Short Femurs

[Babyboop]

Hi, I had my 20 week scan last week and we were advised that our baby boys femurs were very short 25.6mm and he could have dwarfism. Everything else is in the normal range. I’m very very bad at waiting and we have to wait 2 weeks for blood test results. I’m 5ft 2 with no issues and Dad is 6ft. I feel like I’m going to explode and I can’t function. I’ve been signed off work sick. I’m constantly crying and feel sick. I know no one can give me any answers but has anyone got any experience of this. If so what was the result when your baby was born.

They told me at a scan that my babies femeurs were short 0.3 percentile , I was rescanned a week later and they were fine. He was born three weeks ago and he was an average size baby with legs in proportion. As well as the blood test , I would ask for a rescan and that the measurements are taken again. There is always a margin of error with these scans

Thank you @romdowa. We had our 20 week scan on Wednesday and another scan at the fetal Medicine unit on Monday and they both said the same thing. We have another scan booked 6th December when we get our blood results. We have to have them every month from December anyhow due to our baby being IVF.

I posted something similar recently after my 28 week growth scan, and got some reassuring replies, so just posting the link here in case you're interested www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pregnancy/4405672-growth-scans-low-femur-length

Thank you so much. I thought because we had had 2 scans (one normal and one from fmu) they must be right. On both scans they found is difficult to measure his legs because he was sitting like a little frog and wouldn’t keep still. They said his femurs are off the chart they’re so small. It’s so reassuring hearing other people’s stories.

Try not to worry too much OP. I was advised my little ones legs were measuring short at a growth scan. She was absolutely fine.

They also told me she was measuring very large and I was going to have a very big baby. I was terrified. I ended up having a very average 7lb baby.

I was convinced something was wrong but she was perfect.

I was advised of this also. We had an appointment with fetal medicine who confirmed all my girls long bones were 'short' but she was proportioned. My baby arrived 3 weeks ago, he thighs maybe look a little short I suppose but she is perfect! Try not to worry, I worried a lot so know it's easier said than done. Also, don't google. That's the worst. Good luck & hope all ok. I found lots of positive threads on here about people in similar positions x

We were told DS4 had a massive head and very short legs.

When he was born he did indeed have a massive head, but other than that he was perfectly in proportion. He has a massive head to this day but you wouldn’t know unless you measured it. Perfectly normal child in every regard.

A short femer isn't just a sigh of dwarfism , it's a sign of other genetic conditions . Are you have a an amino / cvs ?
My son had a short femer in pregnancy . I am also 5 foot and dh 6.1 ..

Thank you. Honestly I cry every time someone replies because it’s such a relief. We would always have chosen to keep him if we had known earlier but we just want him to have a happy pain free life. All parents normal wishes really. So so scary.

❤️ thank you

I was told this too and DS is now a 6' tall 15 year old

We chose not to have these tests because my cousin had them. They were fine and her son has Downs. My other relative had them, she was told her baby could have one of three serious conditions and he is absolutely perfect. After the scan at fmu they said everything is perfect except the femurs and we have a 2% chance of Downs and any other condition but they wanted to check for Skeletal Dysplasia because his little femurs aren’t even on the chart.

We went to Hell and back when I was pregnant with our youngest. We went to every specialist we could and then just hoped and prayed that she'd be OK despite having all the markers for skeletal dysplasia. She was born and she was completely perfect in every way. I'm currently trying to coax her into her jammies and make a move towards bed and she's stamping her tiny little foot telling me she's a big girl and it's too early!!

An amino will pick up downs but not always other genetic 'blips ' ..obvs your choice but I think it's good to be prepared .

Hi OP. I don’t have experience of this exact thing but do have experience of being very stressed by scans (which turned out to be not accurate).
But I just wanted to send my sympathy for the stress you must be under. It’s so bloody awful waiting.
I also wanted to say that I found the pregnancy one of the hardest bits. I got so anxious I wondered how I would ever cope as a mother. But actually I found it easier after my son was born. Being able to physically see him made all the difference. It was all the unknowns when he was in my belly that made it so hard.
I can only imagine the journey you have been on with the IVF and now this panic. I’ll be really hoping it all gets clarified on the 6th so you can move on calmly. Sending strength.

@Thinking2041 thank you so much for your lovely message. I know exactly what you mean. Once we can see him it will be so much easier.

My thoughts and prayers go out to you. I do not have any personal story, I just wanted to wish you and your little one, all the best

@dutchessmom thank you that’s so kind of you x

UPDATE we have been for scans every fortnight to the FMU. Blood tests for genetic issues came back after 1 month as normal. His femurs are still short but they have straightened out and are growing at a steady rate so it’s thought to be natural variation. We now have to go for growth scans every week, however he will show a low birthweight because baby’s weight is calculated by the leg length and tummy circumference. Extreme relief and we happy news for Christmas and my birthday.

Sounds much more positive OP. Have been checking back to see what your update was. How many weeks are you now? Have they said anything about delivering early/no later than due date?

I’m 25 weeks now. They haven’t mentioned anything about delivery yet. I’m hoping we will have a few weekly scans and they will reduce them to fortnightly. He’s never going to show as the correct weight unless his legs have a huge growth spurt. We’re all happy a content now.

@Babyboop

I’m 25 weeks now. They haven’t mentioned anything about delivery yet. I’m hoping we will have a few weekly scans and they will reduce them to fortnightly. He’s never going to show as the correct weight unless his legs have a huge growth spurt. We’re all happy a content now.

That's good to hear. Fingers crossed all smooth from here for you. They told me I wouldn't be allowed to go beyond my due date because of the femur measurements, no idea what the rationale was behind that though!! My growth scans were weekly initially from 26 weeks then bi weekly after week 30 ish I think. They did blood flow scans on the alternate week as well for me. I thought my baby's weight would be skewed by the femur length but they got it bang on - 3lb 14oz was their estimate on the Monday, she was born on the Friday 3lb 15oz....!

Hi OP

Here's my story from a few years back

https://www.bing.com/fd/ls/GLinkPing.aspx?IG=4DF14740EE974BBC8854FB68C85E8643&&ID=SERP,5137.1&SUIH=fuxO47t54oGlFxNgyiT2YQ&redir=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubXVtc25ldC5jb20vVGFsay9wcmVnbmFuY3kvMzQ3MjU0NC1wbGVhc2UtaGVscC1mZW11ci1tZWFzdXJpbmctMy13ZWVrcy1iZWhpbmQtYXQtMzQtd2Vla3M

Hmm.. sorry didn't get the link right. Trying again:

https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pregnancy/3472544-please-help-femur-measuring-3-weeks-behind-at-34-weeks

They said they wouldn’t let me go past my due date due to having an ivf baby. Don’t understand the rationale behind that either. We’ve had blood flow checked in our last three scans and we’re all ok so far. Hopefully they will reduce to fortnightly. Thank you for your support 🥰