any exp with baby having short femur ?

[AMYP26]

Hi Everyone,

I know this may be off the subject, but my sister is pregnant and due at the end of July. At her last Level 2 ultrasound, the doctors informed her that her baby (it's a boy!) has a short femur bone which is 5 weeks behind schedule. The rest of the baby's measurements are normal. The baby has been growing on the slow side the whole pregnancy, and only weighs almost 5 pounds with three weeks until her due date. I was just wondering if anyone has ever had this experience, or can give any advice? We do have a rather short family. I am only 5 feet and my parents and sister are between 5'1 and 5'3... her husband is 5'8. So I am not sure if this is a cause for worry, or just a small baby.

Thank you for any advice.

Amy

 

[tchersue]

My sister just went through this...

... and an amnio showed that everything was fine.

Apparantly, femur bone measurements are one of many indicators that doctors use to determine whether a baby is at risk for Down's Syndrome. In my sister's case, she will be 37 when her baby is born, her AFP came back with suspect results, and then the femur and pinky bone of her little girl measured small on a level 2 ultrasound... all of these put Her at a statistically greater risk for having a Down's baby. She went ahead and had the amnio, and after 2 grueling weeks of waiting, she got the news that all was well.

Her doctor told her that most Down's kids have short femurs, but not all kids with short femurs have Down's... From my sister's experience, I got the feeling that there is really no way to know for sure unless you have an amnio... but it may be comforting to know that many Down's babies have other problems with organ development. If she's this far along and they've not found anything else unusual, that's probably a good sign!

I do know that, in the case of a friend of mine who was pregnant with a Down's baby, the AFP came back wrong, the femur was short, and by 20 weeks the head and body measurements measured very different... like one measured 16 weeks and the other measured 22 weeks.

I hope all is well with your sister's baby... hugs in your direction!
Susan

 

[AMYP26]

RE: My sister just went through this...

Hi Susan,

Thank you for sharing that with me. My sister is only 27 and her AFP levels did come back high. She chose not to have the amnio done. I read that if AFP levels are low, that may indicate Downs. And Im pretty sure they told her that they dont think he has Downs. So I will just continue to pray that all is well.

Thanks again for your kind words.