Growth scan

I was 34 weeks yesterday and had a growth scan to check how the little guy is doing. Scans always make me anxious, there's always that little niggling worry about finding something wrong. But I was fretting about nothing. So far he seems to be bang on target and doing well. He's growing at the right rate, current estimated weight being 5 lbs 4 ozs, and all measurements show as right in the middle of the range. We looked at brain, spine, kidneys, bladder and heart, and everything looks good. Good blood flow from the cord and placenta posterior high. Baby is also head down, as I'd suspected, and in good position. They announced it's just a matter of waiting for him to be ready to leave now, and the Obstetrics clinic don't need to see me again unless something else comes up so they discharged me into midwife care which is what I'd hoped for.

All good news and quite a relief. Now I'm counting down the days left at work (less than a week now!) and entertaining my in-laws who just arrived yesterday.

Doctors with fine tooth combs

I have been attending the Special Obs clinic at my hospital since I started antenatal care, and it seems there's nothing much wrong with me or my pregnancy but they just won't leave me alone! It's great, despite having to attend more appointments to be prodded a lot, I love that they are so thorough and I am grateful for it. It has certainly made me think about people's perceptions of NHS care.

I was originally referred because I am hypermobile and they wanted to check that I didn't have the one form of hypermobility, EDS (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) that can be a problem with pregnancy because it affects the heart. I was sent off to get an ECG and got the all clear from that. After that they wanted to investigate a small trace of protein in my urine, and I got the all clear from that. At that point the consultant felt that perhaps they should just let me get on with my pregnancy since they couldn't find anything to be concerned about with me or with the baby at my 22 week scan, but then they wanted to give me a GTT (Glucose Tolerance Test) because I have a strong family history of diabetes and my BMI is higher than it should be. That came back all clear too and I have been given the all clear to deliver in the birthing centre if that is my choice, but the doctor offered me a growth scan at 34 weeks just to check all is still on track and after that one last follow up appointment he promises they will finally leave me alone if all is still well then. I feel like I'm spending my life in that hospital waiting room, but I shouldn't complain.