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.

Congratulations!!! I am so happy for you!!! Well done and dont try do too much!! Also pee in the bath to help the stiches!! Enjoy it and update us again when you can xxx

Congratulations!! So happy you're both okay x

Congratulations, wonderful news!

For anyone following this in search of answers: My baby was born, the cause was a marginal and velamentous cord insertion, diagnosed after delivery, causing growth restriction. He is perfect and healthy, fitting into all this clothes as expected, and developing perfectly. Such a stressful time but I'm forever thankful that he is here and healthy.

Update for me too for anyone searching and going through this!
After my last post in March they told me the baby measurements had grown again so to go away and enjoy. Had another growth scan in May and was told my baby had 1 leg femur significantly longer than the other (it had never been noticed before because they only ever measure 1 femur and it just depended on which one they measured)….Also was told at this appt i had single cord artery. So went for MRI scan at 29 weeks, had to wait 3 weeks for results. All clear thank god. By this point I was starting to swell. Went for another scan and FMU told me go get checked as i was so swollen and baby hadnt grown so suspected IUGR. Turns out protein in urine etc so get put on blood pressure tablets as preeclampsia. Got worse and ended up having emergency caesarean at 34 weeks. Baby was 3lb 5 and growth restricted but all healthy. His arms were really long but everything else was so small. Hes perfect and healthy and 14 weeks old now. I think of what I went through during pregnancy and wouldnt wish it on anyone. I would read these posts and see it turn out positive for everyone else and pray I woukd get the same outcome. Anyone reading this I know all the posts say dont worry and its impossible to not think the worse but look at us all on this thread feared thr worst and turned out fine. Anyone ever needs to ask questions thrn pls reply to this and i will try help. X

Sorry also my babies legs are fine the MRI showed no abnormalities and they look fine to me now. It was the same woman who scanned me who gave me the first horrific news and got it wrong again a 2nd time. When I went into hospital to have c section she saw me and joked how shr wasnt there to scan me so dont worry 🙄

I am so relieved for you. It is so incredibly upsetting and stressful when you hear news like ours. The relief is immense. Congratulations and the best of luck for the future. My little man is now 6 months old. We eventually had our hospital appointment & all is well. He has jumped from 2nd to 9th percentile. Despite him having severe reflux & a cows milk protein allergy he’s thriving. Gaviscon and mamma going dairy free has resolved them issues.

You really did have a terribly stressful time bless you. God knows how you managed to get through that. Congratulations on your little bundle of joy. Now time to enjoy and try and forget all the stress. Such a shame tat our pregnancies were stressful but my goodness it is so worth it.

Exactly the same as me. I had velamentous cord insertion also diagnosed after delivery (not by the midwife, she missed it, by the person who did my placenta encapsulation!)
My baby is almost one, she is now almost on the 9th centile for weight, her head is 75th 😳 but for height she isn't on the chart yet. She's seen by peads every 3 months and dietician every 3 months also. They're keeping an eye on her height but she looks perfectly proportioned and has no problems at all.

@lucea87 looks like we have all had a beautiful outcome regardless of the predictions. I personally think perfectly proportioned is more encouraging than numbers on a chart. Time to relax and enjoy our little babies x

Hi there, just wanted to say thank you to all of you for sharing your experiences and coming back to update. I've been going through this same scenario since 19 weeks (currently 32) - I know I won't stop worrying until he's here but this thread has brought me some comfort in the meantime xx

@DanishPatsy You’re very welcome and I hope this post continues to bring people comfort because I don’t want anyone to feel like I did. My little man is absolute thriving and I cannot believe how much he has grown. Good luck with everything and keep giving updates x

@Babyboop thank you, really pleased to hear your little boy is doing so well! We're still trucking along on the 5th as of my last scan - I have notching and high resistance in my uterine arteries so consultant suspects a placental issue but all sorts goes through your mind. I'll be so glad when he's here! x

Hello,

I know this is an old post but wanted to see if there’s an off chance you will see it.

Our baby’s femurs measured 25.1mm at the 20 week scan. The other bones are short, but on the chart. Baby’s head, chest and abdominals are all a normal range. I have had an amniocentesis and are awaiting the results but have also had a trio exome genetic test which can take a long time - pushing us over the 24 week mark.

We have a further growth scan in a weeks time and we are hoping that might be able to tell us more.

I am crying all the time, can’t concentrate on anything. The doctors have said this could be skeletal dysplasia but there is also a small chance our baby is just small.

Reading your post comforted me as your situation sounds similar to ours? Were your baby’s other bones short but still on the scale, but the femurs were the ones that were off it?

So my beautiful son is now 2.5 years old and he is absolutely incredible. We’ve had him checked out by an orthopaedic specialist and she said that he’s perfectly fine and couldn’t find any issues. He’s growing normally and full of life. His speech is incredible and he loves to run & jump. When I think of what we went through when I was pregnant I’m not sure what happened but lots of positive vibes must have worked.

My heart skips every time I get a notification from these threads I joined in 2022. I know what I was going through so I always need to respond so to hopefully help anyone else.
so glad to hear your outcome! I too am sitting with my very healthy any very tall 2 year old!! I feel sad when i think of my pregnancy and the worry we had!! Thank God things turned out! Xxx

So pleased to hear about your son. I am trying to have positive vibes and focus on stories like yours - it’s just so hard and the wait for the tests is just horrible

@LOB1993 Im so sorry you’re going through this. We we’re told all his long bones we’re short at one point. It’s so hard to remember now it just seems like a bad dream. He’s growing normally and people actually say he’s big. I love seeing him run around with his legs out and watching him grow.

I honestly don’t understand what happened between his last scan and being born because his legs consistently measured short. They weren’t even on the chart and they were bowed on every scan. I can only assume it was the position he was in.

All our tests came back normal and all body parts were fine on the scan. I’m so glad my posts can bring comfort to you x

@LOB1993 i cried for a couple of weeks and I just flipped it one day because I didn’t want to give him negative vibes. Every time I had a negative thought I used to chant a mantra in my head. I then forced myself to feel excited when saying the mantra and I even giggled when it was time for his test results because I felt so positive. Sounds a bit crazy but it worked.

@LOB1993 i agree it is heart wrenching. I found myself curled I a ball on the floor at one point. I only hope your outcome is the same as ours x

Hey everyone - I wanted to further update this thread in case anyone else comes here searching the internet for answers like I did.

The first consultant we saw at Kings told us he was pretty certain our baby would be disabled, spoke to us about quality of life and also said we need to have a serious think about termination.

We then saw a genetic specialist at Kings who said there is a chance the baby is just small - we were so emotional as the other doctor said there was no hope.

Fast forward the most agonising and painful 2 and a half weeks of our lives and we have had clear amniocentesis results and a trio exome genetic test that also has come back as clear. There are obviously a few conditions that can’t be tested for, but the specialist told us that at this moment in time there is no evidence to suggest there is anything wrong with our baby girl. We had a further growth scan and the femurs are still less than the 5th percentile, but it’s likely she will just be small.

We can’t believe the few weeks we have had, but am so happy to be writing this.

@LOB1993 im so glad you’ve updated us, I have been thinking about you. Keep up them positive thoughts and rest, rest, rest. Eat well and look after yourself. All of the stress really does take it out of you. If you’re working try and take some time out to reset.

My sons femurs weren’t even on the chart they were so short. I would go and look for his hospital letters and confirm measurements but I’m unsure if the info was left in my file.

I’ve just settled him after his second major melt down today. This will be you soon 🥰. He wanted to be upstairs and downstairs at the same time and eat a yogurt and not eat a yogurt at the same time. He eventually settled watching Tweedy & Fluff (channel 5 milkshake) and a warm wheat bag. The writers need an award because it always calms him.

It’s true that the time passes so quickly and you do forget the trauma eventually because life becomes so busy and fulfilling.

When your little one pops out the first thing you will do is check her legs and the rest will be history. We had to ask the midwives to check our sons Legs. I said there’s no way we’ve been put through that trauma for it to be ignored. He was referred to Orthopedics at our request and given the all clear.

i hope you can enjoy the rest of your pregnancy. It’s so precious. Take lots of pictures and videos and write a little blog so your little one can read it when she’s older.

Thank you so much. Forums like this have honestly helped me so much. There’s so much ‘doctor talk’ at the hospitals and when you’re going through something like that it was so nice to be able to come on here and talk through some real life experiences 🤍

Hello,

I know this is old. I had a similarly small measurement for femurs at 20 week scan. Was reassured that probably all fine but booked in with a scan with a specialist for two weeks later. Combined NT test relatively low and NIPT low risk. I asked about amnio or further testing but was told that no it was not needed. I was wondering why you were offered this with similar scan finding to me? Do you mind me asking, were there any other issues on the scan? It worries me that I wasn’t offered any further tests. Now I wonder if I should have pushed for this.

How did things work out in the end? Hope you and LO are well. It’s such a stressful time.