Caregiver examination
Ultrasounds
CTG monitoring
Is there a problem?
Small babies are ultimately diagnosed once they are put on a set of scales after they are born. Many methods used to detect small babies during the pregnancy are not perfect, and often only serve as indicators that the baby may have a problem. Caregivers will usually order ultrasounds and
CTG's, if they suspect there may be a problem. They may be a little concerned if they examine the woman's belly and the baby 'feels small', or perhaps they are looking for a small baby, because the woman has a health condition that puts her at higher risk of having a smaller baby.
A small baby in itself may not mean there are any problems. It is just an indicator for your caregiver to consider any related health problems for you, or your baby.
Caregiver examination
If the pregnancy is uncomplicated, your caregiver could suspect your baby is not growing well through examining your pregnant belly, at the normal pregnancy visits. Detecting a small baby will usually happen during the last 3 months of the pregnancy. Your caregiver will usually feel the size of the baby, and take into consideration the amount of amniotic fluid felt around the baby. Having the same caregiver can help with any discrepancies in interpretation of the baby's size, that can happen between caregivers.
Alternatively, the caregiver can palpate the woman's belly and also use a measuring tape to measure the size of her belly. This is not really that accurate, and measurements can vary between caregivers. Measurements that appear 'less than expected' in themselves do not diagnose a small for gestational age baby, but could indicate to the caregiver that the woman may need to have further tests (such as serial ultrasounds). Serial ultrasounds are a series of consecutive ultrasounds (usually weeks apart) aimed at tracking the baby's progressive growth (or lack of growth). The caregiver may also recommend occasional
CTG