Short femur…picture of results

[AnxietyLevelMax]

Had a baby scan today and been referred to FMC, now i am sick worried about the growth and development. Do the results make any sense to you? What shall i be prepared for and what to expect?

I don’t have personal experience of this however I have known people have a very similar experience (this is very common on the pregnancy MN board too) and their baby was absolutely fine. Measurements are tiny at this stage and can change very quickly. It’s good they are being thorough but fingers crossed all will be fine!

Are you very overweight? That can make scans more difficult and inaccurate

My dgs had very similar results... very short femur, (and a big head and big tummy) He's now 3... has a big head and he is very short... like 1st/2nd centile short , but he's growing into his head and stretching (albeit slowly) into his tummy... he's an adorable little Hobbit! Sadly it means he's definitely not going to be a 6 ft-er as he's up to the shoulders of his classmates at Nursery but it he's just fine!

Growth measurements are a snapshot and not always entirely accurate (as so tiny) so try not to worry too much!

You'll be referred to fetal medicine and you will be scanned by a consultant. They will usually repeat all the growth measurements and measure all the long bones to see if they are all small and baby is constitutionally small. They will also look to see if everything else is as it should be to rule out other factors.

The sonographer has commented that there were suboptimal views so it may be that they weren't able to get an accurate femur length.

Thank you. I am just really worried and not really understanding what it could mean for the baby, what are the real chances for everything to be alright. My dad has passed away a week ago, now i have to wait couple of weeks or more for another appointment. This is all messed up

OP, I'm so sorry for the loss of your Dad.
Try not to worry now, wait for the next scan and ask questions of your health professional then.
Just to point out, it's not the end of the world if your baby is born shorter than others typically are. Try to remember that x

Measurements are very very easy to get wrong. My baby was measured to have massive head but she didn't. It is much too early to have actual concerns, but I'm not for a second saying you're being silly, because it's natural to worry about this sort of thing.

I'm so sorry for the loss of your father too, OP.

Thank you both.

I had exactly this on a scan at 36 weeks with my daughter this was years ago
She’s 5 foot eight with legs like a gazelle and absolutely fine don’t worry.

The difference between the bottom percentile and the top percentile at this age is 0.9cm. Between the bottom and the middle is 0.5cm. The measurements are SO tiny at this stage.

This is all really reassuring thank you. Its really horrible we have to wait now!

One of mine was measuring a lot older than we knew from when we DTD and date of last period, and this was actually due to being tall like DH with a large head like DH.
I wouldn't waste your energy worrying right now, as it's not an exact science due to the variations on trying to measure a very small baby.
The good thing is you're being monitored. Back in the day we got one scan somewhere at about 12-20 weeks, and that was that.