to check fluid. It takes them all of ten seconds with their portable device, but this doctor refused to do it. I was sitting in front of him with tears streaming down my face but he was telling me I was fine and to trust all the checks he'd done, and if I had low fluid there was nothing he could do about it anyway. I thought, you are such an idiot - my first son passed all these checks too, and all the time he was in crisis. Just check the goddamn fluid, and if it's low, you can watch him even more closely and get him out early. Well, he wouldn't, and I later find out he doesn't know how to operate the portable ultrasound. Why wouldn't he just say so and find someone else to help me? I tried to accept his reassurances, but in the end I went back the next day and demanded to be scanned. (I'd once been told they'd happily do that for me anytime, even in the middle of the night, to put my mind at rest.) Well, I got an argument from different staff on day two as well - but I dug my heels in and they did it. His fluid is fine, as it turns out, but it seems I am the only one who cares enough to insist on thorough assessment. And all the talk about watching me closely and wanting to put my fears at rest? Not backed up by the reality.

I wish you the very, very best of luck and I hope and expect that you will find out everything is just fine, as your doctors seem to think. But trust your gut, not them - fight for what you know is needed and don't let them make you feel guilty. You lost Isabella and you've got another red flag - your behaviour is absolutely justified.

I hope you already have an appnt for yourself again to reassure you that your LO is doing well. The only way I got through my pregnancy with my twins after my son died in utero, leaving me with a surviving twin was to use a hospital-quality rented doppler. I listened to her heartbeat several times a day when the anxiety got really bad...especially before I went to sleep at night and first thing when I woke up.

Prayers to you.

I hope that you can be seen again earlier than that. I'm so sorry, it is so unfair that you were just starting to relax and then to be hit with this. As anon says, your little one is of an age that she would have a fair chance at survival and they shouldn't be fobbing you off if you don't feel happy.
Thinking of you.

Just wondered how you are doing Frustrated Fairy?

Thank you all for your advice and support. I have put things into perspective a little now and calmed down. Everything IS still normal and baby is kicking lots so I'm happy. I suppose it's easy to get a little bit of not so positive news and just go straight into full on panic mode.
Steph that sounds like a nightmare, glad your little one's fluid is looking good though xx

glad baby is kicking lots, that must be reassuring. do let us know when you've had the second scan how things were?

Just had another scan yesterday at 26 weeks and baby is growing fine *whew* although she still is on the lowest centile....but I'm fine with that! She's turned breech but I'm not worried about that at this stage, other than the fact that she is kicking right on my bladder lol!