Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Antenatal tests

Get updates on how your baby develops, your body changes, and what you can expect during each week of your pregnancy by signing up to the Mumsnet Pregnancy Newsletters.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Femur length too short at 36 weeks

38 replies

Onwithnumber2 · 23/02/2017 13:40

My midwife measured my fundal height at 35+6 and made it out to be 2 cm shorter than it had been at 33+6 so referred me for a growth scan.
The scan was yesterday and the baby's head circumference is measuring at 322mm (36th percentile), his abdominal circumference is 298mm (26th percentile) and his femur length is only 60mm. It's not even on the line, there's the diamond to show the measurement, a big gap and then the line starts.
The sonogropher measured his humerus length too and that was also short at 56mm but at least made it just onto the line at 7th percentile.

She said she would let the foetal consultant know the measurements and see what she wanted to do. Before we had even got down the road from the hospital we were called to say she wanted to see us on Monday for another scan.

Other than that we have had no information whatsoever, it's only from googling that I've found it could be maybe dwarfism or Down's syndrome? I can't really find anything except other message board posts though and I just wish I knew what we were looking at here. Do these measurements sound similar to anything anyone else has experienced?
I suffer from anxiety and I'm the kind of person who really has to arm herself with information for everything and the not knowing is really upsetting me. I know by Monday I'll know more but these next few days are going to be so hard.

OP posts:

Mrsknackered · 01/03/2017 12:38

Congratulations! That's brilliant news. Well done to the hospital for acting so quickly.
So jealous of such a new baby cuddles!

CatsBatsEars · 01/03/2017 12:44

Congratulations, so glad all was well

BendingSpoons · 01/03/2017 19:38

Congratulations! Hope you enjoy this special time with your new arrival.

imjessie · 18/03/2017 18:17

My son had short femurs in my pregnancy and it did turn out to be a indication of a problem but also my friends son has really short legs and he is fine . I'm very short ( 5 ft ) and they said it was because of that but dh is 6.1 and my dd is really tall so I knew it wasn't right .

Condragulations · 05/07/2018 12:49

Hi - OP here.
I just wanted to post an update just in case anyone in the future with scan measurements similar to mine ever comes across it.

So we spent the first six months of DS2’s life thinking he was just small. Then his cousin was born and was the same length as him, so we started to question dwarfism again.

At 7 months he started having seizures where he would turn limp and white/grey. In the hospital the dr said she could see he was disproportionate and the seizures were linked to some kinds of dwarfism. Over his first year his head jumped up the chart rapidly whereas his height slowed and plateaued.

There are 400+ types of dwarfism so it has been a hell of an 8 months testing for all sorts but he has finally been diagnosed with Hypochondroplasia. We think he has outgrown the seizures now and although he’s little - he’s 16 months and his 6 month old baby buddy is the same height as him- and he has shorter limbs and a bigger head than average but he’s getting on so great. We are thrilled to bits with the diagnosis as we have a really brilliant support network of others across the world with the condition and we’re won’t let it hold him back in life 😊

Some of the theories have been a lot scarier so we are really so blessed with this outcome.

If anyone reads this in the future going through the same, I’d say be aware that there are many many forms of dwarfism that are not obvious at all at birth. Also join the “POLP on Facebook” group (parents of little people” as there are so many of us there looking forward to welcoming you and answering any and all questions you have. When you know what you’re dealing with it’s really not so bad after all.

hendricksy · 05/07/2018 13:00

Glad to hear you are doing well OP . My son's femer was very short and he has sn but not dwarfism . In my experience when things are that far out of kilter on any test it's an indication something is amiss .

Condragulations · 05/07/2018 18:36

Thank you. Yes I think you’re right- I’m on a group on Facebook for support for IUGR babies and there are many babies with short femurs on there, almost all turn out to have nothing else going on- but they’re not as far behind as my DS’s were. In the group I’m on for those with Hypochondroplasia I have found that 6 weeks behind on the femur measurement is very common.

The team we’re under now at a London Children’s Hospital were shocked there was no handover or follow up after his scan because so many types aren’t visible at birth and his scan measurements were indicative of dwarfism (or other chromosome anomalies) but at the birth they just eyeballed him and said he was fine and we thought no more about it. What’s done is done now though I guess! He was about a week away from 16 months when we finally got a diagnosis.

hendricksy · 05/07/2018 18:47

They did the same with my son , we had a cvs in pregnancy and they told me the baby was fine and also after birth all fine ( albeit he was prem and was in dc I for a month ) when I queried him they told me I was paranoid and anxious ( I'm so not ) . Turns out I was right . He has pretty severe learning difficulties and a chromosomal issue . Hey ho .

Condragulations · 05/07/2018 19:27

Hendricksy Mum gut is a real thing right! I’m sure of it. After that scan the only things I had to go on was google and I just felt like it was dwarfism. My husband and I were so sure. Then when he was born and they said no I kind of felt like, really? Are you sure? That one dr who saw him in hospital said she could see he had dwarfism but every other doctor for the next four months said it was in our heads! There were so many markers by that point though that we did get a referral to a geneticist then a skeletal dysplasia specialist and they agreed with every point we had been trying to make the whole time and everything about him from the seizures to receptive speech delay is typical hypo.
It takes an expert to join the dots together though.

Definitely a frustrating time when you’re made to feel like a crazy paranoid mum!

hendricksy · 08/07/2018 08:53

Yep ... the senior consultant write to my doctor saying I was anxious and worried and the baby was fine . I took ds to a regular appointment and pointed out he couldn't hold his head at 5 months and was told it was within normal ranges .. I mean come on .. he must have seen thousands of babies in his career and he couldn't spot that was an issue . I've only ever held my dd and him and I knew it wasn't right 🙄.
I think our journey would have been a lot easier had he just been honest at that point and said I think there may be a problem ( I'm pretty sure he suspected it ) rather than sending me off thinking my baby was ok ... it was a terrible time ....
the hospital made some catastrophic errors along the way to be fair but it wouldn't have changed the outcome so I try not to dwell on it .

Vancallum · 16/07/2019 15:58

Hi, so when your baby was born, was everything ok? I am
Pregnant and going through the same thing
Thanks

Skrjodha · 30/12/2019 07:32

Congratulations . So glad all is well. I m also suffer from this situation . My scan shows femurs are short and curved. My pregnancy 33weeks and i m very tensed and upsetting.

Worriedmomtobe12 · 17/10/2023 16:16

I had a growth scan at 36 weeks today , everything is normal,except femur length ,which is in the 2nd percentile.
Has anyone experienced this ?

Flip

1 2