What would you think if these were your 30 week scan results (pic attached)

[zaalitje]

Scan at 30 weeks, had been tracking nicely along mid point but seems to have gone haywire.

Any thoughts as to why that might be?

I’m not a medical professional, but it doesn’t look like it’s gone haywire to me? And if it had, given that a scan at 30 weeks is not usual so there must be a reason you’re being monitored more closely, I think they would have mentioned it.

There's always some change. It's worrying if they drop, but I'd feel very confident with this.

You should probably ask your obstetrician but they look fine really. You can never base much on a single scan because there will always be minor measurement errors so I would see what the next one is like.

What "haywire"? All your measurements are in the mid range and increasing. There's always a margin of error on the measurements. Nobody's going to perfectly follow a curve all the time.

The only measurement that is a bit out of line is the top right one. Sorry, I am not familiar with these graphs, what does the top right one measure?

It wouldn't phase me unless mentioned by the consultant. But I've had 5dc & have been serially scanned in all of my pregnancues due to iugr. Measurements also only have to be slightly out (because of the way baby is positioned, the machine needs calibrating etc) for it to show like that on the chart. Ask you consultant or mw if you're really concerned though even if it's just for peace of mind.

Dumbledore from memory the 3 charts are femur, head circumference & abdominal circumference. On the ones I had the top right used to be femur (not sure if that's the standard place of just my trust). Mine always had small femurs on scans, then small legs in general that seemed to catch up with their bobies when they hit about 3 months

All the measurements are within normal range. Do you have a GROW chart? That’s the more accurate scale than going off these charts. The GROW chart is tailored to you where as these chitty charts are are an approx guide (plotting within normal range)

Thanks for the replies.

The scan was to check placental function after episodes of reduced movement.

I'm concerned the head growth has dropped off its mid line trajectory (zika concerns).

And the fact the femur hasn't grown at all, but the abdomen has grown above its trajectory.

Just wondered if anyone recognised the pattern?

I had very regular scans during pregnancy and they worried me no end. My baby’s head was coming up at below the 5th centile at 32 weeks after being mid point. Cue huge panic from me and a second opinion from fetal medicine. Initially they also told me (at 28 weeks) my baby was 95th centile and I may have to be induced before term if she continues growing that way. Then her growth apparently tailed off, so more scans followed that. It was all so worrying. At 36 weeks they estimated her current weight at 7lb 8oz.
She was born 8 days before my due date and weighed only 7lb 2oz. She is absolutely perfect, 100% well and happy. Her head was indeed small, but also normal and likely to have been a result of being so low down in my pelvis. It also expanded in circumference by 3cm by 10 days post birth!

Anyway, what I’m trying to say with all of that is that my scans were either totally inaccurate (e.g the estimated weight and size), or they were right but any concern was misplaced (head circumference was small but totally normal!) There is so much room for error!

I have lots of growth scans and AC is very variable. If they've just had a good swallow of amniotic fluid it can throw it off.

Also if a measurement is a bit off all they do is wait two weeks and check again, by which time it's usually rectified.

Different sonographers take different approaches and I haven't always agreed with how they do the femur. At my 30 week scan twin 1's femur was coming up very short because she wasn't going from the very end, but the consultant took over and measured it and it came up three weeks further along!

So there's an art to it.

They can't see very well Onan ordinary ultrasound at 30 weeks because the baby is too big and squashed in. Some of the measurements will be wrong.

Where I live the 30 week scan is standard but is only of placental function. They only take a cursory look at the actual baby because the placenta is the thing at risk of failing, and something can be done if it's noticed (usually early delivery) to improve outcomes.

Femur is the only slightly odd one (you are definitely completely over-analysing with the other two) and the femur is notoriously difficult to measure so I wouldn’t give it a second thought. Short long bones can be an indication of a variety of conditions but would have always been short.