20 week scan worries

[sadminster]

I'm 20+6 by LMP, closer to 20+2 by ovulation. Have a horrible obsteric history; 6 losses, the most recent was an unexplained IUD at 17 weeks in July '08.

I had my 20 week scan today & came out feeling very upset. No fetal abnormalities seen, placental blood flow looks good, fluid levels are fine, baby is moving lots BUT the baby was very small - at or under the 5th centile for all measurements except femur length which was at 15th centile (that's between 5 and 9 days smaller than it should be).

BPD - 45mm
HC - 167mm
AC - 142mm
FL - 32mm

The sonographer barely spoke to me, she didn't even say whether I should speak to my midwife or consultant, just hurried us out of the appointment.

I've called my dr & midwife who've said they'll look at the scan report tomorrow but in the meantime has anyone had a small baby at 20 weeks that has been okay? I'm going out of my mind with worry - my other babies have been above average size at this point - these measurements are smaller than my son's were & his scan was over a week earlier.

20 week scans arent hugely accurate as babys grow at very different rates after about week 14. at my 20 week scan i was measureing about a week more than the baby was. did the sonographer tell you how many weeks your baby was measureing at at this scan? how far out was it from the dates you were given at earlier scans? xxxxxxxxxx

a friend's daughter was told recently that her baby was tiny and that they were concerned as it had stopped growing. It was born a healthy 6lb 5 oz 4 days earlier - so take heart and with any luck all will be well!

The smallest measurement was 18+4 the biggest 19+3. In previous scans it was pretty much spot on.

when i should have been 20+2 one of the measurements was 21+6 and no concern was raised with the MW or the sonographer a few of the measurements wer around my date but wer alot closer at my 13 week scan my fundal heights have all been fine and im 32 weeks now my baby evened out try not to panic and wait to talk to your midwife hunixx

thinking of you

good luck xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

on my twenty week scan my baby,s head was at about the fifteenth centile and her abdomen was off the scale in the other direction,honestly it seemed as though she would look like an olive on top of an orange.I had to have a specialist scan,he said she was fine,just had a large abdomen,but when she was born she looked totally normal,not even tubby.When the same thing showed up with no.2 I could laugh it off.Get reassurance from a consultant as that will help you feel better,but lots of my friends have had results like this in onw way or another and every baby has been fine.x

bumping for you xx

All my scans with my DD always showed up 'small-for-dates' and they were always worried about my fundal height being low. I worried myself silly about it then went to see a lovely sonographer at UCH at 38 wks who reassured me that slightly built people have slighter babies and there is no such thing as normal. I relaxed so much that I went into labour that night and DD was born the next morning weighing 5 12, small but completely healthy. I didn't have time to do any of the things they said could help, like resting as much as you can and maintaining a good calorie intake. The fact that all the other signs were good is positive, you might just have a small baby. Best wishes.

My DS was small at the 20 week scan, the biggest part was his femur length, same as your baby and smallest measurement was his abdominal circumference. My dates were accurate so they were worried that he was very small and had to have regular scans every 4 weeks until birth. He was born 3 days late weighing 61b 9 1/2 ounces, 57cms long. He was a perfectly healthy baby, and is now 8, average height and weight, still with a very small waist! Hope everything goes well for you, Im sure your baby will be fine. xx

At my 21 week scan, baby was off the centile charts or on the 2nd centile on absolutely everything... except abdominal circ which was at 50th! (am going to give birth to a weeble!)

The measurements aren't really that accurate tbh, and I was worried and checked with my midwife, she said it was completely normal and not to worry. I'm now 31 weeks and measuring completely normal. Remnember 4 days could make a difference in measurements at this stage too... I know I'm actually 'due' 3 days later than they dated me at my initial scan, and wonder if that's why baby looked so small.

If you're very worried, call your community midwife office and enquire over the phone with your notes in front of you, I'm sure they can put your mind at rest

Oh, sorry just saw you're seeing your midwife tommorrow... try not to worry till then (I know that's a silly thing to say!), you would have had to see a doctor or someone yesterday after the scan if the sonographer was worried.

xx