Positional Talipes

[AnnamariaHun]

Im currenty 24wks with my sencond baby and we got told on the 20wk scan that baby has talipes on his left foot (seems like positional as he is able to straighten it evey now and then)
we were advised about the possible cause of talipes (chromosomal and genetic causes) hence down syndrome and all the rest has been brought in the picture
After reading on talipes i feel that the way doctors handled explaining this, was not very reassuring.
everything i seem to read about positional talipes, seems to suggest that it's nothing to do with the chromosomal and genetic causes but purely is down to lack of space in the womb.Hence any of the mentioned problems such as down is not relevant at all in our case.
Sould they have not made this clear to us rather than focusing on covering their back by talking about down syndrome ?
or is there something im missing???

P S sorry about the spelling mistakes

thanks for any advice

My ds had talipes on his right foot - not too badly - and was sorted with some physio within a few weeks. He has no other problems but was 9lb 7 and really long so I just assumed it was to do with lack of space. But my dh had something wrong with his feet when he was born - bent inwards I think (not too sure) but they were fixed with exercises too. So perhaps ds' was a genetic thing??

I was having growth scans with this pg (am 33 weeks) and he has long legs. I asked the sonographer on thursday whether he was more likely to be born with talipes and she said there was nothing noted at my 20 week scan. So I am pretty confused about it myself. So far everything looks fine otherwise so we will just have to wait and see.

Sorry I can't be much more help. Hopefully someone might be along with some better info!!

Our daughter was born with positional talipes, not picked up at any scan, no body seemed to panic at birth (i.e. no body suggested it could be a marker of other genetic problems). We saw a specialist physio on post natal ward who gave us exercises to do on our daughter at home. We were told it was purely that she'd run out of space in the womb (she was 8 lb 8). 2 years later she is fine, walked at 15 months, you would never know she was born with such wonky little feet! Hope this reassures xx

hiya!! both mine were born with it, my son (8.1lb) who is now 3 was really bad but was solved with physio and my daughter (7.8lb) who is 9 months again was sorted with physio and is now coasting!! i was told both were down to lack of space, not because they were big but coz i am only 5,4! dont let yourself over worry about something that can be easily sorted. hope this helps a little! best wishes

My dd was diagnosed with talipes at the 20 week scan. I was told to consider her at very high risk of a chromosonal or genetic abnormality, and offered a termination. That was it: no further discussion, no counselling, not even a leaflet. Oh, I was also told the talipes was moderate-to-severe, and that she would never be able to dance, or run a race.

dd was born with talipes that scored extremely low in severity (1 on a scale of 1 to 6). She was referred for Ponseti treatment, but after a couple of weeks the consultant felt she would prefer a 'wait and see' approach, so the boots came off and she was just kept under review for a couple of years.

She is now 5 and has totally normal feet. She does gym, plays ballet, swims, and runs races.

What I learned, from the very lovely physio who treated her, is that it is very hard to diagnose in utero the severity of talipes, or to differentiate between positional and genetic. Talipes is a soft marker for chromosomal or genetic abnormalities but not, obviously, if it's positional. If it really is positional, and they're confident of that diagnosis, you are at no increased risk of any other problem. So i would suggest that either they are not confident of that diagnosis, or they are indeed covering their backs. That physio was furious that I had just been offered termination, and said that sadly my experience was not unusual.

Incidentally, two obstetricians have told me that, according to the research evidence, around 10% of babies with talipes also have serious genetic/chromosomal abnormalities. However, the quality of that evidence is not great and it is mostly very old and up to date. One said to me, "I don't dispute the evidence, but I have to tell you that it doesn't tie in with my daily experience, which is that children with talipes don't have additional problems at anywhere near that level". He also said, "There's no guarantees, but honestly I think you should just get on and enjoy this pregnancy".

Sorry to ramble on: what I'm trying to say is that (1) IME how talipes gets diagnosed and discussed during pregnancy can fall very far short of ideal, and (b) I think my obstetrician's advice applies to you, too.

DS2 was born 5 weeks ago with very mild positional talipes (not picked up on any scan - I had a few late scans too, although they weren't looking for that). It was extremely mild and only noticed at his newborn check when he was almost 48 hours old. He was quite a big baby, and it was suggested that he had been crammed in hence the talipes. He's 5 weeks old now and it has pretty much corrected itself already - will see what GP says at his 6 week check, but I doubt it will need any treatment. No other health issues at all. I'm so glad that I didn't know antenatally because it really doesn't seem like it will be an issue for him at all, try not to worry too much.

At 20 weeks i would say it is more likely to be congenital talipes as the baby still has lots of room-so less likely to be squashed and therefore positional. That said some babies can do a very good job of making it look like they have talipes at 20 weeks! If it is suspected you should be scanned over a longer period with perhaps a walk in between. The fact that they said it straightened out seems odd thing to say-it's like telling you your baby has talipes and doesn't all in one sentence, bit confusing I think!
Fwiw I think that chromosomal problems are more associated with bilateral congenital talipes and not unilateral. As such our local fetal medicine centre do not accept referrals with one leg affected.

I'm a Paediatric Physio and I treat congenital talipes using the Ponseti Method of treatment. Like Muffins said if it was picked up on the 20 week scan then it is more likely to be congenital talipes (clubfoot) as the baby still has plenty of room to move so not had time for the foot to get squashed or stuck in one position. Normally though if they do have clubfoot they would not be able to straighten it as due to the position of the bones etc they are unable to.
I see Mum's to be antenatally to discuss possible treatment that there baby might have. I've had a couple over the years that it was picked up at 20 weeks and it was only mild positional talipes at birth.
I think all our babies identified have another scan and see the Paediatrician to identify if any other markers for any other condition. I have only had one child over the last 6 years with Down Syndrome and it was identified as a high possiblity ante-natally as the baby had a heart condition. They were not born with club foot as well but with mild positional talipes.
I would look at www.steps-charity.org.uk a website for parents with babies with clubfoot and hip problems as it explains the condition quite well.

I would request another scan so they can look at the foot in more detail.

I hope you get some clearer information soon

My Dd1 was born with positional talipies in both feet. The tops of her feet were bent up touching her shins.

She had a bit of physio but by a few weeks old her feet were in the usual position and has had no problems with them since and definately no related conditions.

my little girl had positional talipes picked up at birth...we had physio and did some exercises with her, I can't remember when I stopped noticing it but she crawled and walked absolutely normally.

Thank you very much for all your advice. we are having another scan on friday and just really hope that we don't get any more surprises, in fact very deeply i dream that they say." it's all gone and nothing is wrong with his foot" but i know it's unlikely.
i'll let you know how it goes

Thanks again

Best of luck, Annamaria.

hi everyone

quick update on our situation
im starting a new thread under "talipes with choroid plexus cyst" hoping for some more advice