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Long bones are short

My wife had a US . they say all long bones are short in the report . To be precise it says all long bones falls at 5th percentile and thoracic circumference is 15.5 c . is it normal for 25 -26 weeks . They also say it will be a short baby and baby will be shorter in future. They suggested me a scan after 4 weeks . adding to it report says non lethal type .
Pls clarify with these inputs . what is non lethal type , skeleton abnormality ,



This discussion is related to short femur and humerus.
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Avatar universal
Please post an update. Desperate mom in a position that you were once in...plz
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Avatar universal
hi boofatwins, is like we are on the same boat.I am 30wks and 4 day pregnant,i went to u.s which the specialist said my baby´s femur are too short and that she has a short ribs which will make her lungs not to grow but her heart is perfect.The Dr said she may find it difficult to breath and may not be able to walk when she is born but  i don´t believe them because they are not my GOD....i believe in GOD and is only Him that have the final say over my unborn child´s life. Just relax your mind and put your truth in GOD,The will be a miracle when you believe.
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Avatar universal
I am 30wks and 4 day pregnant,i went to u.s which the specialist said my baby´s femur are too short and that she has a short ribs which will make her lungs not to grow but her heart is perfect.The Dr said she may find it difficult to breath and may not be able to walk when she is born but  i don´t believe them because they are not my GOD....i believe in GOD and is only Him that have the final say over my unborn child´s life.But i just want to ask if any one has heard about this short femur before.
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Avatar universal
I am going through this right now...at my 19 week scan my babys long bones are measuring 4 weeks behind (1.5 cm)  while everything else is on par as per the report. His ab. circ. is 13.8cm. From what I've read though, the long bones are 3 weeks behind and measurements can be off by 1.5 weeks (as per this chart http://parenting.ivillage.com/pregnancy/psecondtri/0,,b0lt88zj,00.html ). The report also says appears to have bell shaped thorax, and short ribs, but we are praying they are wrong. Also, when doing the calculatoin to see if it's lethal or not, it says its not (femur length/ab. circ must be above .16 or it's lethal) my babes is .1. Im also questioning the integrity of the US because the machine was konkin out and the tech. had to wiggle the cords to get it to come back on. Thanks Booffatwins for your post, makes me feel alot better knowing your story :)
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594587 tn?1219856775
Hi there, I know this is a very confusing time for you right now. My husband and I went through this same thing with our last daughter and are now going through the same thing again in my current pregnancy.  I'm 30 weeks in this pregnancy and my son's femur is measuring 8th % , so my heart goes out to you in this time.
  When they say "falls below 5th%" that is in reference to the chart they use where your babies measurements  and growth are charted according to percentages of the society norm. For example if your baby was in the 50th%, then he is right on track with the norm for every other baby at that particular stage in your pregnancy.
First thing is that the sonographer and machine can make a difference in the accuracy of measurements and as the babies get larger, the measurements are actually less conclusive. That being said with our last daughter her femur length dropped off under the 5th percentile at 26 weeks and continued to stay small as well as all her other long bones. Everything else was normal as far as head & abdominal circumference. There can be many reasons for children to be smaller, especially considering ya'lls height.  The fact that they seem to have confirmed a type of dysplasia and non-lethal are obvious signs to me. When we heard those words, I was off to the research  and she is now a healthy 17 month old with achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism and has had no complications with anything!! She's just as normal as anyone else , smart as a whip just a little small for her age (she wears 6 month clothes).
  As far as your questions skeletal abnormality just means there is something that looks out of the norm to them, suggestive of a skeletal dysplasia, so I don't know why they are telling you it is not a form of dwarfism.  Thoracic circumference refers to his chest area, and there are some forms that affect that part of the body, but if it is normal, HOORAY!!  Predicted weight would be somewhere between you and your wifes height I would expect, but that's up to nature really.
  As far as the norms for her stage in pregnancy there is quite a bit of difference in what they can be, you can look them up on certain sites that will show you charts, be aware that all charts are different, and do not take anything too much to heart (including mt words) as it can cause more worry.  Here is one that I use  http://parenting.ivillage.com/pregnancy/psecondtri/0,,b0lt88zj,00.html
The best thing for both of you to do is not get too caught up in statistics and opinions and just be patient and listen to the doctors.  Patience at this point in finding our conclusively when the baby is born is hard, trust me I'm going through it for the second time, but there is no sense worrying yourself sick about it, everything has a reason.  And remember, Our Higher Power won't put anything more on you than you can handle, and every child is a blessing and here to teach us to be stronger better parents. Good luck and I'll pray for peace of mind for you and your wife.
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Avatar universal
My wife had a US for 25-26 weeks as per doctors, they say all long bones are short in the report . To be precise it says all long bones falls at 5th percentile and thoracic circumference is 15.5 c . They also say it will be a short baby and baby will be shorter in future. They suggested me a scan after 4 weeks . adding to it report says non lethal type and skeleton abnormality
Pls clarify with these inputs . what is non lethal type , skeleton abnormality, Falls at 5th percentile is More or Less, What is normal thoracic circumference, What wud be a predicted height for my baby ( Iam 5.6 andmy wife 5.3 ) .
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My wife had a US for 25-26 weeks as per doctors, they say all long bones are short in the report . To be precise it says all long bones falls at 5th percentile and thoracic circumference is 15.5 c . They also say it will be a short baby and baby will be shorter in future. They suggested me a scan after 4 weeks . adding to it report says non lethal type and skeleton abnormality
Pls clarify with these inputs . what is non lethal type , skeleton abnormality, Falls at 5th percentile is More or Less, What is normal thoracic circumference, What wud be a predicted height for my baby ( Iam 5.6 andmy wife 5.3 )






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Avatar universal
Jesslee,

Thanks a lot for your inputs. I feel better now after hearing from everyone . Will keep you posted after next scan in 4 weeks
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334776 tn?1249968581
you and your wife seem to be fairly short(not being rude), so it's very possible that your baby is fine, he's just going to be like mommy and daddy ;)  it's possible for your wife to prepare for a short, chunky baby.....but then again, practically ALL babies are lil chunkers!!!

personally, i know all the other stuff is confusing, but if i'd heard the words "non-lethal" i'd probably forget the other stuff....i know that's not what you're asking,but i have a bad pregnancy history, and as soon as i saw him moving on u/s and my blood work was good, i couldnt really care less about anything else!
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Avatar universal
A non lethal type in my opinion would mean dwarfism...if they are not suggesting that than they could just mean you will have a small baby.
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Avatar universal
Doctors have confirmed on several occasions that its not a dwarfism. iam 5.6 andmy wife 5.3 .
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Avatar universal
Does this have anything to do with drawfism or short people?  Are you and your wife smaller in stature?  I would contact the doctor and ask for further clarification...
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