Not good after 20 week scan

property.advert

I'm utterly pragmatic on this one. If you can cope with a handicapped child then do nothing. If not, take the test and either abort or plan to give it up. If a miscarriage, then just bad luck I'm afraid. Whatever you decide you have to be able to live with it.

beakerange

OP Here - Thank you all.
After much googling etc and talking about it today with MIL, I am feeling more positive. I don't believe the baby has an abnormality - I think it either hasn't put on it's growth spurt yet or my placenta is to blame. I think I am going to push the placenta issue more on Monday. I don't believe I have had an "Doppler Scan". They did say it "looked fine" but I think they need to do more and investigate all non intrusive options B4 thinking the worst. I am defo going to investigate 3D/4D scanning in the locality.
I thank you all for your honesty and openess. There has been some truly heartbreaking stories posted. I do now think I will be anxious until the day the baby is born. I guess I've just gotta suck it up and get on with it.
I will update when I know more.
Ange xx

onlyroz

beakerange wrote: »

I don't believe I have had an "Doppler Scan".

A doppler scan is done using an ultrasound machine, and they measure the blood flow through various places (e.g. umbilical cord, brain etc). I had them fortnightly through my last pregnancy because there was a risk rhesus disease (I'm sensitised to Anti-D). In the end she was fine.

I wish you luck for next week.

JC9297

property.advert wrote: »

I'm utterly pragmatic on this one. If you can cope with a handicapped child then do nothing. If not, take the test and either abort or plan to give it up. If a miscarriage, then just bad luck I'm afraid. Whatever you decide you have to be able to live with it.

The thing is you don't know if you can cope. Many people may think they wouldn't be able to cope before they are in that situation but manage perfectly well. Lots of disabilities aren't identified before birth or children can become disabled, the vast majority of their parents cope.

Before the birth the question is often not whether the parents can cope with looking after their child, rather are they willing to accept that things may be different to the 'perfect' family life they were looking forward to.

Many expectant parents don't think of the foetus as 'a child' but as 'their child' and cannot be as detached as you.

bexxie90

Hi I had to post a reply though what good its to you I dont know but hopefully will help.


My second pregnancy I had an amnio done as had a 1:2 chance of DS wasnt going to have a termination but wanted to prepare beforehand,my baby also measured a small femur length. Guess what they had my dates wrong! At 41 weeks induction she came out 4 weeks early she as 37 weeks gestation all those scans and they couldnt get dates right,so at 20 week scan she was only 17 weeks and measuring small......by the way she was 10 lbs born at those 37 weeks!! And she doesnt have DS either.


Third pregnancy they kept insisting I was 5 weeks further as my baby was this time big, (a boy) I knew my dates as only BD the once on a sprecific date,so unless immaculate conception pretty much trusted my on instincts.....my boy was born 39 weeks their terms and guess what? He was 35 weeks gestation and weighed in at 8lbs nearly....

What i am trying to say is I dont believe those scans are great at assessing gestation and weight I have to say that from personal experience.

i am wishing you well in your pregnancy and hoping that all will be fine xx

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

My 'huge, giant, 13lb easily, never be able to give birth to and you will both die if not delivered by Caesarian' baby girl was 7lb 13 3/4 oz and 56cm long.

My 'perfectly normal, what are you looking so worried about, you're just fat and a normal birth will be fine' baby girl was 9lb 4oz, skinny as a rake and 65cm long, so her legs got a bit in the way at birth and she was stuck for a couple of hours until a forceps delivery.

My boyfriend's Mum and Auntie were tiny babies - one is 4 foot 10 and one is 4 foot 5. Both had three healthy children - one of his Auntie's children grew up to be six foot tall.

One of my brothers has spina bifida, but was only diagnosed in his twenties following a car accident. I was only 5lb when born, but I'm the tallest in my family.


On average, scan results are accurate enough, but there are always exceptions - the phrase 'results may vary' could have been written with babies in mind.


Personally, I believe (because I don't know for certain) that I would find height issues, spina bifida or other such physical issues irrelevant - other problems, I am not so sure of. So I would be asking what other features are suggestive of what problems and what could be gained from further testing.

I wish you well, whatever you choose to do.

brians_daughter

Hi there, just wanted to share my story.
ds1 we were told he was going to be over 11lb. I had 7 scans to check his growth and 3 diateties tests. He was born at 41 weeks weighing 7lb 8 so hardly massive

dd we were told, as you have been that she was too small for her dates. aprox 3 weeks behind. I was scanned every 7-10 days from 21 weeks right through to 37 weeks and every scan showed she was 3 weeks behind where she should be'.

At 28 weeks i was given steriods as they wanted to deliver her early. We saw a private cons who advised us to hold off induction, i immediately trusted him so we took his advice. The NHS cons said it could indicate various conditions but i refused the amnio @ 21 weeks as i knew i would not terminate unless life threatening - the scans indicated it wasnt.
She did have small femur measurements etc.

She was born on her due date weighing 5lb 7 oz. Interestingly my placenta had already started to break down when she was born (exactly at term) so i believe, as does my cons that my palcenta was to blame. The femur thing...shes got short legs just like her mummy lol

SHes 10 weeks old now and although she is small - now weighs in at 7lb 10oz she is perfect in everyway.

what i am trying to say is the centile graphs are outdated, and were only ever designed as a guide - actually confirmed by my cons and for every baby that is on the 2nd centile of growth charts there is one who is on 98th centile.

OI was 101% sure of my dates, i knew when i ovulated and know when i concieved so she was just a smaller than AVERAGE baby
Hope the app went well

flowertotmum

beakerange wrote: »

Hi All,
Not posted for a while (and not strictly moneysaving) but I always get good advice here and I am in desparate need of advice/others experiences.
Had my 20 weeks scan last Monday. It didn't go well. They couldn't get much but of what they saw the baby is small (very small like 17/18 weeks ish) and in particular femur length was small. Went back on Thurs and they got everything but a good look at the heart and EVERYTHING is small.
I am going back Monday for them to try and get the heart properly. They are saying that small baby at this stage is uncommon and if often associated with a chromosomal defect. They are offering an amnio but I am scared to do this because of the risk of miscarriage.
My son was born small (all be it he was fine at 20 weeks) they keep telling me it is NOT linked at all.
We are beside ourselves with worry not knowing what to do as I don't want to risk a potentially healthy baby but of course we are not sure we could cope with a potentially serious abnormality.
Has this ever happened to anyone else??

Hi there..couldn't leave you..this did happen to me..they told me my dd was too small,all sorts of things were being thrown at me..amnio etc..i decided to wait and see..i had to go to the hospital almost weekly for rest of pregnancy for scans and blood tests..might as well have moved in there..i gave birth by section to a 8lb 15oz baby girl..my gosh they were shocked so was i..midwife told me they were just telling me worst case scenario..it scared me witless what they were saying to me..i didn't sleep couldn't eat..if i were you i would definately wait til monday and then see what they have to say to you..talk to them tell them your worries..and see what they have to say..
good luck
ftm

LittleMissMPB

lauren_1 wrote: »

I forgot to mention that a dating scan isnt very accurate at all really is it? Who here has had a baby on their due date?.

sorry but I had both mine on their due dates, both born on the morning of their due dates.

pulliptears

LittleMissMPB wrote: »

sorry but I had both mine on their due dates, both born on the morning of their due dates.

DS was born on his due date (My Dad didn't believe me because I'd told him the night before I was having the baby the next day. He took some convincing lol)

Daughter dearest however, was as awkward then as she is now arriving a whole 2 weeks late.