small for dates at 20 weeks scan

[phanie]

Hello,

we went for the 20 weeks scan this morning and left really distressed.
I was examined by three doctors as they found baby is way under the minimum on the growth scale.
It's perfectly proportioned but apparently extremly small.
They also found that the liquid on the side of the heart was more prominent than it should.
They've booked us with in the fetus medicine unit for more tests on tuesday.
They said it was very rare and there must be a problem with baby, maybe be down syndrome or another chromosomic disorder.

Did this hapened to anyone? Can't it just be a tiny baby?

phanie

i'm sorry i've got no idea - but just wanted to say i'm so sorry you have got this to worry about until Tuesday. Hope someone comes up with something helpful.

thanks you

hang on in there...im sure that you will get an awnser on tuesday, but dont go looking up all the horrible things you can find on the internet these days...just try not to worry. XXXXX

It's hard not to worry. i wonder how useful these scans are and if they don't make us worry more than we should. I find stats completely meaningless. What does 1 in 10000 actually mean for a human being...oh...sorry I'm moaning ...I'm feeling so useles.

Good Luck for Tuesday. I'm sure things will be easier to cope with once you know what you are dealing with x

I second that, Jamiesam! Stay away from Google till Tuesday or you will scare yourself witless, and probably for nothing.

How big are you and your dh? And how big were you both as babies? My babies were both small, because they were supposed to be small.

"Perfectly proportioned" sounds good.

Hang in there. Its unbelievable how children can start scaring you before they're even born, isn't it?

that's so true! It's only the beginning.
I'm not googling until they give us more details on tuesday.
Thank you all for your support.

Hi Phanie. I have experience of the size issues although not the liquid. My dd was small for dates at the 20 weeks scan - we were scanned every 4 weeks initially and then 2 weeks to check the growth and as long as she was growing - albeit slowly - they left things alone. She got to 37 weeks befoe she had stopped completely (well sometime between 35 and 37 weeks). I had to be induced and eventually had a c-section. DD was tiny - 4 lbs 9 oz but never looked back once she was born. As fruitful said in proportion is definitely good, as far as I remember if the abdominal is particularly small and head large that shows there is a growth problem.

Good luck for tuesday - the waiting between scans is awful so try and keep busy until tuesday and please let us know how you get on.

Try to stay as relaxed as possible over the weekend. I hope that you will be able to get some more information on Tuesday. Remember to ask as many questions as you need to when you get seen at the fetal medicine unit. Dont feel uncomfortable about asking people to repeat themselves or explain something again. Good luck.

if you have questions you want asking now then write them down before you go in. I always got myself in a state and forgot everything I wanted to ask. And make sure someone (ideally dh/p) goes with you - my dh was always able to remain much calmer than me and remember the positive points whereas I would only remember the negative points (which is ironic because we're normally the other way round in life !). I agree with CarmenH about don't worry about asking them to repeat themselves/ask what you want. IME despite being rushed doctors/midwives/sonographers would always take lots of time to explain things if needed.