20 week scan- baby's head is small? Panicking :(

[bambinadanina]

Hi All,

Hope everyone has been enjoying the holidays <3.

I am mainly looking for reassurance/positive stories from others who have had similar measurements or experiences. I went in for my 20-week scan today, everything seemed normal except the sonographer mentioned the baby's head was slightly small (I have attached the measurements, the "BPD" is not in the normal range..). They said they were not concerned and said it was probably due to the baby being in a breech position, but then they booked me in for a rescan in 4 weeks which has worried me slightly. Has anyone had similar measurements and what was the outcome?

Thank you so much
xxxx

My measurements are very similar to yours from my 20 week scan and I didn't even get called back for a rescan! I'm 25 weeks now, so far all seems fine. I wouldn't worry too much if I was you x

Thank you so much and good luck with the rest of the pregnancy mama! x

The error bars are what is called a ‘95% confidence limit’ - so 95% of all babies will be somewhere on the line. Occasionally babies will be off the scale, sometimes for harmless reasons (or no real reason at all). Taking another measurement in a few weeks is a good option as you will probably see baby’s head is growing. Or it could be just in a funny position. Try not to worry.

Thank you, that's reassuring to know x

Mine was, got referred to the consultant as had low blood flow. Got put on aspirin, everything was ok with baby when born

Oh, that's good to know, I wonder what the deciding factors are when referring to FM, the sonographer seemed to think it wasn't necessary at this time. So happy to hear your baby was fine <3 xx

The difference between 1st and 100th centile is millimetres at this gestation. I totally get why you're worried but it's probably just an active baby or in a difficult position. A rescan means another chance to see your baby. If they were seriously worried they'd have referred you to foetal medicine sooner. Parenting is so hard, constant worry! It's a good opportunity to get used to it 😂 Best of luck to you though- keep us posted but try not to tie yourself up in knots in the meantime ❤️

@bambinadanina i suspect the sonographer saw no other signs for concern, no issues with blood flow, and possibly even knew they were taking a measurement at a poor angle/with baby in suboptimal position. Hopefully your next scan will be more reassuring

Thank you so much <3 I was saying to the OH is this an insight into what being a parent is 😮anxiety central haha, will keep everyone updated, Happy new Year! x

Yes you are right because he did write in the notes "likely due to breech position" thanks so much for your response and have a lovely new year! xx

I had exactly the same situation, was referred to a specialist fetal unit in Birmingham (nearest city to me), FMU I think it was called.

We had scans every 2 weeks and all sorts mentioned such as microcephaly which was scary.

Throughout the pregnancy up until about 30 weeks her head was consistently smaller than the rest of the measurements but all of a sudden it caught up and we were discharged from FMU. So all that worry and stress for nothing!

I’m sure you’ll be fine, I think sometimes different parts grow at different rates

Hi@bambinadanina how did everything go at your growth scan? I had a similar low BPD measurement – 42.8mm at 20+3 – with the baby in a breech position. I've got a growth scan in 2 weeks' time... Hope everything with yours was OK and you feel reassured.

Hello lovely! I don’t have mine until the 1st of Feb, will update this thread then hopefully! x

Good luck!!

I did speak to a lead sonograpger who lectures at a prominent London uni and she told me to ignore the BPD measurement as many places don’t even use it x

@bambinadanina I actually discussed this with my friend yesterday who’s due any day now. She had some issues with sonographers constantly changing the age of the baby because everyone measured different.
the thing is the way the measurement works in most places it’s like the ruler in paint, they will pull a line between point A and B and call it a measurement. You don’t ever know how accurate the measurement is as it will depend on where they pull their ruler on the screen …as well as the angle and position affects it so much, as the regular sonography is 2D.

Just to let you know I had a 4d scan at 27+5 weeks after those similarly small measurements, baby girl was measuring 28+6 🤣 so she definitely caught up 😳

@bambinadanina that is very reassuring indeed! @Ttcmumma I'm glad your daughter's measurements caught up; that's what I'm hoping will happen!

and @Xur I have heard similar things from the doctors in my family too – it's always helpful to hear (even though the irrational bit of my brain can't help but worry).

Hi Lovelies,

Wanted to update this thread for anyone following/future panicking mamas. I had a growth scan today at 25 weeks. Measurement for HC is now 218.8, and her BPD is at 59.6, so still above the 3% threshold and she is tracking very closely along her curve (for all measurements). Essentially, she seems to be growing steadily and may just be a peanut head (not unlike her dad and I lol). The sonographer was happy to discharge us but I think sensed my anxiety, so as a precautionary check they referred me for one more scan with FMU. The sonographer did say "if these were my measurements, I wouldn't worry," which was very reassuring (she was lovely, makes such a difference when the staff are nice!!).

As always will update the thread when I have more news. Thanks for all your support xx

That must have been reassuring for you, @bambinadanina. I'm so pleased to hear she is getting steadily bigger and stronger! And that you've got another scan to help put your mind at rest. Thanks for updating us.

I completely agree about having friendly staff who reassure you that they know what they talk about. Keep us posted. I've got my growth scan on the 8th (in Portugal). Crossing my fingers that the BPD has caught up!

Keeping my fingers crossed for you! Yes, I will update after my FMU appointment xxx

Update

Hi again, Hope everyone is doing well <3

Yesterday we were seen by my hospital's FMU department, they were fantastic and did the usual checks/scans and had a closer look at baby's brain. Her head is still small, but growing along the line (5th-ish centile) and the brain's internal structures seem fine, there was no talk of MRI/Amnio at this stage. FMU have said they have no major concerns but I will go back at 32 weeks for another growth scan with them. I did notice all of the other measurements (FL/AC) seem to be jumping all over the place as well, i.e the AC seems to have dropped 20% in the space of 6 days, whilst FL has jumped up about 20%, I think this demonstrates how inaccurate the scans can be! I will continue to update for anyone following and future people who find this thread. xxx

Hi @bambinadanina. So pleased the brain is as it should be – that's what we like!! It's really reassuring to know they're monitoring you so closely.

I had my growth scan yesterday, in Portugal, which is where I've been based for a few months (though home soon). Happily, the BPD measurement seems to have caught up, though the baby is looking at the smaller end of things, weight-wise. And femur length is about three weeks behind. The person doing my scan – a doctor of obstetrics, rather than a sonographer – reassured me that (a) the scans are innacurate and (b) that everything grows at a different rate. So I suppose the takeaway is that, when something looks amiss, they just need to keep checking, as they are with you. It does breed worry, though, doesn't it?

Thinking of you and hoping 'no major concerns' continues to be the case.

@feelingmywaythrough so happy to hear it's going in the right direction for you<3. It does cause worry when anything isn't following perfectly along the average line, but I guess in real life that's not the case either. Ahhh I feel like I was so unprepared for the anxiety that comes with being pregnant, I was ready for physical symptoms but not the mental ones at all!

Hope everything continues to go well for you too xx

@bambinadanina can you please update?