Is my baby growing?
Fundal height assessments during the Covid-19 outbreak
Well, here is something I never thought I’d be suggesting: DIY checking of the growth of your baby!
This is one of the key assessments midwives and doctors make during pregnancy and it is an important one
Covid-19 changed the way we work and many sites have switched to providing some antenatal care by phone or video/FaceTime. This means we might not have as many visits where we will be placing our hands on your tummy to see how baby is growing
So, here is an idea I have
It’s just an idea
I don’t know if it will work
I think it will help and I don’t think it will harm
I don’t want you to get stressed about this
Check with your midwife and/or doctor to see what they recommend for you — they may have a much better idea!
Step 1: Understanding how the womb (uterus) grows during pregnancy
For the first 12 weeks, it is in the pelvis, behind your pubic bone, competing for space with your bladder
After 12 weeks, as it is growing, it moves out of the pelvis and into the abdomen (the tummy)
this is why you start to change shape and get that little round “pot belly”
you know, the “is she pregnant or isn’t she?” look
By 20 weeks, the womb should have reached your belly button
By 38 weeks in the first pregnancy, it has reached the top of the tummy and is right up under the ribs
By 40 weeks, it is usually dropping a bit and somewhere in this time the pressure on your bladder is increasing again
Step 2: Finding the fundus (aka, the top of the womb)
The best time to start feeling is about 20 weeks
Start with the flat of your hand on your tummy, above the belly button
Move your fingers up and down, feeling for an edge
You are feeling for a firmness/a change in how soft or hard your tummy feels and it should change around about the belly button once you are 20 weeks pregnant
This is when I would like you to try to find it
You can feel for it yourself or get your partner/a friend to help you
It took me lots of practice to get good at this
Don’t worry if you don’t get it straight away
I hope you do get it straight away!
Sometimes it is not so obvious that baby is growing when you feel the tummy, but it is really obvious when you take a side-on photograph
use both or decide which one works for you!
Step 3: Mark with a pen
Once you have found the place where it feels firmer, take a pen and mark it off
Step 4: Take a photograph and send it to to your midwife/doctor before each telehealth visit
If you can’t find the spot where it feels firmer, don’t worry. Let us know if your clothes are getting tighter, you look bigger and/or take a side-on selfie (or have someone take your photo side on) and send that through instead
