Scary ultrasound

[Ultrasoundwoes]

Posting for traffic.

Just had 20 week scan. Abdominal circumference was normal (23rd percentile) but head was 7th and arms and legs were 3rd. Under 10th is considered growth restricted.

NIPT came back low risk for trisomies. I've got another scan with the FMU next week.

I just feel lost and terrified. Sonographer mentioned a placental insufficiency but in that case the abdomen wouldn't be normal, surely. The only cases I can find are large head/small abdomen or small all over. I just have no idea what's going on and no one to talk to irl.

Can you ask your midwife to explain/ find out what is means? It must be very worrying for you.

My baby's legs measured off the percentile chart small on her 20 week scan

I was convinced she must have something wrong but by the time she was born her proportions had caught up .

She was small (2cd percentile) but no cause was found for it and she is now a 50th percentile 14 month old

I know its just my personal experience but I hope it helps you to know that weird measurements aren't always a sign of a problem

Babies grow head down so it's normal for head to be on a higher centime than the abdomen and the abdomen to be on a higher ve rule than the legs

Complete tosh..

@91BlackCat I have an appointment with foetal medicine next week where I will hopefully get more information. The sonographer didn't say much because I suppose she couldn't. But I asked for the measurements and the small head is really scaring me especially with the normal abdomen. I feel like I'm just alone with my thoughts worrying.

@kagerou Thank you, I'm glad everything turned out ok. It's the small head that's really worrying me

Why are you just…making stuff up

My 8 yr old child has a head that is on 5th percentile - the rest of him is on 99th!

I honestly wouldn't try to worry too much at the minute. They also told me he was going to be 10lb+ at birth - he was 5lb. I don't hold them to much accuracy tbh!

I had the same situation with my baby. The body prioritises the vital organs and and growth, arms and leg length can be sacrificed. Abdomen for my child was always larger. Their head was larger than the arms and legs on the centiles. Placental insufficiency was exactly our problem. Feel free to message me if you wanted. My baby came early but was fine.

Hi, have a look on facebook, theres a group called IUGR support group uk, you'll get lots of support there.

Ps try not to panic. Lots of positive stories on the fbook group i flagged above xx

Hi op, I don't know if this will help but my baby's scams we're showing her as having an abnormally large abdomen, very short legs and 2nd percentile head. She was born with perfectly average everything. Sometimes these scans are really not accurate.

One of my DC was measuring below the 0 centile for head circumference at 20 week scan with the other measurements around the 50th. I was beside myself with worry. First scan by foetal medicine consultant it measured the 3rd centile, another scan 2 weeks later still measured 3rd and she was happy it was following its own trajectory. Baby was absolutely fine. Honestly those measurements are so tiny that there can be variation between scans on the same day even, depending on baby's position etc. I know it's much easier said than done but I'd really try not to worry until you've seen foetal medicine.

Thank you SO much everyone for your replies.

I've honestly been worried sick but after reading some of your messages I've been able to make some tea, do the dishes and generally get myself together a bit.

I've been going down such a rabbit hole of scientific studies and Youtube videos and TMFR/incompatible with life stories.

Whatever happens happens but I will wait for my appointment and try to stay calm.

My baby had a 3rd percentile head (everything else 50th) so we were seriously worried throughout the pregnancy.

But he's now a toddler and absolutely perfect. Someone needs to be on the lower end of the scale! he just grew that way!

There are literal millimetres in between normal and not in these scans. So many people I know have had a terrifying scan. So many. If you can afford it I would pay for a private scan. They have more time and you often get someone very experienced. Everyone I know who has done this has had the numbers come out in the normal range

Oh you poor thing. I know it's easy to say, but try not to panic - wait until your appointment with fetal medicine. They're best placed to give you more info. With my first baby, she was diagnosed with quite a scary birth defect during a routine scan - they thought she was going to be born with part of her bowel outside of her body and would need surgery to pop everything back in. NIPT was fine. But we had multiple scans, multiple appointments. I was terrified. But when she was born, there was absolutely nothing wrong with her - just a small, harmless growth on the umbilical cord. So, I don't want to give you false hope, but just realise that scans are difficult, you can't always see everything. Best of luck x

I was told my ds head was large and body small in ultrasounds, measuring big etc-he was perfectly normal. Try not to worry-easier said than done. I hope all goes well
at your next appointment.

And those mm make all the difference in diagnosing issues, which you’d know, if you had a shred of medical knowledge.

Private scans aren’t Fetal Medicine Units.

Fucking awful advice.

Placental insufficiency here too. Wasn’t the easiest pregnancy, spent a lot of time in hospital (6 week stretch between 24-30 weeks due to low AF and some terrifying bleeding) which, in pre streaming, pre smart phone days was so boring I ended up asking to be moved back to a 4 person room!

She arrived at 38 weeks weighing 4lbs.

No reason found, I was a healthy 21 year old and my next two pregnancies were totally normal.

My SIL was told that her first had an enormous head compared to the rest of her body (can't remember which centile) but was born just shy of 8lb with totally normal proportions.

My first was born on the 4th centile, measuring 'small' at 20 weeks and then diagnosed with IUGR at around 28 weeks. It was stressful because she was tiny and wouldn't feed well at the beginning, but she's now an enormous heffer and you wouldn't have known she'd had IUGR.

Continued: My delivery midwife noted my small placenta, which may have been something to do with it.

Also I totally empathise with you regarding scary scans. At 33 weeks the sonographer was doing her job and my consultant waltzed in and said "how's everything looking?". The sonographer replied with "errr". My heart dropped, and it was apparent that the blood flow between the placenta and my DD was very poor, hence the restricted growth.

I found my consultant to be extremely helpful, and they got me one at around 24 weeks. You should ask to consult one if you're worried.

But even the tiniest of babies thrive 😊

❤️❤️❤️

I think I replied on your other thread. Stop googling. It changes nothing but medical studies that you may not fully comprehend (because they’re written in really clinical text) will create nothing but fear. Also, ultrasound measurements are unbelievably unreliable.

I was advised I was having a 9-10lber. I had a really tiny bump. They also told me he might have a form of dwarfism due to short femurs. He was born at 6lbs and is perfectly normal. I was also referred to fetal medicine and had an amnio which ruled out a lot of chromosomal issues. The various anomalies found at my 20 week scan were never explained beyond being put down to me being quite slender and the equipment being more powerful these days.

We had the same thing with placental insufficiency. Found at 20 week scan. The femurs were always incredibly low. Baby born 0.3 percentile so totally off the chart.. also came early but I was monitored A LOT throughout pregnancy. It was classed as extreme IUGR. SCBU stay but DC is now 2yo and apart from being smaller than peers in size, met all milestones on time and even walked by 11 months. She is incredibly wilful and funny and noisy and lovely and most importantly, healthy. It's very worrying when you're going through it but just to reassure you with our journey.

Thanks again for your messages. I feel a lot better after reading the supportive comments.

I'll update after my appointment.