Amniotic Fluid (sorry its long, stressing)

[Sassysugar]

I had a growth scan yesterday as Blump has been very big but one of the things they said was that my AFI (amniotic fluid index) had increased slightly. They said not to worry much about it as it had only increased slightly and sometimes bigger babies pee more and this is what could cause it.

Anyway I came home last night and it got me thinking about why it would increase so googled it (I know, I know I should stay away from the internet) but I like to know what the possiblities are so I can prepare myself. Some of the things were about gd and a few other scarier problems so been stressing myself a bit about it. They took some bloods yesterday and one of them was to check my sugar levels for gd.

When I was looking at my notes last night I realised that she had been comparing my 28 week scan against yesterdays (37 week scan) This showed that my AFI had only increased by 0.3 so didn't seem like much. But I had a scan at 34 weeks too which showed that my AFI had decreased (which is what it's meant to do) Results below to compare.

28 weeks - 20
34 weeks - 15.2
37 weeks 20.3

So my AFI was heading in the right direction but then in the past 3 weeks its gone up higher than what it was at 28 weeks.

I decided to phone the assessment centre about an hour ago and explained all this to them and that I was concerned that my scan at 34 weeks hadn't been looked at yesterday, she said it would have been and to try not and worry myself (easier said than done) She then asked what my 'Liquor' was from scan yesterday and it says on my notes 'Polyhydramnios.' I hadn't noticed this as don't really understand half the things on my notes and noone goes into details about them with me. (I want to note that the previous scans all said 'normal' beside Liquor) She said, didn't the consultant not talk to me about this yesterday and I said no, was only told about bigger babies peeing more etc.

She said that it should have been explained to me and that it wasn't something to do over the phone and that I should phone my community midwife and get her to come and see me face to face. I explained that she was going on holiday and that I wasn't due to see her until 39 weeks. She said that I should try to enjoy the rest of my pregnancy and that Polyhydramnios is something for them to worry about and not me and that I shouldn't really research my notes as its more for them than me. She took all my details and said she would phone my midwife and get her to call me. (At this point I'm crying my eyes out down the phone to her as I'm worried why they won't talk to me over the phone about it) Also felt like she thinks I'm over-reacting (maybe I am but I am so worried that something will be wrong with blump and I don't know what to expect)

The assessment centre has just rang me back to say my community mw is busy (I knew she would be) and that maybe I should come in to see them and someone will sit down and talk to me about what Polyhydramnios means etc.

I'm to go in for 16:30hrs.

I hoping they will be able to put my mind at rest, and that everything will be ok, but it's really stressing me out and that again can't be good for blump.

Will update later

 

[kat060287]

Hope everything goes ok for you. They need to understand that we don't know what everything means so if they are saying something isn't as it should be of course we are going to worry and they should take the time to explain this whether its important or not xxx

 

[knopk@]

I am sorry they are being rubbish at keeping you informed. Dont know if it makes it any better, but my AFO was 21 at 35 weeks which is over 95 centile, I had my GTT but it was normal as well so I had a follow up consultant appointment.

He said it can be just one of those things, they are happy with his heartrate, my blood pressure etc so I have another scan at 39 weeks to see how its going but he didnt seem too concerned about it. I do have Polyhydramnious on my notes as well

 

[roxane 1985]

my friend has increased afl and they have put her un consultant care because hers has increased so much.

if its only increased a little and they are not concerned they you neednt be either

they know what they are doing hun and they know when to be concerned, if your still worried just speak to your midwife at next appointment thats what she is there for you

the fact theyve not really done anything more shows they are not concerned by in but just keeping at watchful eye xx

 

[Roo3]

I had excess fluid during my pregnancy. I was under consultant care anyway due to bleeding in early pregnancy. I had scans every 2 weeks to check the fluid levels and was induced a few days before my due date as I had high blood pressure too. During the fortnightly scans the fluid levels increased and decreased all the time.
I was signed off work for 4 weeks and told to rest which did bring my fluid levels down to start with. Just try to rest, and not worry too much. I hope they put your mind at rest and explain it to you better.
Everything ended well for me and my little boy will be 12 weeks on Monday. It may just mean you'll have extra scans like I did for the rest of your pregnancy which isn't necessarily a bad thing cos you'll get to see your baby a bit more. xx

 

[Franna75]

Hello,

I didn't mention yestereday that they also wrote Polyhydramnios on my notes. But when i saw the consultant afterwards she said it wasn't a case of poly, just hydra, its not poly until 23 and that the sonographer had got in wrong. I also saw the midwife and consultant at the birthing centre and they agreed. Try not to worry. They say the problem with the fluid is that when the baby comes the umbilical cord can sink down first, but if they know you have more fluid they are prepared, so its a good thing that they do know. Fluid is supposed to go down after 38 weeks, so fingers crossed it will. You are still very borderline, some people have a lot more than that.

Not sure also if I mentioned yesterday that my fundus size has gone from 38cms to 44cms to 48cms back down to 40cms in two weeks! I reckon my boy is just a trickster jester

Will keep you updated on Tuesday's scan if he's not here before then - but fingers crossed.

Franx

 

[Bunnykins]

Have you any update yet hon? I hope they put your mind at ease xx

 

[Sassysugar]

Thanks for the positive stories, I'm just such a stresshead and always think the worst!!!

Back home now and feeling better after my chat with them. Feel a bit stupid now for getting so worried. She said she had looked through all my scans and nothing bad had shown up to suggest there was anything wrong with blump. He is just a big baby!

She explained that Polyhydramnios can be caused by a few things and she went through them with me.

- She said the one it probably is, which was what they had explained yesterday, that bigger babies pee more. She also said that it varies depending on when the scan is done, if baby has just swallowed lots of fluid then there would be less around him etc
- Gestational Diabetes - she checked my blood results from yesterday and my sugar levels are well within the normal range, relieved about that.
- Blockage in the throat - which means that baby can't swallow amniotic fluid so you end up having more than you should (as baby apparently controls fluid levels by the amount they are swallowing) but she explained that if there was a blockage, they would be able to see it on the scan, so was good to know he doesn't have that.
She also explained a couple of complications when in labour, that the cord can end up coming out first but she said that in the 8 years she's worked there she had only seen this twice.

She said I could come back in again next week and see my consultant for more reassurance but not going to as I don't want to waste their time! I'll see my community mw in 2 weeks and go from there. She also said just to keep monitoring his movements and if anything changes to get in touch.

I think if this had all been explained yesterday it would never have bothered me but sometimes I think they forget that this is all new to first time mothers but something they see all the time. She also said that bigger babies can sometimes make labour easier than smaller babies, heres hoping.......

 

[ft90]

So glad to hear everything is okay!!!

Sometimes it's a bit annoying because the midwives have seen all this before loads of times, but for us first time mums it's so stressful! I remember at 16 weeks when I got a call 2 hours after my midwife appointment saying I was measuring large so I had to go in the next morning for a scan. I've never been so scared in my life! Especially because my midwife hadn't explained anything to me about what measuring large even was!

I don't like it as well when they say don't look at your notes because it's more for them! What else are we going to do but have a look in there as soon as we get home!

xx

 

[Binzy]

I would be crying down the phone with worry too if they wouldn't explain whaycsomething was over the phone.
Of course you're going to think it's something terrible!
Glad they set you straight though, as the others said, it's normal for them but all so new for us first time mums.