What does a large belly circumference mean for pregnant women?

Abdominal circumference measurement is a must-do item during every prenatal check-up. Abdominal circumference measurement can be used to determine the size of the baby in the body and whether a natural birth will be possible in the future. However, there are always some pregnant women who have a larger abdominal circumference during the examination. At this time, the pregnant women will worry whether the baby in their body is deformed. So, what does a large abdominal circumference of a pregnant woman mean?

1. The bigger the belly, the bigger the fetus. Generally speaking, the size of a pregnant woman's belly is closely related to the amount of amniotic fluid, the amount of fat accumulation and the pelvis.

2. Relationship with amniotic fluid: If a pregnant woman has more amniotic fluid in her belly, her belly will appear big; conversely, some pregnant women have less amniotic fluid, so their belly naturally does not appear big.

3. Relationship with fat: Pregnant women with different body shapes have different amounts of fat stored in their bodies. The amount of fat inside the belly is directly proportional to the size of the belly.

4. Relationship with the pelvis: If the pelvis is wide, the belly will not look very big; if the pelvis is narrow, the belly will protrude forward, so it will look very big.

Abdominal circumference growth pattern

In order to understand the changes in the fetus, the doctor will measure the expectant mother's abdominal circumference during each prenatal check-up. However, it should be pointed out that simply measuring abdominal circumference cannot be used as an indicator of fetal development. The main thing is the unit rate of abdominal circumference growth. That is to say, the waist circumference measured at a certain time cannot be used as an evaluation indicator, and the growth of waist circumference should be observed dynamically.

(1) During the 20th to 24th week of pregnancy, the abdominal circumference grows fastest, increasing by 1.6 cm per week;

(2) During the 24th to 36th week of pregnancy, the abdominal circumference increases by 0.8 cm per week;

(3) After 36 weeks of pregnancy, the growth rate of abdominal circumference slows down, increasing by 0.3 cm per week.

(4) From 14 to 40 weeks of pregnancy, the average increase in abdominal circumference is 21 cm, or 0.8 cm per week.

Pregnant women have large belly circumference

The growth rate of abdominal circumference should be controlled within a range. If a pregnant woman measures her abdominal circumference and finds that it is growing too fast or too slow, there is a high possibility that some pathological changes have occurred. Under normal circumstances, the abdominal circumference of pregnant women in the middle and late stages of pregnancy will generally not exceed 95-100 cm.