Small Legs Big head :(
August 15th, 2008 by ariana
Sorry I didn’t post sooner, I had a very stressful day.
I woke up early full of excitement about my BPP U/S (biophysical profile Ultrasound) to get a sense of how big the baby is and make sure things look Ok in there. There are a couple of concerns with post date babies other than size, like declining amniotic fluid levels and exchange between baby and placenta.
In order to get a growth estimate they need all these specific measurements which then calculate into some formula and then they tell you how big the baby is.
Everything started out well enough, until the tech asked me “Is your husband short?”
Me: “What? No, he’s 6′1″, why is the baby too short??”
Tech: “No.. just curious”
(Me: yeah right!)
Then she proceeds to take the femur length measurement about 100 times. At this point I know something is wrong…
“Is there something wrong with his leg?” I ask.
Turns out there’s this screen at the end of a BPP that shows you what weeks and days all the measurements come out to. Baby’s head is appropriately sized for 40 weeks 5 days, (i.e. big!) and his abdomen too. But the first measurements she got of his leg was for just 37 weeks and change. After trying to get better angles she managed to up this to 38 weeks, but I could tell it still isn’t enough because she talked about getting a colleague in there to try to get a better shot etc. You know it’s bad when they need someone else to take a look!
After we’d been at it for over an hour, she tried to reassure me that it’s probably something technical, i.e the measurement is off and that I shouldn’t worry etc.
Telling me not to worry is a complete exercise in futility - worrying is second nature to me, and when I think there is something wrong with my baby, there is NO stopping my head from constructing the worse possible scenarios.
After the U/S I went up to L&D for a Non Stress Test (NST) and to go over the U/S results with the Midwife on call Judy, who happened to be the midwife I saw at my last 40 week appointment.
Everything but the leg came back normal, though they did estimate his weight at 8lbs 8 oz. and based on ALL the measurements put my due date at 8/17/08 rather than 8/10/08. I guess everything but his head measured a bit behind? But how could he be a week behind and weight that much? It doesn’t even make sense.
Judy agreed. She palpated my stomach and said she really didn’t think he was 8.5 lbs. I voiced my concern over the leg measurement and she told me that a 38 week leg measurement is a term measurement and I shouldn’t worry.
She also shared with me that at one of her son’s growth scans the tech told her his limbs were the size of dwarfism limbs! She was trying to make me feel better, but then she did say he is really short (though definitely NOT a dwarf.) So I guess maybe Jasper will just be really really short? I’m not sure what to make of all this.
Of course I googled short femur measurement and immediately wished I hadn’t. There are all sorts of genetic disorders that this can be a marker for, even developing this late in the game. Things like Down’s syndrome, dwarfism etc. etc.
I know 38 weeks doesn’t seem like that far behind in measurements, but at this point I’m 2 days shy of 41 weeks, so it’s 3 weeks behind which is several standard deviations below normal. The midwife isn’t concerned at all, but that is small comfort to me when it comes to my baby!
In terms of progress news, she also did an internal and said I’m now a “Loose” 1cm, about 60% effaced and -1 station. So that’s a tiny bit of progress.. maybe the acupuncture session last night had some effect.
She also said they won’t let me go all the way until 42 weeks, I need to have the baby before then. They also don’t like to induce over the weekend, so if I don’t go into spontaneous labor (and she told me she thought I would within a few days) we’re looking at a next Thursday or latest next Friday induction.
Now I don’t give a rat’s ass about any of that though.. I just want to know he’s healthy. Short little legs and all :(
How horribly stressful! I’m so sorry you went through that and I know how much you will worry (just because it’s you). Do try to find some comfort in the fact that the medical professional you trust isn’t concerned. Also know that ultrasounds, while they are the best in utero technology we have, aren’t perfect and often result in mistakes. I cannot tell you how upset I was to hear we should return all of our newborn clothes because I was giving birth to a toddler. Noah was supposed to be AT LEAST 9 or 10 pounds. My little 7lb, 6oz turkey was tiny, and still is. He’s only in the 10th percentile for height and 20th for weight but you know what - he’s perfect and proportionate, although he may always be a little little. I don’t complain nearly as much when he insists on being carried, especially since his friends weigh upwards of 35 pounds and my little peanut tips the scales at 23.
Hang in there. It’s almost over and I’m sure Jasper is just perfect. Stay off of Google, it is evil. Try to have a nice weekend!
Hang in there, Ariana, and try to stay focussed on your baby, and NOT what the hospital wants to do. You and your husband and baby will be in my thoughts.
Thanks guys, I’m trying really really hard not to stress. The midwife just called me because she knows how worried I was. She said she looked it up and ultrasound measurements of femur length can be up to 3 weeks off either way after 30 weeks. It was so sweet of her to call. That affirms at least one thing in all this, I love my midwives! I may not feel like I can totally stop worrying, but at least I know they care :)
Well maybe jasper will be swimming machine like Michael phelps. I heard he had way long legs or torso that his actual height should allow. Jasper could be an olympic athlete!
Why do they not like to induce over a weekend?
Leah, Jeff’s cousin just said the same exact thing about Phelps! (which is also the name of the hospital I’m delivering at :)
I think because they have less staff on hand on the weekends. I’ll ask on Monday. As much as I DON’t want an induction, I must say that part of me is a little bit happy to know I wont’ have to wait until saturday or sunday. Particularly because my baby has a giant head (jk, I know the u/s is probably off). Also, if they wait until saturday, there’s a change I could be in labor until after 42 weeks, which means an OB would have to deliver me.
I’m so glad your midwife called back! The measurements could’ve been off for any number of reasons and there’s no reason to worry over what could and most likely will turn out to nothing! Hope Jasper comes soon!
Don’t you worry about those BPP, All they are are estimates (to scare us into thinking things are not going as they should) .. I cannot tell you how many times Those Scans had me up in arms. If it makes you any more reassured I had a BPP the morning I delivered - Baby Boy was measuring close to 9 lbs in there - He was 7lbs 6 oz out side of the womb only hours after that bpp
Awwww…I am sure that your baby is just fine. I can’t wait to meet him.
When I went to my last ultra sound before Daphne’s birth, around 35 weeks, they did all the measurements and according to her head measurements she should have been born December 15 and the rest of her body, legs arms and whatever else they measured should have put her at January 13. Don’t ask me how they came up with a January 4 as her due date but they did and no one seemed too concerned with the disparity in dates. I don’t think your tech knew what she was doing. OH and Daphne was supposed to be around 8 1/2 llbs, she came out as 7llbs 4 oz. Try not to worry, keep busy and do all the last minute things that are needed. (Knowing you there are none ;)
Ariana;
I came upon your website when I was looking for some inspiration for our new home in BA. Nice website and you are dedicated. I am the mother of 4 (ages 5-12) and everyone one of them had abnormal afp’s, and in a level 3 ultrasound my youngest appeared to have her lower intestine outside the body. ALL my kids were 100% normal with all there organs inside the body! I am a firm believer that while it is great to have a couple of ultrasounds during the pregnancy and amino if it is indicated, there is way too many of these tests and they standard deviations they use for normal are so narrow, that when there is some human error it can indicated something extremely wrong. I was actually told later that the intestine that appeared to be exterior was a foot! I know this is your first, but try to relax and take solace that if there was something seriously structurally wrong with your baby you would know. And dont let anyone tell you when you are going to have your baby..too bad if its inconvenient…thats why they dont like weekend deliveries…if its an emergency surgery they will have to call in one or two that are on call.
Late-pregnancy ultrasounds are notoriously innaccurate. Weight and measurements can be off 2 weeks in either direction, which would put your baby’s leg measurement right in the “normal” range. It is really hard to get good measurements when they’re all squished up! Do not put a lot of stock into this “bad news”… chances are your baby will be perfectly proportioned. The only way to tell for sure is to look at him when he’s born.
Hang in there! My son was to be 9lbs - he was 7 lbs 1 oz. Waaaayyy off. He also has a really big head but his body is catching up. I just had to buy big shirts to fit over it. Sounds bad but he’s really cute, I swear. If anything I hope you look forward to our post on Monday about Jasper’s fab nursery on Project Nursery! Best of Luck and look forward to your next chapter..Being Mom???
Please don’t worry too much, Ariana. Just like Farah and Project Nursery, I was told Ginger that would be well over 9 pounds (and I was FREAKING OUT) but she was only 7 pounds 6 ounce at birth and she was 12 days late.
Also, my older daughter Chloe was born prematurely, so I was a little obsessed with tracking her growth in the beginning. I used an online growth calculator to plug in all of her measurements to see what percentile she was in and one day I got back a message saying that her head was dangerously large and that I should contact my health care provider right away! Turns out, she just had a big head (which I already knew - she was only five pounds and change at birth but I still needed two dozen stitches to put me back together after the fact!)
Ultrasound technology is a wonderful thing to have, but it isn’t perfect. Those measurements are all average measurements, and babies need to fall all along the spectrum for there to be an average.
Hope you get to meet the peanut soon!
I am currently 32 weeks pregnant and I have recently discovered the same thing about my baby-to-come. His body is two weeks behind with respect to his head. They told me maybe not enough blood is reaching the baby so he prefers to supply his head more. I am so worried and wish you could give me some relief about how your baby looks like. Is he actually short or has his body caught up? Please reply soon.
Laila,
Everything I read on the internet about the size issues indicate that the BEST possible case scenario is that the head is bigger vs the other way around.. brain development is the most important.
Jasper was indeed born very short for his size. He was 19 inches, which I just recently found out is only the 5th percentile for newborns. At his two month appointment two days ago he had grown 3 inches already, putting him at the 25th percentile, which is a big jump. I’m confident that given more time he’ll catch up even more.
I won’t say try not to worry, because I know that’s impossible, but just make sure they keep an eye on it and I’m sure you’re little baby will be just perfect!
Thank you so much for your reply, dear ariana. That’s so sweet of you :)