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Pregnancy

Femur length way off chart (low) - what does this mean?

18 replies

ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 25/02/2010 10:37

Just had my 20 week scan (23+1) and everything was OK except the femur length was 34.2mm, way to the left off the little line. I am going back for a consultant scan on Monday but have no idea what this could mean/what to expect etc. Can anyone help me please?

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ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 25/02/2010 10:38

below 3rd centile just read on notes

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ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 27/02/2010 18:15

bump

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sarah293 · 27/02/2010 18:33

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ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 27/02/2010 18:35

She measured again and again, she says it could be her error but she did it so many times , made me sit forward and cough and did it again etc. Consultant is going to re-measure but I don't know what it could mean ... Thankyou for answering

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thehillsarealive · 27/02/2010 18:38

it could mean that your little bubba has shorter legs, but there is plenty of time to grow yet. Wait until Monday when you see the consultant and try not to worry in the mean time. (hard i know)

ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 27/02/2010 18:42

Could I have caused it? My mum says she told me not to breastfeed when pregnant (18mo) and have now caused a calcium deficiency, then said it was because I have had "one baby on top of another" (have a 3.11 yo and 18 mo) I missed taking some folic acid too because I couldn't get them down on the days of bad morning sickness, and they are a multi vitamin too...

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sarah293 · 27/02/2010 18:44

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sarah293 · 27/02/2010 18:44

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Cadmum · 27/02/2010 19:11

I don't fully expect this to be possible but my advice would be to relax.

You have done nothing to 'cause' this. The measurement might not be accurate: Our dd was diagnosed as IUGR based on this measurement and they were WAY off. I was induced at 38 weeks and she was over 7 lbs. She was pin on the 50th centile for height as well at 20 inches.

It might be right and an indication that you are less far along than previously believed or expecting a baby who is less tall than the majority of his/her peers. Are you and your dh tall? (Someone has to be on the 3rd centile and at least it is not a measurement below the chart.) Hopefully the consultant will shed light on the issue. I also hope that you manage to rest and not worry too much until then.

ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 27/02/2010 19:22

Thankyou I am 5'3" and DH is about 5'9" so definatly not tall at all. Roll on Monday.

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nellie12 · 27/02/2010 19:26

dont worry. That happened to me with all of mine. by the time we had ds3 we just told them not to bother rescanning.
All are normal height btw.

emkana · 27/02/2010 19:43

I agree with everybody here that it's probably a wrong measurement/nothing to worry about, but there is another possible explanation which I know of because it happened to me - short femur length could, but only could, and in your case probably doesn't, mean a case of short-limbed dwarfism. At our 20 week scan of ds we had short femur length and he does have dwarfism, but there was another cause for concern - he had enlarged ventricles in the brain - and this should reassure you, because if they didn't find any other abnormality the chance is higher that the femur measurement doesn't mean anything. I hesitated whether to post but I remember how I felt after the 20 week scan before we saw the consultant and I wish somebody had told me then what might be in store, so I hope you feel the same. Good luck, and check out my profile - you will see that short-limbed dwarfism still means a normal boy!

theyoungvisiter · 27/02/2010 19:51

Please please try not to worry until the consultant scan. I've had two scans that were WAY off and both turned out to be scanner error.

One showed a head measurement of 3rd centile and the other showed an abdomen measurement of 99th centile. Each time scanner rescanned and got me to move and stuff - and it still turned out to be a false alarm both times.

Wait and see what the consultant says before you fret.

theyoungvisiter · 27/02/2010 19:52

x-posted with emkana - wow emkana your boy is gorgeous!

I love the pasta photo...

morningpaper · 27/02/2010 19:54

My DD2 had "short femur" blah blah blah - she is just SHORT. Don't worry.

emkana · 02/03/2010 12:25

Any news?

ASecretLemonadeDrinker · 02/03/2010 20:12

Went and had my scan, she kept getting different measurements though - low as 34 again and high as 38mm. It is down as 38mm, and she did all other limbs and they all seem to be small. The other lady said it wasn't really the levels they would look at for dwarfism, Downs was hinted at (need to track down my blood test results from 12 week scan though) but I said amnio wasn't an option so with regards to that it is being left. I am going to be rescanned in 4 weeks to see what's happeneing but she said more than likely it's due to our heights, especially when I mentioned not only am I short (5'3"), I have real trouble driving cars as my legs are short. So... that's it for four weeks. Thanks for all your help

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Laura3151 · 02/09/2020 20:27

Hi @ASecretLemonadeDrinker how did your pregnancy turn out? Was baby all ok? X

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