Small belly during pregnancy: main reasons

Why do some have a large belly and others have a small belly during pregnancy?

No one will object that every woman’s body is individual, so the belly can grow in different ways. It is very important at this moment to ensure that there are no deviations from the norm.

A small belly during pregnancy can be due to many reasons, for example due to pathological development of the fetus, or perhaps this is the norm for a particular woman, and the baby will be born completely healthy.

During the first trimester, it may or may not be noticeable. If the mother develops toxicosis, the belly will grow only from the second trimester. Sometimes it happens that others do not even suspect that a woman is pregnant.

In any case, there is no reason to panic; you need to undergo regular examinations and tests to make sure that pregnancy is proceeding according to plan, even if you have a small belly during pregnancy.

Is a small belly during pregnancy a cause for concern or not?

In anticipation of a miracle, almost every mother can’t wait to touch her belly and show it off to others. But what to do if the second trimester is coming to an end, and the tummy is barely noticeable. Is this pathology or normal?

Each person is an individual, and everyone’s body is individual. In some cases, a small belly is normal. When should you panic?

It is necessary to understand that the size of the tummy depends on where the baby is located. If your child sits on the back wall, then the size of your tummy will be small. The baby is comfortable in the outback, where he feels safe. If the baby is located on the front wall, then the tummy will be large and round. The advantage of a big belly is that you have a unique opportunity to see the arms and legs of your child, which he will show while he is awake. It happens that mommy can see and count the fingers on a tiny hand. Those with small bellies are a little less fortunate; with this position of the baby, it is impossible to clearly see the hand, since the baby is too deep in the stomach. But there are also advantages. With a small belly, recovery after the birth of a child will be easier and faster.

There are a number of pathologies in which a small belly is the first sign of problems with the body. Possible oligohydramnios, then the stomach visually appears smaller. To identify this, you need to undergo an ultrasound, where the doctor will confirm or refute the diagnosis. With this diagnosis, the poor mother is placed in storage, where drugs are used to restore a sufficient amount of water and ensure a comfortable stay for the child in the womb. This pathology is correctable and requires proper treatment and timely detection.

The most dangerous diagnosis, which indicates a small belly size, is considered to be underdevelopment of the child. Perhaps the baby has a congenital pathology, in which the child does not gain weight or the organs and skeleton do not develop in time.

Don't panic ahead of time. The main thing is to visit the antenatal clinic on time and take all the necessary tests. You must attend all scheduled ultrasounds. And there is no need to be afraid of additional ultrasound examinations; they will not harm your baby. This type of examination will help to promptly identify any abnormalities during pregnancy and maintain it if necessary.

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Fruit size

The size of the fetus can be determined using ultrasound. Thanks to transvaginal ultrasound, it can be detected in the second or third week of development. Pregnancy begins to count from the 1st day of the last menstruation and is about six to seven weeks. At this moment, the diameter of the fetus is 2-4 mm.

How does the fetus develop?

• At the 10th week, it can be noted that the diameter of the fetus fluctuates at 2.2 cm.
• The 12th week is characterized by a fetal length of 6-7 cm and a weight of 20-25 g.
• The 16th week corresponds to length 12 cm, body weight - 100 g.
• 20 weeks is characterized by a fetal length of 25-26 cm and a weight of 280-300 g.
• At the 24th week - 30 cm and 600-680 g, respectively.
• 28 weeks - size 35 cm and weight 1-1.2 kg.
• 32 weeks - 40-42 cm and 1.5-1.7 kg.
• 36 weeks - 45-48 cm and 2.4-2.5 kg.

By the end of pregnancy, the length of the fetus is 48-49 cm, and the body weight is 2.6-5 kg.

Size of the uterus in a pregnant woman

Throughout pregnancy, the uterus increases in size. In the first weeks it is pear-shaped. At the end of the second month of pregnancy, it doubles in size and takes on a rounded shape, and at the beginning of the 3rd trimester it becomes ovoid. If a small belly is observed during pregnancy, it means that the uterus is not enlarging in accordance with the norms.

The weight of the uterus before pregnancy is 50-100 g, at the end - 1 kg.

Why is there a small belly during pregnancy?

It may grow slowly for several reasons.

The size of the uterus may be smaller than expected due to oligohydramnios. Many people believe that the belly grows only due to the fetus, but amniotic fluid plays an important role in this process. If there is not enough water, it looks smaller than expected. Water can be determined using ultrasound. As the pregnancy progresses, the fluid volume also increases. Oligohydramnios is not the norm; it occurs with pathologies, such as hypertension, infectious diseases, gestosis, fetoplacental insufficiency and others. Therefore, if you are already 19 weeks pregnant, you may well have a small belly.

The next reason is fetal malnutrition, which occurs due to disturbances in placental metabolism. Poor maternal nutrition can also lead to slow growth. Under such circumstances, the baby is born weighing 2.5 kg. However, even an ultrasound cannot accurately determine the weight of a child, so it can only be accurately determined at birth; it can change by 500 g in both directions.

The constitution of a woman's body also plays a role. In petite and thin mothers, the bulge is more noticeable than in larger women.

The fertilized egg can attach to the back wall of the uterus, in which case the baby is positioned non-standardly - across the pelvis. Under such conditions, the belly grows deeper and does not stick out, then there will be a small belly during pregnancy, and it may not even be noticeable to outsiders.

Due to hereditary characteristics, it may also be smaller. If the parents are miniature, then the baby will most likely be small, so the belly may increase slightly.

If a woman has a well-trained abdominal press, then the muscles will maintain their shape and tone, and the stomach will not grow much.

What causes a small belly?

To know for sure what a small belly size means, you should pay attention to the following features:

• the age of the mother and father (the age of 40+ of one of the parents is already a kind of risk for the development of fetal pathologies and improper formation. Moreover, it does not matter who is older - mom or dad. Biomaterial and chromosome set are provided by both;
• the lifestyle of both parents , for example, an antisocial lifestyle, alcohol, smoking and drug addiction is a reason for the child to receive poor heredity at conception, both due to distorted chromosomes and due to a deficiency of essential vitamins and microelements of the mother and father;
• place of residence , in particular, the presence in the region of harmful production facilities, chemical plants or increased levels of radiation;
• genetic inheritance , chronic diseases of the mother or father. Since a child is the result of the fusion of the mother’s egg and the father’s sperm, the presence of chronic diseases or poor heredity in such parents entails such consequences as delayed development of the child, his degeneration in utero;
• The nutrition of the expectant mother also plays a big role, since the baby receives all the elements from his mother. A radical diet, refusal of certain products of animal origin (in particular, vegetarianism) also entails negative consequences in the form of insufficient weight gain in the baby and its lag.

There is no need to worry about a small tummy ahead of time. First, you should pay attention to some features in the development and reasons that the doctor will voice. In some situations, it is impossible to do without hospitalization and medication support, but still in the overwhelming majority, a small belly of a pregnant woman is heredity, which is not a danger.

Mom's individual heredity

What is a hereditary factor, and how can it affect the growth of a child in the abdomen, the size of the abdomen itself? It is worth noting that when a pregnant woman complains of a small tummy, doctors take into account the hereditary factor as a matter of priority. Initially, the doctor looks not only at the mother’s height and weight, but also at the father’s dimensions. Low weight and height are the reasons why the baby will not be big from birth.

To determine whether a child is developing normally and whether he is provided with all the necessary elements, it is enough to conduct an ultrasound scan and a screening study. Based on the results of such an analysis, you can see that the child is growing according to the deadline, his weight and height meet the standards.

Important.

If the mother is short with blond or brown hair, and the father is brunette and weighs more than 90 kg, then the likelihood that the baby will look like such a dad is 70%. The karyotype in this case gives preference to dominant genes.

Severe toxicosis

Constant nausea, vomiting and lack of appetite are the problem of most expectant mothers who face severe toxicosis in the early stages of gestation. For some, this feature goes away before the 14th week, and the woman herself eats during the period of absence of nausea or in the evening. In another case, nausea may occur until childbirth, which is an additional burden for the female body. In this case, the mother will use up her “reserves” of nutrients from fat reserves, the baby grows and develops as expected, but the mother herself loses weight, which affects the size of the tummy itself.

Important.

It is noteworthy that a woman’s body is designed in such a way as to provide nutrition to a growing child, even at the expense of itself. Therefore, during gestation, all useful vitamins initially reach the child, and only then - the mother. This feature should also be taken into account in the case when a woman takes pills or eats junk food: initially all this is transmitted to the child, and only then to the mother.

Trained abdominal muscles in pregnant women

Since the belly of the expectant mother is a growing uterus with a baby, the muscle mass in the peritoneal area is responsible for maintaining it. Such muscles are naturally designed to support the body of the uterus with an ever-growing child or even several. Fixation of the abdomen is ensured both in the lower part and in the side.

Moreover, the more pregnancies there were earlier, the greater the stretching of the abdominal muscles, and, consequently, the size of the abdomen as well. Therefore, if a woman trained before conception, was an athlete, or simply worked out her abs, then the belly itself will be smaller in size. At the same time, the child himself is developing as needed, no discomfort is noted for him.

Malposition of the fetus

What is meant by incorrect placement of the baby in the stomach? First of all, this is the presentation of the placenta itself or the transverse position of the baby. This anomaly is noted if a woman’s uterus has a saddle-shaped or anatomically irregular shape. It is also worth paying attention to the attachment of the placenta.

If it is on the front wall of the uterus (from the navel), then the stomach will be larger than with a lateral attachment. If there is a pathological placenta previa, in the position of which the uterus is completely closed, then the size of the abdomen will be smaller, but there is an existing threat to the child’s growth and nutrition. In this case, the doctor will advise the mother to hospitalize, especially if there are other reasons or threats of premature birth.

Important.

Complete placenta previa is a fatal condition in which the baby will not be able to be born during labor; the mortality risk is 98%.

Intrauterine growth restriction

The development of a child that does not correspond to the due date according to obstetric calculations is a pathology that is detected, as a rule, at the 1st or second screening. In this case, it is worth understanding that developmental delay affects both the size of the child and his physical health. For example, a pathology such as Down syndrome, fetoplacental insufficiency or increased uterine tone is often determined. In this case, the child does not receive the necessary nutrients for a long time, and the pregnancy itself is on the verge of termination.

Oligohydramnios (oligohydramnios) - pathology of amniotic fluid

Oligohydramnios is a pathology with complications for the fetus. In this case, the child is also born, as a rule, prematurely; fetal hypoxia and cellular starvation are often noted. In this situation, it is impossible to do without the qualified help of doctors; special vitamins and nutrition are prescribed, which will compensate, in particular, for the oxygen deficiency of the fetus.

It is important to note that oligohydramnios or polyhydramnios is in no way related to the amount of fluid a woman consumes. As a rule, this feature is affected by:

• abnormal development of villi of the aqueous membrane;
• disruption of the villi of the aqueous membrane to the production of amniotic fluid;
• maternal infections during pregnancy;
• pathological development of the internal organs of the fetus;
• insufficient ability of the chorion to produce OPV;
• congenital fetal defects;
• viral and bacterial pathologies of the mother;
• suffered by the mother after conception influenza or acute respiratory viral infection;
• metabolic disorders, autoimmune diseases of the mother;
• diabetes;
• obesity;
• impaired blood formation of the placenta;
• pathologies of the urinary tract or heart muscle.

The degree of risk for a pregnant woman of such a pathology differs, depending on the severity of ongoing chronic diseases or the pregnancy itself. In addition, the coefficient of missing fluid in the uterine cavity poses a high risk of danger to the fetus. If such a deficiency is more than 700 ml, then this is considered to be a dangerous situation for the fetus.

Clinic of oligohydramnios, depending on the severity and deficiency of OPV. If the decrease is 400-500 ml, they speak of moderate pathology. This condition appears on ultrasound, but there are no objective symptoms in the full sense of the word.

When the amniotic fluid deficiency is more than 700 ml, doctors talk about “severe oligohydramnios.” Women experience nausea, periodic vomiting, intense dizziness, and dryness of all mucous membranes, including the vagina, is also often present. A characteristic distinguishing sign is pain in the abdomen during the baby’s motor activity.

Important.

When measuring the abdomen, the obstetrician measures not only the circumference (horizontal waist measurement), but also the height of the uterine fundus - from the navel to the beginning of the pubic bone.

Signs of delayed abdominal enlargement

At each visit to the gynecologist, the girth of the abdomen is measured using a centimeter tape, as well as the height of the fundus of the uterus. These measurements can tell your doctor a lot. If the indicators have not increased or even decreased, then this is a reason for conducting an unscheduled ultrasound. The doctor will be especially alert if this is the 39th week of pregnancy; a small belly combined with a decrease in indicators may require other fetal studies.

What to do if your belly doesn't grow?

Lack of volume growth is not a diagnosis, whether it is a small belly at the 30th week of pregnancy or at the 21st. There are no methods of prevention, as with diseases. It all depends on the factors that influence the increase in abdominal circumference. If oligohydramnios and malnutrition have been identified, then measures should be taken to minimize the risks. In all other cases, there is no need to worry about this if you have a small belly during pregnancy (30 weeks), because even under such conditions healthy babies grow.

The main thing is to visit your doctor regularly in order to identify any abnormalities in time or simply make sure that the pregnancy is going well.

It happens that there is a small belly during the second pregnancy. That is, during the pregnancy of a woman’s first child, he met all the parameters, and there was no reason for concern. A small belly during the second pregnancy may alarm the mother, but each baby is individual and develops differently.

Prevention

To avoid complications, a woman during pregnancy must:

• Register with the antenatal clinic in a timely manner.
• Come for scheduled examinations on the specified dates.
• Get an ultrasound every trimester of pregnancy.
• Take blood and urine tests.

These research methods will allow the doctor to timely detect abnormalities in a woman’s body and prevent dangerous consequences.

An unexpressed increase in abdominal size is often a cause for concern. Of course, such a deviation cannot be ignored, nor can one worry without reason. An ultrasound examination is a reliable measure that helps make sure that everything is fine with the baby, so if you have any doubts, you should ask your gynecologist for a referral for an unscheduled ultrasound.

Only a timely visit to a specialist and careful attention to the changes occurring in her own body will help mommy promptly notice any pathological changes and eliminate them.

Author: Olga Vasilyeva, doctor,

Norms and deviations

Although every woman’s body is individual, standards have been adopted that are approximately the same for everyone, deviations from which should signal problems during pregnancy. You can judge a lot by the enlargement of the uterus.

At the 4th week, the uterus looks like a chicken egg. At the 8th week it grows and becomes the size of a goose egg. At the 12th week - like a baby’s head, during this period the gynecologist palpates it and also takes measurements of the abdominal circumference. At the 16th week, the tummy is rounded, the uterus is located in the area between the pubis and the navel. At the 20th week it becomes noticeable to others. 21 weeks of pregnancy - a small belly is not yet a reason to worry. 24th week - the uterus moves to the navel, and at the 28th it is above it. At 32 weeks, the navel begins to level out, the fundus of the uterus can be felt between the xiphoid process and the navel. 38th week - the uterus is at its highest level near the ribs. At the 40th week, the navel protrudes, the fundus of the uterus drops, beginning preparations for childbirth.

Tummy circumference is an important parameter that is measured from the lumbar curve to the navel. The following parameters are considered normal: 32nd week - 85-90 cm, 36th - 90-95 cm, 40th - 95-100 cm. If you still have a small belly during pregnancy (30 weeks onwards), then the doctor should determine whether the cause is malnutrition or oligohydramnios.

The uterus begins to enlarge almost from the very beginning of gestation, and if this does not happen, then an ectopic pregnancy may occur. In this case, the fetus develops outside the uterus, in the tube.

With regular visits to the doctor, deviations from the norm will be immediately identified. If necessary, a pregnant woman can be admitted to a hospital for treatment; in this situation, the likelihood of having a healthy baby increases dramatically.

Belly size norms

Abdominal circumference is a parameter monitored during pregnancy. The measurement is carried out in a special way - in front, the measuring tape should pass at the level of the navel, and in the back along the line of the lumbar deflection. It is worth noting that the parameters given in the table are approximate, and a permissible error of 8-10 cm does not indicate the presence of developmental pathologies. This is often due to inaccurate determination of the timing of pregnancy.

Abdominal circumference is measured starting at 20 weeks.

Each woman is individual, and meeting these parameters, for example, is impossible for obese women. Only a gynecologist during the observation process will be able to track the changes occurring in the tummy. That is why it is necessary to have a preventive visit to a specialist during pregnancy once every 2 weeks.

Planning a pregnancy

If you are planning a child in advance, you must first undergo all tests and cure all diseases before pregnancy, since any, even the most harmless infection, can cause complications. It is also necessary to radically reconsider your diet, lead a healthy lifestyle, and give up bad habits. If you follow all the rules, your baby will be born healthy, and he will not have problems in the future.

Don’t forget to eat fresh vegetables and fruits, take vitamin complexes - all this will contribute to better growth of the baby.

Nutrition at 26 weeks of pregnancy

The fetus grows very actively at this stage, and mothers, according to experts, need a minimum of 2000–2500 kilocalories per day. This is quite a lot for a woman, so food during pregnancy should be divided into small portions and eaten at least 5-6 times a day. The healthiest foods for pregnant women are still dietary meat, sea fish, cottage cheese, yogurt, vegetables, berries and fruits. At 26 weeks, some mothers begin to experience swelling: to prevent it from being so obvious, learn to control the amount of fluid you consume. Can pregnant women drink non-alcoholic beer and kvass? Doctors believe that it is possible, but in very small quantities. However, women who have kidney problems should not drink these drinks.