Short femur length in 28 week scan, please advise

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Hi
I had a 28 week scan due to some bleeding and they had to do a scan to check if things were ok, normally I wouldn't of been offered a scan as i was at low risk for everything.
In my 28 week scan they noticed that the femur length (legs) was short and everything else was fine, however as it was small they told me that they will monitor me closely. Since then i have been goggling everything and it made me worry and really stressing at the moment .
If anyone has any experiences please share.
Length is showing on 47 at 28 weeks.

Appreciate any advise ! Thanks

Ah no worries, I’ve got a scan later next week to recheck growth so I’m really hoping things have caught up. I’m trying not to stress and these messages from others have really helped to see there’s not always a negative outcome! Will keep you posted and please update with how yours goes!

I am up to 25 weeks and also very anxious about this. Have been told that all the long bones are short although no evidence of any other issues NIPT at 9 weeks came back clear.
paid for a couple of very expensive private assessments and they measured larger (although still small in the grand scheme of things). Don’t know what to do with this info now or why NHS seems to have such smaller measurements, but we have loads of appointments lined up.
deeply anxious, I do hope things work out for you and everyone else on here. Would love to hear from others who have been through all this.

@Expecti i am sure all will be perfect. I was a very unusual case and it turned out in the end that even though I’d had low risk NIPT when my baby boy was born he did have Down syndrome. The low femur length didn’t show up at 20 week scan it was only from about 28 weeks but I was told the whole time very unlikely to be DS as NIPT is 99% accurate! Have since spoke to other mums of children with DS that got postnatal diagnosis and also had low risk NIPT so would defo question that accuracy rate to be honest….but still, after all the stress my son
is beautiful and otherwise healthy and will have an amazing life. Like I say, we’re an unusual case but thought good to update people so they know how it turned out!

I am at similar situation, any updates on your journey? Wish all went well with your LO - i have been having same issues with short femurs since w29 & w31, measuring below 5%. Overall baby weight is slightly below 50%, as all
Rest of measurements. So i guess small baby? My initial DS scan was 1:20000 but doc suggested i do NIPT just to be safe. Ive been so anxious as i read things on "dr. Google" about short femurs as soft markers for DS & dwarfism. I just want to enjoy and be stress free these last weeks of my pregnancy journey.

@Babyisi it won’t be what you want to hear but my son was eventually born with DS. I had the NIPT which had come back low risk so was assured the whole time it wouldn’t be that. Please don’t panic though as my case is very rare, I did come back high risk at 12 week bloods but was suggested to do NIPT initially rather than amnio as it’s supposedly 99% accurate. Not sure I agree with that but either way I was the ‘1’. My son is so beautiful and bringing us so much joy already and has no health issues, so it all worked out in the end. Try to relax and enjoy the pregnancy, if no other markers I’m sure all will be fine x

Thank you so much for reverting- each story has its own learning path, and thank you for sharing your own, it means alot. i recall my 12w & 20w tests were low risk and great papp a. I wish all the best to you and your LO. Trust Gods plan 💙🙏🏻

Hi, I just had a 28 weeks scan too where they have said femur is just marginally below the 3rd percentile. Head and stomach measurements were fine. Been referred to fetal medicine to see if they want to scan me more in depth as have had low Papp-a since 12 weeks. I have had NIPT in the past and was deemed lower risk but also know that that is just screening and not a definite answer. Just wondering how you got on or if any other people have experiences like this?

The waiting and not knowing is just awful 😢

Sending love!!

Hi, what was the outcome of this for you? I have had the same at 28 weeks and been referred to fetal medicine, just so worried!

hope everything is well. x

@101HK I hope you and your gorgeous baby are doing well. I know this is an old thread but I wondered if you know what made your 12 week bloods high risk (NT/ Papp A etc) and whether the NIPT was done through the NHS x

@wendy20 we are doing very well thank you! I had low papp an and high HCG at bloods and the NIPT was done on the NHS although no idea what brand they use or anything like that. NT was 1.7 so wasn’t anything that flagged on a scan initially x

@101HK it’s so kind of you to take the time to reply!
did the femur drop below the 5th centile at 28 weeks and was it at all small in prior scans? Thank you so much x

@wendy20 it was always measuring fine until 28 week growth scan when it dropped below 5th, or roughly on it I believe! Up until then had been on 50th!

My DD was expected to weigh around 5lbs - she ended up being over 6lbs. Small, but perfectly fine. Today aged nearly 14 she measures 5ft5" and wears my size 5 trainers. She was always on the very bottom of the charts - I eventually stopped looking at them.

Hello, I know this is a very old post but I wondered if I could ask- how high risk was your NT test? Mine was considered low but not by much. Had a low chance NIPT but since have had short femurs flagged. No one seems concerned because of the NIPT but I’m unsure. I’m glad your little one arrived safe and hope he is still doing well! Thank you x