im 4 moths pregnant and my doc say my uterus is too big for as far as i am?

Question

what does this mean i had a sonogram done and she said it showed only one and i have had another child 5 years ago so why is it too big could i be having twins and one is hiding?

Answer 1

This most likely indicates that there is one of the following:
* another fetus which the doctor was unable to see,
* a fibroid,
* a tumor,
* a large cyst, or
* an excessive amount of amniotic fluid.

If there is too much amniotic fluid, it could indicate gestational diabetes, which is quite treatable. In this case, though, the fetus usually grows large as well.

Out of this list, the main thing to worry about is the possibility of a tumor.
Fibroids can lead to miscarriage. http://www.drfibroid.com/pregnancy.htm
In contrast, ovarian cysts tend to get smaller during pregnancy.

Answer 2

Have the doctor first confirm your baby's gestestional age against an ultrasound exam of the fetal biparietal diameter, head circumference, abdomen circumference, fetal heart rate, and femur length. This will be able to confirm you last menstrual dates or your uterine size. Typically an ultrasound can resolve conflicts between "dates and size."

It is unlikely you have twins since they would both be visible on the sonogram.

At sixteen weeks it is still early to determine anything definitive. Your next prenatal visit should include a msAFP (maternal serum alpha fetal protein) or maybe a triple screen (msAFP, uncongugated estridiol, bHCG) this will help screen the baby for Down's syndrome, Trisomy 18, spinal bifida. The large size could be due to a defect in the babies digestive system formation. It could have a tracheal/esophageal fistula, or a duodenal atresia. Both should be evaluated by sono. If duodenal atresia is seen by the presence of a "double bubble" on sono then, it increases the likely hood have having Down's syndrome.

Then at 24-28 weeks gestation you should be screened for gestational diabetes, so have your doctor run a glucose challenge test (drink 50g glucola) and check blood glucose levels in 1 hour. If they are greater than 140 mg/dl then have the doctor perform a glucose tolerance test, a 100 gram glucola with fasting blood glucose levels, 1, 2 and 3 hour post glucola levels. This test can determine whether or not you have gestational diabetes mellitus. In the event you do have GDM, the babies tend to get very large (macrosomia) and can lead to the complication of shoulder dystocia (getting stock upon delivery); therefore, you may want to opt for a cesarean section.

Until then if the doctor isn't worried I wouldn't be. Almost always its just a dating inaccuracy corrected by ultrasound measurement of the baby. I hope this helps.

Answer 3

You could have been further along then your doc thought. Doctors give themselves almost 4 weeks of play from your estimated due date. Meaning that you could deliver anytime from 2 weeks before you due date to 2 weeks after your due date. They just use an estimation system. Not every woman ovulates on the 14th day and some womens cycles are longer or shorter then 28 days. The chances that it is twins is kind of slim since they did a sono and didn't see one espically at 4 months. I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure your doc will do a follow up in a couple of weeks. It might just be a big baby!!! good luck

Answer 4

You could be having twins or you could have a large cyst or tumor.

Answer 5

Or you conceived earlier than you think and the embryo is bigger!