O36: Maternal care for other known or suspected fetal problems

O36.5: Maternal care for poor fetal growth

Ultrasound scans are done during pregnancy. These involve assessing things such as the size and weight of the unborn child.

An unborn child can be smaller or lighter than normal for different reasons. Such reasons may be infant deformities, for example. The child can also be lighter or smaller than normal if the parents are small. It may also be that the placenta is not working as well as normal. The placenta forms in the mother’s womb during pregnancy. The placenta consists of cells from the mother and cells from the unborn child. The placenta supplies the unborn child with nutrients and oxygen via the umbilical cord.