Femur length only on 5th percentile - should I be worried?

[Kiki1703]

Just after some anecdotal advice really…

I went for my 32 week scan today and the results shows that my baby is measuring well above average for his growth, however his femur length is only on 5th percentile. I know anything smaller than that is a cause for concern…

His short femurs compared to rest of body had been pretty consistent throughout pregnancy however he’s recently had a huge growth spurt in the rest of his body.

I’m really quite worried, the scans make me so anxious:

Does anyone have similar experience and were there any issues at birth?

Thank you

Photo of scan report…

@Kiki1703 hi Kiki, how did everything go? I am 37 weeks now with the same concerns.. all other measurements ok except 5th centile FL which was picked up on 4 weeks ago. I have to delivery baby by 39 weeks. I hope my baby is ok. It's so worrying!

Hi - my baby is absolutely lovely. He was born a healthy 8 pounds but does have very little legs that still concern me! Its hard to tell what’s ‘normal’ short baby legs and what’s a concern… no one measured them at birth and all seemed fine so I’m trying not to stress ?!

It’s weird as in pregnancy they were obsessed and j was having weekly ultrasound and then as soon as he was born nobody was bothered and his femurs were never even mentioned!

Please don’t worry - he prob just has legs on the shorter side but all baby’s legs are short anyway? Is there anyone in the family with short legs ?

I was told at one stage that my sons legs were measuring 0.01% , then un later scans it moved up to 6th. He's almost 3 now and he is still in the 6th percentile for height but he's perfectly fine. A lot of these scans aren't accurate and it all depends on the way baby is lying .

What were you son’s legs like when he was born. ? Are they out of proportion to the rest of his body? My 6 week old has a very long torso and his legs are same length as his arms!

My DD was the 1st centile for femur length at 29 weeks (no more scans as she arrived at 31). It was worrying as I’m 183cm and DH is 170cm. She is 1 now and definitely still petite but perfectmy healthy and in proportion. She just looks very dinky compared to us and her siblings who are all 75th centile+ for height!

My first DS had a tummy and a head that were on the 90 range and legs around 25. I honestly thought he’d come out like an egg.
He is primary age now and is on the shorter side but definitely not outside “average/normal” range for his age. He had a such a big head and big tummy when he was a toddler he looked like a square! But was very cute. Hes super active and is so lean now there isn’t a spare cm of chub on him.

Scans cause a lot of anxiety, they have a good purpose but can also be unnecessarily worrying

His legs were in proportion, small like his arms but my husband has short arms . Only thing that was out of proportion slightly was his head but my ds is slowly growing into his head and the baby nurse always said the measurements were fine. Bodies come in all shapes and sizes I suppose

Would you say my baby’s body legs out of proportion or cause for concern?

I had this with DD. The scans ended up being a trauma for both me and DH. It's very easy for these things to blow out of proportion. Turned out me and DD has a genetic "abnormality" however I've never known my whole life, I'm normal length and haven't had any health problems! I think many people have this without knowing and without having any issues.

DS had 4th centile abdomen but born at 6pbs full term and no issues. Now he is 2.5yrs old and still has a smaller waist but very long lanky legs puke his Dad.
Just like adults babies are all different shapes and sizes.

This is my baby at 6 weeks - would you say his femur length is concerning or out of proportion ?

Check with your health visitor or GP? Different parts of the body grow at different times too. It's so easy to get obsessed about it, and worry for your baby. I had therapy which helped me lots.

sorry to jump on this... i am an absolute nightmare googling everything! We have had a rough ride to get here, had vanishing twins at 7 weeks in one sac and have have 7/8 scans so far after this with
everything being great. However,
i am so anxious after reading about femur lengths
my scan today was at 16+1 (although with ivf embryo transfer date would be 15+6)!
Our little girl is in the 19.6'percentile for femur length. All other measurements are average.
ratio of Fl/AC is 18% and should be between 20-24 and FL/BPD is 55% and should be al least 71%

The only thing calming me albeit very slightly is that my son nearly 6 had very short legs at birth thanks to his dad but he's nearly grown into them!

everything has been low risk on NT scan at foetal medicine centre and NHS.
I am probably unhinged but it has taken 4 yrs to get
this far!

19 for femur is fine …. They only worry when it’s under 5. Congrats on your pregnancy :)

Thank you so much for your reply lovely! I know i am being irrational. This was never brought up with my 1st born but we literally had 2 scans and that was it. When he was born though, the health visitor came round and scared me when she mentioned his short legs We kinda forgot about it now that my little guy is a perfectly normal almost 6 yr old who is turning out to be A great swimmer!

Hey there! Currently dealing with a similar thing - 43'rd percentile for head / stomach and 3rd percentile for femur length. We only found out at 36 weeks and then got very similar results at a 38 week follow up. Very hard to get a sense of how worried to be, although some lovely midwives have basically said she'll probably just be a little short! Can also be a soft marker for more serious genetic conditions so this whole thing has created a huge amount of anxiety in the final weeks before birth :(((

Love reading all the accounts of similar issues turning out fine though <3