16 weeks pregnant and baby has ‘short’ long bones

[Archiejbw]

Hi All!

I went for my 16 week early anatomy scan today and I was told my baby boy has short femur bones (2nd centile). No other soft markers were found though. Has anyone experienced this or is anyone going through this too? If so, what was the outcome?

The doctor at the ultrasound clinic told me it could be anything from my baby just having short legs to dwarfism, I’m slightly freaking out 😔

[RainbowL2020]

Thanks everyone! X

[Shelby30]

Just noticed this is an old post, sorry and glad everything ok.

[Shelby30]

Aw I know nothing I can say will make you stop worrying. All I would say is that normally you would not have a scan at 16wks and maybe by the time you get your 20wk scan baby will have caught up. I've also heard of ppl being told this at 20wk scan and the baby was completely fine.

I do believe that some babies will go through spells of growing slower and faster just like they do in real life but when compared to where they shld be it may look as though something is wrong.

Also 2nd centile just means small doesn't have to mean something wrong. My baby was born on 2nd centile for weight as she was 3wks early and she's now on 75th centile at 8 months.

Good luck with baby and I hope everything is gd.

[RaindropDreams]

Huge congratulations! I had an abruption too strangely! Wishing you and baby well @RainbowL2020 x

[RainbowL2020]

@Amichelle84 omg really thats so strange it happened to us both! Also the weight should of said 3lb 7 not 4 so nearly the same as your little one 😃 he's now currently at 3lb 10 and on full feeds so hopefully just a case of building him up now so he's strong enough to come home ❤️ congratulations to you! X

[Amichelle84]

Hi, how funny the same happened to me. Our boy was born 2 weeks ago at 34+2 and weighed 3lbs 8oz. He was healthy but small and spent 5 days in neonatal. Leaving him there was very hard, I was diacharged after 3 days. Hope you are feeling ok and baby is doing well.

[RainbowL2020]

Hi all just wanted to update! After all the worrying my baby boy was born 19th July at 31w + 4 because I had a placental abruption. Turns out my placenta was never working as it should of been (even though every scan it was checked and always said to be fine) so my boys arms and legs measured small on their charts but absolutely healthy just small at 3lb 4! He's in NICU at the moment which is emotionally really tough but he's doing really well and progressing as he should. I am just so thankful that we were in the right place at the right time and my gorgeous boy is safe and well 💙 x @RaindropDreams @Amichelle84

[RainbowL2020]

@Amichelle84 ah thank you 😊 Oo really yes it's so exciting, good luck with everything a let us know how it goes! X

[Amichelle84]

Looks like all is going in the right direction for you and baby :) weve just been told to pack the bags ready for Monday, thought I'd have 7 more weeks of cups of tea in bed watching TV but dont think that's going to happen. Really excited though.

[RainbowL2020]

@RaindropDreams aw thank you I really am! 😊 x

[RaindropDreams]

@RainbowL2020 that's amazing news! You must be relieved ☺️

[RainbowL2020]

Thanks @Amichelle84 ! Yeah I feel a lot better after today, his overall weight is coming out around the 16th percentile so if he continues I may be able to go to term instead of going in early but we will see over the next few weeks. Aww that's good that the weight has gone up so much for you! My curve is a bit up and down too but generally following an upward direction, I think it just depends who's scanning to be honest because there was 2 sonographers in today and one measured me less than last time so the other one said no that's not right you need to re scan and then she got a few mm difference which made a jump on the chart so just shows you really... your baby will soon be here 😊 x

[Amichelle84]

That's good news, are you happy? I had a scan on Monday and it has put on a lb and 4oz and is still kind of on the curve but some areas have dropped off slightly. Having another scan on Monday to check placenta but looks like I will be having a cesarian at 35 weeks but they will confirm on Monday what the plan is.

[RainbowL2020]

Hi all just to update I've been for my 30 weeks growth scan today and they said that he's still measuring between the 3/5th percentiles for his long bones (so they are measuring around 27 weeks) but he has followed his growth curve since last time. She said the plots on his chart would of had to of dropped a lot lower for them to be concerned and he is now estimated around 3lb so I'm happy with that 🥰 back in 2 weeks for another scan and then probably only one more after that to discuss delivery 🤭 hope everyone's else is doing ok! X @RaindropDreams @Amichelle84

[RainbowL2020]

@RaindropDreams wow really! Such a horrible time to go through all this too with the virus situation but it's so important they monitor these things regularly and get people sorted. Actually glad I'm back in 2 weeks now see what they say fingers crossed xx

[RaindropDreams]

@RainbowL2020 yes I was booked for induction at 36 weeks but they suspected he had a genetic disorder and neonatal was closed in my hospital so they put it off for a week and then they didn't have beds so I had to put my foot down as I was told at 33 weeks his growth had slowed and I hadn't been rescanned for growth since. Glad I insisted they induce me as he had only gained 5oz in a month! I was furious. Make sure they look after you properly!

[RainbowL2020]

@RaindropDreams Aww really asif bless them! Yeah I thought that but she said it's just his arms and legs bringing the weight down so his weights showing as12th percentile at the mo. They said they would have to monitor over the next few weeks in case I need to deliver early depending on what happens now x

[RaindropDreams]

@RainbowL2020 that's not a bad weight for your gestation though. I had twins at 27 weeks that were 2lb 7 and 2lb 9 so your baby isn't far off! They weighed mine 6 times because they couldn't believe their weights and especially being twins!

[RainbowL2020]

@RaindropDreams aww beautiful! Yeah deffo nothing wrong with those arms and legs bless him, my other 2 measurements have been fine for head an abdomen just his arms and legs they keep flagging up but estimated weight is currently 2lb 3ozx

@Roselilly36 thank you for your comment 😊 x

[RaindropDreams]

@RainbowL2020 it was his arms and legs. His abdomen and head measured small too but not as far behind. He was tiny don't get me wrong but very much in proportion. Have attached another pic of him taken today at 16 days old in which I think his legs are quite long lol

[RainbowL2020]

@Amichelle84 yeah I'm sure everything will be fine especially if everything else is in proportion  keep us update x

@RaindropDreams was is just your sons femur showing short in the scans? Head and abdomen ok for me x

[Amichelle84]

Yeah, everything is measuring small but in proportion you know what I mean. I will feel happier when we have the scan next week though.

[RainbowL2020]

@Amichelle84 yeah I agree I think it depends on the person taking them and a couple of Mm can make all the difference 2 nurses scanned me before and one kept getting 32mm and the other 34mm so they went with 33mm. All those measurements took me either to the 3rd,5th or 7th percentile. Had your baby measured ok everywhere else? Mine is arms and legs short but only just decided to scan the arms never did before x

[Amichelle84]

I dont understand the measurements sometimes. Friday scan said 11th centile and scan the following monday said 3rd...

[RainbowL2020]

@RaindropDreams really what a coincidence! I had scans and the could see the bleed around the sac at the time and said it was haemorrhages that could of been caused by the placental attachment but they couldn't really confirm! They say you can get them with or without bleeding so that explains why yours was silent. Mine was really heavy with a lot of clots and I thought surely all these nutrients that I'm loosing should be going straight to him? I've also heard that nature prioritises the head and the abdomen over the limbs first so I'm thinking this may be why but who knows xx

@Amichelle84 sorry to hear your going through this too mine was picked up at 20 weeks and yesterday at 28 weeks was the worst reading yet but it has gone up and down in between xx