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short femur length
i went for an ultrasound scan on 23.08.2011 and said that femur length of the baby was shorter for two weeks and suggested for a second opinion. in the next scan also it was revealed that length was shorter for 3 weeks on 02.09.2011. wat it mean/ is it sign for hadicapped or any abnormality in baby. Now the baby was 30 weeks. the weight is 1098 grms. I am worrying a lot about that. any problem. please suggest me
I know this was written 2 and a half years ago, but your story is hitting very close to home right now. Although, I've been going through this for 14 hours...I don't know how you did it for the whole pregnancy. I'm 29 years old, in perfectly good health and yesterday I went for my 20 week ultrasound and was told that the femur was short (I can't even remember by how much my head was spinning so much) and that there was a bright spot on the heart (they said they had seen 5 of those just that day) but that those two things were soft markers for DS. I'm literally sick to my stomach and cannot stop crying. I'm going in for more testing today, but won't find out for another week. I don't know how to get through the uncertainty.
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hello. hai i was wondering if you can update on your condition and delivery. i am going through the same thing that you went through and i feel completely hopeless :(
I just wanted to thankyou for your comments.
I got told on the 20wk scan that my babies femur is small, however i had had my downs test and i was low risk, 1 in 10000 chance. We went to see the consultant at 21wks and they said everything was fine and everything was above the 5th percentile, but they would do a reassurance scan at 28wks.
We had the scan at 28wks and the femur is again smaller than they would like, but there are no other indicators and most of my babies measurements are around the 5th percentile.
They have offered us an amnio and said we could abort - as if i would or could do that now. I know i will love this baby no matter what, but the fear of the unknown and all these whatifs are making me ill with worry. I genuinely wish i hadnt been told.
I am convinced im 26weeks and not 28weeks, but the doctors wont accept that.
Anyway thanks for your advice, as i think i would have gone down the same route as you worrying myself sick. I think i just need to chill out and enjoy the rest of my pregnancy, because i certainly havent enjoyed any of it yet.
Thanks again and enjoy your gorgeous baby x
I got told on the 20wk scan that my babies femur is small, however i had had my downs test and i was low risk, 1 in 10000 chance. We went to see the consultant at 21wks and they said everything was fine and everything was above the 5th percentile, but they would do a reassurance scan at 28wks.
We had the scan at 28wks and the femur is again smaller than they would like, but there are no other indicators and most of my babies measurements are around the 5th percentile.
They have offered us an amnio and said we could abort - as if i would or could do that now. I know i will love this baby no matter what, but the fear of the unknown and all these whatifs are making me ill with worry. I genuinely wish i hadnt been told.
I am convinced im 26weeks and not 28weeks, but the doctors wont accept that.
Anyway thanks for your advice, as i think i would have gone down the same route as you worrying myself sick. I think i just need to chill out and enjoy the rest of my pregnancy, because i certainly havent enjoyed any of it yet.
Thanks again and enjoy your gorgeous baby x
Hello, I wanted to post my story to try and prevent anyone else from going through the stress I did during my pregnancy. I used to search these boards daily trying to find reassurance to the point of unhealthy obsession and I really wish I had focussed on enjoying being pregnant and put my worries aside.
A private scan at 18 weeks and my 20 week NHS scan both showed my daughter's femur length to be behind the other measurements by up to a week, plotting between the 25th and 50th percentile lines on my baby's growth chart. After googling 'short femurs' I began to worry.
An ultrasound scan at 32 weeks then revealed I had a mild case of polyhydramnios, or excess amniotic fluid surrounding my baby, and that the femur length had now dropped down to the 9th percentile, between 2 and 3 weeks 'behind' the other measurements which were on or above the 50th percentile. After googling polyhydramnios my worry increased (it can indicate chromosome abnormalities) and despite the poly being attributed to a mild case of gestational diabetes I became absolutely convinced my baby had down syndrome, even though there were no other markers.
Ultrasound scans every two weeks (because of the diabetes) were also less than reassuring - the femur remained on the 9th percentile and at one point when I was 36 weeks the femur measured at 33 weeks while head circumference measured 38 weeks! When i mentioned my concerns to my consultant she dismissed my fears saying they didn't even use an isolated short femur as a soft marker but it did little to reassure me and I became obsessed to the point I was in tears most days, not eating, googling in the middle of the night, analysing my ultrasound scan pictures for 'signs' and ultimately putting strain on my relationship, my unborn baby and myself.
Even though I would love and want my baby no matter what, I was worried sick about our/her future and was battling between acceptance some days and, I'm ashamed to say, outright fear of meeting her.
I went into labour at 40 weeks and even told the midwife delivering my baby that she might have down syndrome.
My daughter was born after a 9 hour labour and she did not have down syndrome. She was however, only 5lbs 16 so tiny all over!
Because of my worries throughout pregnancy I wasn't 'convinced' she was, for want of a better word, 'normal' and had her checked over by a senior peaditrician who thought I was mad (in hindsight I probably was!). When she asked me why I thought my baby might have down syndrome and I mentioned short femurs, she looked genuinely shocked and said they don't even consider that a marker in isolation, and said my daughter's legs didn't look short anyway!
Apart from the smallness my baby was/is perfect and healthy and is doing very well.
Sorry for the essay but I just could have done with something like this when I was pregnant. Please don't worry away your pregnancy like I did as I really think I made myself mentally and physically ill and put my baby at risk because of the worry (which ironically was probably the cause of her tiny size).
Also, when I was actually in labour I seemed to find a sense of peace with the situation, and I knew then that I would love her and do my best for her no matter what, and the fear of ds seemed to just disappear. She would be my baby regardless! There is also so much support out there and ds really isn't the end of the world.
I hope this helps you. Please, listen to the professionals and not dr google! Relax and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy!
A private scan at 18 weeks and my 20 week NHS scan both showed my daughter's femur length to be behind the other measurements by up to a week, plotting between the 25th and 50th percentile lines on my baby's growth chart. After googling 'short femurs' I began to worry.
An ultrasound scan at 32 weeks then revealed I had a mild case of polyhydramnios, or excess amniotic fluid surrounding my baby, and that the femur length had now dropped down to the 9th percentile, between 2 and 3 weeks 'behind' the other measurements which were on or above the 50th percentile. After googling polyhydramnios my worry increased (it can indicate chromosome abnormalities) and despite the poly being attributed to a mild case of gestational diabetes I became absolutely convinced my baby had down syndrome, even though there were no other markers.
Ultrasound scans every two weeks (because of the diabetes) were also less than reassuring - the femur remained on the 9th percentile and at one point when I was 36 weeks the femur measured at 33 weeks while head circumference measured 38 weeks! When i mentioned my concerns to my consultant she dismissed my fears saying they didn't even use an isolated short femur as a soft marker but it did little to reassure me and I became obsessed to the point I was in tears most days, not eating, googling in the middle of the night, analysing my ultrasound scan pictures for 'signs' and ultimately putting strain on my relationship, my unborn baby and myself.
Even though I would love and want my baby no matter what, I was worried sick about our/her future and was battling between acceptance some days and, I'm ashamed to say, outright fear of meeting her.
I went into labour at 40 weeks and even told the midwife delivering my baby that she might have down syndrome.
My daughter was born after a 9 hour labour and she did not have down syndrome. She was however, only 5lbs 16 so tiny all over!
Because of my worries throughout pregnancy I wasn't 'convinced' she was, for want of a better word, 'normal' and had her checked over by a senior peaditrician who thought I was mad (in hindsight I probably was!). When she asked me why I thought my baby might have down syndrome and I mentioned short femurs, she looked genuinely shocked and said they don't even consider that a marker in isolation, and said my daughter's legs didn't look short anyway!
Apart from the smallness my baby was/is perfect and healthy and is doing very well.
Sorry for the essay but I just could have done with something like this when I was pregnant. Please don't worry away your pregnancy like I did as I really think I made myself mentally and physically ill and put my baby at risk because of the worry (which ironically was probably the cause of her tiny size).
Also, when I was actually in labour I seemed to find a sense of peace with the situation, and I knew then that I would love her and do my best for her no matter what, and the fear of ds seemed to just disappear. She would be my baby regardless! There is also so much support out there and ds really isn't the end of the world.
I hope this helps you. Please, listen to the professionals and not dr google! Relax and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy!
A short femur length can indicate chromosomal abnormalities (down's syndrome being one of them). Short femur length can also mean your little one just has short legs. If you or your partner have shorter legs, this could be the reason. If there are no other abnormalities found on the ultrasound, I wouldn't worry. Femur length is one standard measurement completed on all prenatal ultrasounds. And because its the medical field, if a test comes back slightly abnormal, we dig further to find out why. I would relax...if everything else looks normal, you may just have a more petite child.
Hi there, It could mean that the baby will be born with a disability, I am sure that babies with downs syndrome have a shorter femur length, However, at one of my growth scans with my little boy they measured his legs at 2 weeks shorter and estimated his weight at around 1900 grams that was 2 weeks before he was born at 30 weeks and they were waaaaaaay off! he was 3lbs 10 at birth, which was almost a pound heavier than they had estimated and also he is very long and he has very long legs for a 30 weeker, so try not to worry about it too much, ultrasound these days is amazing indeed but they can be off with their measurements, good luck and all the best! :) xx
Are you short? Because it could just mean you're having a short baby or even just short legs.
My best friend was measuring behind in all 3 of her pregnancies and each baby came out perfect!
Also, with you being 30 weeks its harder to get accurate measurements of the baby because there's a lot less room!
Try not to panic yourself and I hope you have healthy 10 weeks left.
Best wishes
My best friend was measuring behind in all 3 of her pregnancies and each baby came out perfect!
Also, with you being 30 weeks its harder to get accurate measurements of the baby because there's a lot less room!
Try not to panic yourself and I hope you have healthy 10 weeks left.
Best wishes
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