Low amniotic fluid in the 3rd trimester...

doesn't mean ANYTHING!

What a revelation! Thanks for publishing this study, Johns Hopkins.

When women go past their due dates, (in the hospital this can happen BEFORE their actual due date if a twitchy doc decides via ultrasound that their amniotic fluid is "low") doctors often suggest they have a biophysical profile. This is basically an ultrasound to see how the baby is doing. Watch it's movements, how it's heart tones change with stimulation, breathing movements, and to measure the amniotic fluid level. Every time I've worked with a woman who either wanted a BPP or their doctor recommended it, they received the oh-so-grave talk about low fluid and imminent danger to the baby.

There's never really been any decent proof stating this is so, and really it just seemed a bunch of malarky. However, in this day and age, doctors practice first by covering their ass at all costs. This includes inducing labor for an otherwise healthy mom and baby because the clicky mouse they used to measure amniotic fluid "pockets" on screen deemed levels too low.

I'm glad to see this study published. Not that it make much of a difference. It generally takes years for this sort of thing to be accepted and pulled into actual practice.

Off my bitchy soap box now...