Anyone had a small BPD at 20 week scan?

[CAS77]

Had my 20 week scan on Tuesday (was 19 + 5 on the day) and was told by the sonographer that the baby was "very petite" and that some of the baby's measurements were around the 5th percentile. The lowest measurement was the BPD (biparietal diameter) which was 41mm. The head circumference was also low (don't have figure with me but was on 5th percentile). The abdominal circumference was normal.

The sonographer didn't really explain much about what this meant but she is bringing me back for a growth scan in about 3 weeks.

My DH thinks it is nothing to worry about otherwise they would have done something there and then - I sort of agree but I am also pretty worried about it! Has anyone had a similar experience? Should I go for a private scan in a week's time to see how things are going?

The baby is also transverse and I have a low lying placenta and not feeling much movement, so I keep panicking that something will go wrong and I won't even be aware of it :(

Bump

Hi cas we must stop meeting like this! I didnt have that exact problem but I am having regular growth scans due to another prob. TBH I dont have much confidence in the head circumference thing - I get different results each time, from 'small' to 'large for dates' to 'normal'. I have no doubt at all that if I went for a private scan they would give me yet another view...after all, is your head completely round?!

I agree with your DH, they are monitoring you but havent got anything specific to worry about, just want to see if they consistent growth measurements over a period of time.

At 20 wks the movements might be quite weak, especially if your placenta is anterior..is it? Now I'm at 25 wks I can assure you the strength of the movements builds fairly rapidly but at your stage I was only getting flutterings

I wouldnt worry too much, you are getting good care...its almoost as if too much information is a bad thing isnt it because it makes us worry more! Try and relax and see how the growth pans out over the next few weeks. If your bub is on the small side at term then labour wont hurt as much...thats right isnt it?!!!

Hiya, I'm not sure if I have anything especially useful to add other than that I am just over 24 weeks and in the same boat. Baby measured small at 20 weeks so we had a growth scan at 23 weeks and it says 'petite baby' on my notes, they also checked the placenta flow with a doppler and found it to be in the normal range, so you may also have this, the consultant sid nothing he saw rang any alarm bells, but they are seeing me again at 26 weeks and so on, to check the baby is growing up the curve of the growth charts.

I was worried after the 20 week scan but now figure there is not much I can do other than eat lots and encourage babe to keep growing, and take some comfort from the fact that it is nice for everything to be checked regularly.

I am 38 weeks preg and small bpd was picked up at my 20 week scan (all else normal). Sonographer didn't bat an eyelid but consultant freaked my out by saying wasn't normal and told me come back after 3 weeks. Couldn't wait that long so went for a private scan with fetal specialist who measured bpd and hc to be bigger. As it was Nicolaides who did the scan, I believe him. BUT, all subsequent NHS growth scans (4 since 20 weeks) still showed v small bpd. As there has been growth along the centile, my obstetrician has said there nothing to worry about.

OFD was bigger and so my measurements could just mean baby has a long but narrow head. As BPD and OFD are used to measure HC, HC will be skewed downwards by small BPD. I have been told not to rely on this.

C-sec is next Wed and will see what emerges. Good luck.

BPD is out-dated and not used by most trusts nowadays, simply beacause facial shape can influence it. Please don't worry. XX

I should have mentioned that my obst said that he doesn't look at BPD - not all hospitals report this.

All mine have had small BPDs but with the exception of dd2 more average sized head circumferences - apparently they had narrow long heads, they look completely normal to me though!

dd2 had a very small BPD - right off the bottom of the 2 standard deviation lines they give you on the US report, her head circumference was on the lines but

phlebas thanks for sharing. V reassuring as I have been worried despite consultant saying all is fine.

Thanks everyone for your responses and Phiebas for sharing your experience - it is very reassuring. I do feel better about it - I think half the problem is you go to these scans expecting / hoping for everything to be fine and it's a bit of a shock if it's not. Plus the sonographers don't seem to have time to explain the implications of what the results mean. So you end up going away in a bit of panic! Slowly coming to the conclusion that I don't like scans!

Good luck with everything sh77! I totally agree with CAS77 that scans = worry. My baby seems to be generally small but have an extra small femur measurement causing all sorts of google induced panics and worries. In many ways it is the uncertainty that is the worst bit. Hoping that everything works out fine for everyone, keep us posted.