Femur length 5th centile

[Lainey365]

Hi all, really hoping People have some similar stories that turned out absolutely fine.... Yesterday I had my 20 week scan and they said everything looked perfect and normal except the femurs were on the 5th centile...he (sonographer) said he couldn't give me any more info because the doctor would need to discuss further but it's the weekend now so I won't hear more until at least Monday. I am short at 5ft 2 inches and my other half is 5ft 9.5 inches. So hoping it's just because I'm petite and that it just means our little girl might be too. I would really appreciate if anyone has some positive stories for me 😐had a sleepless night...

If it is just that I wouldn't be worried at all. DS was similar with femurs around the 2nd centile. DH and I are similar heights to you. He is absolutely fine. He still has short legs, and he's never. going to be a basket ball player, but that is it.

Congratulations on your pregnancy.

Growth charts can be stressful. Seems to be the only time people aim for and expect to be average.

5 centile basically 5% of babies will have the same measurement. Ime, babies towards the upper or lower end of average are looked at in more detail. All mine were. Doesn't mean anything worrying is going on, they just want to make sure things progress as they should for your baby.

Dh and I are tall, skinny, lanky. All our babies have been likewise. All logged as iugr. All long on the centiles, low on the weight.

If you and the father on on the slightly shorter side of average, it's not unexpected for your baby to be likewise. It's good that they check though, otherwise what would be the point of the scans (other than being able to see your baby before it is born)

See what the doctor says. We got loads of extra scans, consultant lead births. All APGAR 9 when born.

Hello! Congratulations on your little girl ❤️

We had a similar thing with our DS. Very low centile for Femur and we worried so much about it.

Turns out he did have little thighs when he was born but he was still 50th centile for height overall when he was born and continues to be. He evened out as he grew and I can't really tell now.

I'm very short and my partner is over 6ft. But both of us have long torsos and shorter legs so he's just got our genetics! It was inevitable. In hindsight we should have worried less but at the time you let your kind wander to all kinds of places.

I hope this provides a bit of reassurance!

My little girl twin had femurs less than 2.5 percentile - didn't chart at all.

On its own femur length isn't anything to worry about as baby is most likely growing at her own pace as my twin did. There have been some studies which suggest it's the ratio of femur to head circumference or one of the other measurements which can indicate something but again not an exact science

Thanks so much for all of your comments, they have been very helpful. I have the call with the doctor so everything crossed he will reassure me. I will update on here for anyone else that may need. Just got such a fright about it when the sonographer mentioned to us.

Hi,

We are currently going through very similar.

At our 20 week scan everything looked fine but femur on around the 3rd percentile.

We were then advised of it being a soft marker for Down syndrome which was a bit of a shock. Our hospital referred us to a fetal specialist unit for a Doppler scan and again everything else looks fine. The femur had gone up to the 12th percentile.

I’m also only 5’2 and my husband isn’t tall so the specialists have advised they think it’s likely just that she takes after her parents.

We are now just on growth scans every 4 weeks so just hoping these show positive growth although I don’t think I’ll stop worrying until she’s born.

We have had a low risk harmony.

Not sure this will help but just wanted to share as someone going through the same thing :). Every Doctor I’ve spoken to has been reassuring so hoping you get some reassurance also.

Hi, how did it all go in the end? I have had something similar said to me recently!

Older post - any chance you can share updates? Hope all well with your LO 🙏🏻💙

@Babyisi happy to share an update, my daughter was absolutely fine, she actually just went 2 yesterday and never stops running around.
I ended up having scans every 2 weeks and the femur barely even hit the 3rd percentile.
I was induced at 37 weeks due to the concerns with her size due to the small femurs (never had any placenta flow issues and other measurements were around 40th percentile) she was tiny when she was born even for 37 weeks at 4”8 and spent 4 days in neonatal where they did some tests on her and never found any reason for the growth problems.
She is still petite and I think she always will be but all in proportion and was signed off hospital care at 1.
I completely understand how worrying it is and I spent a lot of time reading other people’s experiences. I hope you can enjoy the rest of your pregnancy!

Thank you so much for reverting, and so happy for you and your LO🙏🏻💙 im still measuring 5% femurs at 34w. I wish i could enjoy these last weeks but it has been very difficult. Unfortunately i have taken the "google path" and im afraid for skeletal dysplasias. My fmf and gyno are not worried though since femurs are growing at their own curve 🙏🏻🥹