Ultrasound measurements wrong?

mosmile

Hi Everyone,
I'm 14 weeks 1d today. Im 37 so automatically everything I do seems to be high risk to doctors.
Yesterday i had to go to a high risk doctor for the first time. They did an ultrasound and my baby was not cooperating. It was upside down laying on its head, balled up, in the corner. Heartbeat was a strong 172 and sounded great. It was physically moving its hands, arms, and legs, but would not change position for the sonographer to get measurements she needed. She kept saying my baby was being a lil stubborn and being a lil stinker throughout the process (in a nice way). She tried for like 30 mins. She got what she could. I got up went to the bathroom, came back, and she said to lay down and lets try again. This is now try #2 at the ultrasound. Baby has not changed position at all. She tried to get what she could of measurements then went to present them to the dr. All of a sudden  another sonographer lady comes in and tells me she is going to try. This is now try #3. Baby still not changing position. The dr comes in the room to watch this time. They all again say my baby is being difficult and a lil stinker (in a nice joking way). This sonographer clearly thought she was better than the other girl and got some measurements even though my child was upside down on its head in a ball in the corner. Anytime they tried to get close or poke at it, my child would move as to say they were bothering it. Lol Anyway after the 3rd try, the dr takes those measurements and plugs them in to the system. The sonographers leave the room and the dr proceeds to have a chat with me. She tells me that the femur and abdominal measurements were 10 and 7 days behind. She said that means that could indicate concerning abnormalities for my child. She then said my placenta look a lil larger today. She began to tell me about tripolidy that is fatal and telling me im within the 15 week window if i want to terminate.
#1 my child did not cooperate today and how do i know that your measurements are right?
#2 you have no definitive evidence that my child has or doesnt have anything so why would you tell me about terminating a child who we have no diagnosis or fatal evidence for? 
#3 We still have to do a nipt genetic test to get answers. Which i did Yesterday and have to wait 2 weeks for results.
#4 Even if those came back with a bad result, we could still do the amniotic needle screening. 
• Has anyone ever encountered a sonographer and dr like this? 
• Has anyone ever receieved bad measurements from an ultrasound because their baby wasnt cooperating?
• Has anyone ever received news from an ultrasound and it have been wrong?
• Has anyone ever got bad results from an NIPT test and their baby came out perfectly normal?
Im really trying to hold myself together here. I have bad health anxiety and its 1 million times worse when its about my baby. Im trying to keep my head out of anxiety land, but this doctor and experience from yesterday has really rubbed me the wrong way. Im pissed.
Please help with any info that you can about your experiences. 
Thank you,
Mo

momsiepopsicle

Hi Mo,

I don't have any experience to add, but maybe some encouragement. My niece was diagnosed with an extra chromosome and a hole in her heart while in the womb. Prayer warriors reached out, and sure enough, both conditions resolved by the time she was born. 

Also, my cousin's husband had a birth defect where his bones wouldn't grow properly and they didn't think he would reach adulthood (IIRC). He had to get injections through his childhood and puberty to help his bones grow, but he is in his 40's now and he and my cousin just had a beautiful, healthy boy. 

I pray you see similar miracles! 

lilswed

Yes- just went through this - measurements were off at MFM had to go back numerous times for growth checks - at just 14 weeks putting the marker a millimeter off can drastically change the growth dates. 

We found in our journey that the genetic counselor  and some dr would immediately jump to worst case scenario. Our mantra was don’t worry until there is a confirmed thing to worry about- otherwise you go crazy with the high risk doctors.

Ultrasounds are a screening tool and not always 100% accurate especially because of the human elements of baby cooperating and the ultrasound tech. 

We pursued further testing, more growth scans - in our first pregnancy our daughter ended up having a heart issue that was found with more testing and it saved her life and helped us to prep for a baby that needed more care. For this one the same thing happened (they were super intense because of our first ones heart stuff) she was measuring small ( a week to two weeks) but further growth scans showed she was fine right on track with the last one. 

Hoping all goes well for you.

00kim00

I'd be so upset if my doctor suggested termination! You're absolutely right that sometimes the tests are wrong, sometimes what they see resolves itself before birth, many times if it really is a "problem" it's manageable after birth. Everything on an ultrasound is an estimate, and can be wrong. I'd really take it with a grain of salt if he wasn't cooperating. Try not to worry and enjoy your pregnancy!

knottie2813e2597919a1f1

I am experiencing the same thing. I am currently 22 week pregnant with my first child, I went for an anatomy scan yesterday and the experience was not pleasant at all. The lady during the ultrasound barely spoke to me, only responded when I would ask questions. My baby was in a very odd position and refused to move , but she also didn’t do anything to try to get him to move. After clicking her photos for about 30 minutes she said she was going to try transvaginal to get a better view (I never saw a doctors the whole time there nor did she get anyone to help when she couldn’t get the measurement she needed). Note even 30 minutes after leaving the appointment I receive a call from a RN saying my baby is measuring 4 weeks behind, there is a suspected chromosome disorder and that termination is highly possible. I was livid receiving a phone call as such and had so many questions. Why is termination your first go to? Why not do a second ultrasound, how do you know the measurements are correct if my baby was in an unfavorable position for ultrasound? I go back tomorrow for a second ultrasound as well as genetics testing and have high hopes that my baby boy is perfectly fine. I pray your little one is okay and you just had a medical team that really didn’t know what they were doing!

expectingnyc

I am so sorry you are going through this (both of you). Do you have any updates?

I had my 20 week anatomy scan a little over a week ago and was told that the baby either has (i) ambiguous genitalia, (ii) micropenis, or (iii) hypospadias. I did an amniocentesis the next day to retest chromosomes (I already did a CVS which all came back normal) and to send for whole genome sequencing with the goal of ruling out any genetic issues. I have a f/u scan this Friday. 

All of this has been devastating in so many ways - ruining the gender surprise for my significant other, worrying about what could be wrong, wondering if I’ll have to make a decision to terminate (or not), how one or multiple of the potential issues could impact the quality of life for my unborn child, etc. I am trying so hard everyday to be positive and manifest a healthy and normal baby but it is a struggle.