Community› The Bump Local Boards› Austin Babies
Austin Babies
New Discussion

someone tell me what this means/could mean

longhorn14longhorn14
in Austin Babies

My nurse just called because after looking over my anatomy scan, my dr noticed the femur length and abdomen are a little low. (The baby's measurements are a little off from where they should be.) My dr referred me to another dr to have another look at the measurements. My appointment is on Wed. I just can't help but feel worried and a little scared. When I asked my nurse what these low measurements may indicate she just left it at dr #2 would tell me if the measurements were really as low as they saw originally. That didn't help.

My pregnancy hormones are getting the best of me. Does anyone know anything about this? I'd rather know what it COULD mean instead of being blindsided but I know all I'll do it worry until the appointment anyway.

Mom to an almost 4 y/o and an almost 2 y/o. In process of growing our family through adoption.
Report Reply to Post

Re: someone tell me what this means/could mean

  • emabendemabend
    Did your nurse say both measurements were low or the ratio of the femur length to abdominal circumference was low?
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • EmerEmer member
    emabend is going to be much more helpful than I can be, but I believe KateAggie and maybe another nestie had a low femur measurement and everything was just fine. 
    Report Reply
  • longhorn14longhorn14
    I'm pretty sure she said both.
    Mom to an almost 4 y/o and an almost 2 y/o. In process of growing our family through adoption.
    Report Reply
  • emabendemabend

    Okay, I am going to preface my response with a few things. First of all, obviously, I haven't seen the measurements so I'm making a bit of an educated guess.  Secondly, I don't know who did the ultrasound or how good of a sonographer he/she is, and know that can make a huge difference.  And lastly, most babies with small femur/abdominal measurements are fine, so try not to freak out.  Most likely it's nothing to worry about.

    Now, for the what it could be.  If the femur to abdomen ratio is low, the risk for Down syndrome is increased.  If both measurements are low, the concern for fetal growth restriction is increased.  In very rare situations, very low femur and abdomen measurements can be associated with skeletal dysplasias, which are various forms of dwarfism.

    But remember, most of the time these babies are just fine and there is absolutely nothing wrong with them.  Also remember, they are sending you to a specialist for further investigation next week.  I really take these OB performed ultrasounds with a grain of salt.  I would assume nothing is wrong until I had follow-up with the specialist.  These measurements go from being normal to abnormal with just a millimeter of error.  If you do not have the most highly trained sonographer with a high resoloution machine taking the measurements, it is very easy to get a false reading.  That is why they are sending you somewhere else next week.  They want to find out if there really is a problem first.

    So here's my thought.  First of all, you don't even know if these measurements are really off.  After being a genetic counselor for 10 years, I never ever take the "regular OB's" ultrasound seriously.  In my mind, there is no problem until the maternal fetal medicine specialist says so.  Secondly, even when these femur/abdomen measurements are off, the overwhelming majority of these babies are fine.  So, actually there is most likely nothing wrong with your baby.  Try not to freak out.  Wait for the follow-up ultrasound and go from there.

    If you have more questions and want to email me:  emabend (at) hotmail (dot) com

    Report Reply
  • KateAggieKateAggie
    Don't google, all you'll get are things that will NEEDLESSLY scare you.  The femur measurment is easily miscalculated, because it can be hard to find the end on a moving baby.  As hard as it is, wait for your follow-up appointment, and try to focus on how often it is miscalculated.
    imageimage

    <a href="http://www.thenest.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Home D
    Report Reply
  • longhorn14longhorn14

    Thank you so much girls! That helps. Like I said, I'd rather know what I could be up against instead of be blindsided. At the NT scan, they had said baby's risk of Downs was 1/9251 and risk of trisonomy 13 or 18 was 1/5240. I guess I could be that 1 in XXXX?

    But I will try not to worry. All the information you gave me does make me feel better and it helps to know the femur measurement can be easily miscalculated and that baby can still be okay.

    I will keep you updated!

    Mom to an almost 4 y/o and an almost 2 y/o. In process of growing our family through adoption.
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"