Scan at 36+1

[Sofijasmum]

Hi! I'm not sure why I even decided to post this probably just to see if there's any positive experiences in similar situation like mine.
I'm 36+4 weeks pregnant.
At my first scan at 13 weeks NT was fine, screening for DS and Edwards and Pataus syndrom came back as low risk however they found out that I have low PAPP-A. So doctor prescribed me Aspirin which I was taking until 36 weeks.
20 weeks scan was fine, babys femur was on lower side 16% centile but when I asked about it no one seemed to be concerned.
Because of low PAPP-A I was booked for growth scan at around 32 weeks where again everything was fine. Femur was on 25% and obstetric didn't seem concerned when I asked about it.
My next scan was at 35+5 weeks and everything looked fine except femur which measured even shorter than before. Doctor made appointment to fetal medicine for deeper scan which I had last Thursday at 36+1 weeks.
These are the findings (attached to post).
Now I'm very worried that it's not only long bones which are measuring behind but there's also abnormal head shape ( which has not been mentioned at any of all scans before) and one dilated kidney.
Doctor said they are considering baby could have some genetic disorder/chromosomal syndrome. He'll have a MDT on Thursday and give me a call after. He said there's no need for being induced at the moment as placenta and cord is fine and baby otherwise looks hapy inside so all I can do is wait when labor will start.
Has anyone had experience even a little bit similar to mine and baby came out fine?
I can't find a space for myslef anymore. I'm barely eating, my sleep is not well and all I'm doing is worrying.

I have no experience of this but didn’t want to read and run. I’m so sorry you’ve had worrying news. It might be worth speaking to your midwife about any extra support you might need in between scans etc. I have known one baby whose femurs measured short and he is fine and thriving but he didn’t have the other abnormalities. I hope you get better news at the next scan.

Did you have nipt or testing earlier? Which conditions did they check for?
You could ask for / they might offer a late amnio to screen all chromosomes.
This might be worthwhile If you might be considering late termination if something specific diagnosed or if it might be useful to know for neonatal care.

You can get mri of brain in utero to see if it helps with any information related to head shape.

Or wait till baby is born. They will be prepared for any newborn issues. Then if needed genetic testing can be done.
Worrying time.

Very sorry to hear this. But it looks as if they had great difficulty getting a clear image. I have known one other person who had a worrying late scan with short long bones and everything was fine. I mean this gently but it looks as if your weight is preventing them from getting a clear image of the baby, and I’m not sure if you can find out more until the birth. I am a thin person and when I had a scan at this weight everything was extremely clear, weight estimate bang on. In that situation this would all be extremely worrying but I think the repeated use of ‘suboptimal view’ means that they just don’t really know.

I didn't have NIPT. All I had was usual first trimester screening which came back as low risk. They never offered me any extra testings as all my test results and scans were fine until 35+5 weeks.
Doctor offered amnio but said that results for DS and Edwards would take 4-5 days but full results would be back within 3-4 weeks and baby could be there earlier than test results so I decided that there's no point and better test baby after birth.

That's one of my thoughts as well. I know I'm overweight and I understand that it's more difficult to get clear picture because of that. Babys head is already quite low so it was very tricky to check it as well.
It looks that there's nothing much I can do as wait when baby will arrive and keep my hope that baby is fine.

Good luck. There are many many other possible conditions (besides the usual 3 for which you low risk) or might be one off findings. At least your doctors will be ready to check when baby is born and will look after you both. One day at a time.

I know this isn’t the same issue at all. But with my daughter her head was very low for the last few growth scans. They didn’t even bother measuring it as they just couldn’t get the view needed. I doubt they would have been able to confirm if it looked a good shape etc (and I’m very slim just to add).

So fingers crossed it’s just they can’t get a good view of the head.

Short femurs etc don’t necessarily mean there is an issue.

I think it’s good to prepare yourself there is a possibility of an issue, but don’t lose all hope!

Hoping for the best for you!

One of mine had short femurs, but not the other findings. In the end was born with long legs! So it was just wrong, and I am slim so no issues with a good picture.

Obviously with the other possible issues it's more worrying, but as there's nothing realistic that can be done at the moment I'd say try to take your mind off it. Allow yourself 20 mins a day for fretting/Googling if that helps, but the rest of the time keep busy.

Hi OP,

had the same at the third trimester with DS. Femur length was low and was referred to fetal medicine. They redid the measurements and they were still low so decided for amniocentesis which came back normal. Also no other soft markers of genetic issues so they were not overly worried. He was born normal weight and length.

All the best with your pregnancy and try to keep positive!