And in the end, it might make delivery a tiny bit easier ^ yeah, it kind of sounds like if he just made an off-hand comment without acting concerned, he was trying to make you feel better about possibly an easy delivery, not trying to tell you baby has microcephaly or something. Clipboard, Search History, and several other advanced features are temporarily unavailable. Why does my baby need a head ultrasound scan? Enjoy those new born cuddles, they can't be beaten. I have no idea what that means so I resorted to google and I am scared out of my mind. Little things like uploading a profile picture make the community a better place. difficulty with coordination and balance. My actual measurements are: I would call your doctor and ask for another ultrasound. While the report said all is fine, my measurements show the baby head at less than 5% while the rest of her is relatively normally. Hugs xxx, My daughter had this and it just meant she had a slightly smaller head than a few other babies (nothing abnormal just small) made birth a lot easier haha! She said it was still within the normal range - but on the tail end of normal. Head ultrasound scans on babies in the Neonatal Critical Care Unit. By the way my 6lb baby is fabulous- but she's never going to be tall, When I was expecting my 3rd doc decided I either expecting twins (iam a twin) or a very big baby twins ruled out big baby I was told terrified for rest pregnancy my daughter arrived after a 6,hr labour weighing 6lb 13ozs, a friend of mine was pregnant in her 20's and was told the baby was likely to have downs syndrome. Its all estimated and depends on babys position and how low they are. All the other measuement on you LO look great also! This message is for Radchick. My doctor had a top of the range scanner, you could literally see every tiny detail of the baby. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. I was told that my baby's head was measuring a week behind. just shows the scans aren't always accurate neither are the doctors so stay positive x. Kate what stressful news. Tnx for asking. Posted 19/4/18. I went nearly 2 weeks over and baby weighed 6lbs!!! Mater acknowledges consumer consultation in the development of this patient information. You have to remember it's based on an average. Correlation between 2D and 3D Fetal Brain MRI Biometry and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Fetuses with Suspected Microcephaly and Macrocephaly. I certainly think I am carrying low, but if she is breech her head would be the highest up. Skeletal dysplasia. Meanwhile, her femurs were measuring smallbelow the 5th percentile for her gestational age. Bookshelf fl: 65.0mm ga: 33w 4d 10th %ile is still well within normal. He actually said all looked good. Can I ask have you any blood pressure issues or are you on aspirin as I believe these 2 things can affect size of the baby and also high blood pressure is more common in de pregnancies. MeSH intellectual disability. BabyCenter may earn a commission from shopping links. On Fri. My bubs head was down last scan & the ultrasnd tech had trouble getting a good picture for measurement, seriously dont stress too much, in just a couple if weeks you get another scan & im sure it will be all okay! I'm not worried at all, I have had two 6lb babies so it's the norm for me to have smaller babies. I'm just so nervous with this pregnancy. Sometimes,. I had one at 20w and 28w but that was it. Your preterm babys blood vessels in the middle part of the brain are very fragile and are prone to bleeding. All dimensions of the baby are measured. Thanks. Estimated fetal weight is. Sometimes babies have a condition called microcephaly. I think the important thing is that your precious baby is still growing and is still inside you. hyperactivity. I know in Gennet they keep details on file for 20/30 years so that might be a possibility for you?? I had a 36 week growth scan on Tuesday and they said my little man was in fact "little" and his head circumference is in the 10th percentile while the other measurements were all around the 50th. Shows how inaccurate scans can be as others advised. A head ultrasound is a scan through babys fontanelle (soft spot in babys skull) to examine the structures of the brain. To learn more, please visit our. This site needs JavaScript to work properly. I'm trying to keep positive. The radiographer or medical staff doing the scan will wash their hands thoroughly before and after the procedure. At his 6 week check, his head measurement was bang on the 75th centile, as was his length. The doctor didn't seemed phased at all, and wrote "normal growth" on my chart but requested a follow up scan at 38 weeks. HOW BABY HEAD MEASUREMENTS ARE TAKEN. That's nothing for me to freak out about. I will continue to get scans until delivery date due to growth issues. Meet other parents of March 2013 babies and share the joys and challenges as your children grow. Would you like email updates of new search results? I had a growth scan at 36 weeks. I am 35 weeks and baby is measuring at 32 1/2. government site. They know now that I have had a small baby before (he was born on the 9th percentile but shot up quickly after birth). A. Aeh1980. It was 34cm and normal range is 34-36cm. Is anyone elses baby's head circumference measuring small? The baby's head was measuring largeabove the 95th percentile for her gestational age. My daughter was born 8 weeks early (due to my severe early-onset pre-e). Please, don't tell me any bad stories. This time around, I only had at 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and 19-20 weeks (and 35 just to see the head is in my pelvis). Grade 2 bleed there is slightly more blood that leaks into the ventricle (fluid filled space) and mixes with the normally clear fluid, but the ventricles are not filled with blood. Growth Charts and Percentiles The Infant Head Circumference Chart offers an online growth chart calculator that shows how your baby's head circumference compares to other babies of the same age and sex. So maybe it is normal for me, but they dont know and that doesnt make me worry any less. She wasn't able to get all the measurements she needed so is bringing me back in a week and a half to get the . Babies that are smaller and less mature are more at risk. Still I'm very worried about it and would be most grateful if anyone has a similar experience and can tell me all was fine. Less than 3 wks to go so hopefully it goes really fast as the apprehension is difficult now. May 21, 2012. My OB just likes to be sure baby is still growing even if I'm not, and that's usually the case. Please note, we cannot prescribe controlled substances, diet pills, antipsychotics, or other abusable medications. Sometimes babies have a condition called microcephaly. It's times like this when they ask questions about genetic history that you wish you know more, isn't it?? When he left the room I took a pic of the stats he left up on his computer screen and read them when I got home. But it is something that would worry me enough to warrant asking for a follow up. The outcome was worse when the HC was smaller. Try not to worry too much as nowadays they can do so much. My (almost) 9lb baby was in the 90th percentile for height and weight, and in the 30-ish percentile for headsize until he was about a month old. Is it normal procedure to get a growth scan this late? If there are concerns the procedure will be paused. The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited. If you're concerned, call your dr for clarification instead of googling, google is just the worst. If the baby was breech at the time of the ultrasound that can bring down the BPD %tile because the babys head issqueezed up againist the anterior wall of the uterus. The ultrasound is conducted at your babys cot side and you are very welcome to stay with your baby during the scan. My husband is taking the results to a friend of his today to get a second opinion, but everyone keeps telling me to relax. Commenting is the best way to get involved. This is my first pregnancy and I am so worried that his head is in fact too little and this is a neurological problem. Her head has moved up to the 7th percentile 2 weeks ago. PMC I am considered high risk due to low Papp A levels found at my 12 week scan/ blood work. So when I had her and they asked me to guess I nearly died when I was told she was 10'2. could this indicate microcephaly? The BPD percentile is more than likely lower due to the babys breechposition. 2 23annie23 Posted 8/4/13 On Fri. My scan results were very similar to yours, apart from our baby had a big tummy circumference . I am getting weekly U/S and NSTs my baby's is measuring small and the head smaller but there have been no "omg" concerns. When the doctor came in I didn't ask about it and he didn't mention it. Try not to worry, these babies all grow at different rates xx. An HC Z score below -2.5 was strongly associated with neurological and chromosomal abnormalities. baby was born normal and healthy no sign of downs. While the report said all is fine, my measurements show the baby head at less than 5% while the rest of her is relatively normally. All we can do is cling onto the fact that Doc has said she's seen babies with similar low percentiles be ok and the fact that there is a paternal cousin who's head was small but we don't know how small. Let's just say googling is the worst thing in the world and now I have a very anxious 2 week wait :( Have these sort of measurements been had by anyone else and all turned out ok? Thanks to all for the support! 1997-2023 BabyCenter, LLC, a Ziff Davis company. If she is already pretty far down and engaged in your pelvis themeasurementscould be inaccurate. At birth, a baby's head is typically about one-fourth of his body length. Now I'm super worried. So I have had u/s every 4 weeks to monitor growth. I asked him if he saw any signs of the virus and he said no. In the meantime, if it turns out that the baby's head is not growing at the same rate as the rest of its body, what are the possible causes of this and the implications? If your baby is growing fine and following his growth curve steadily, shouldn't be a problem, but keep the follow up and measurements, he or she doesn Ultrasound measurements are not always precise measures of fetal age, as different pregnancies grow at different rates. I'm 26 weeks pregnant and am also faced with a baby with a small head, measuring in the 3rd percentile. Are there any additional tests that can be done to tell me if baby is normal? The ultrasound probe that is placed on your babys skin over the fontanelle (soft spot) is also disinfected. She offered to refer us to Holles st for more tests ( which scared the life out of us) but that they may not be able to Tell us anything else so we decided against as it's not going to change anything. head measuring small at 20 weeks. Then we had a private scan at 28 wks. They are so unaccurate at times. The risk of these problems is higher in the smallest and most preterm babies, and in those who have severe IVH (grade 3 and 4) or severe PVL. The idea is to take the diameter of your baby's head at the widest point. And baby still growing is great! Try to enjoy the rest of your pregnancy. And I googled microcephaly - don't do it. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the Top answers from doctors based on your search: Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone. However, most babies have a normal scan result or mild to moderate bleeding. Grade 4 bleed is similar to grade 3 except the bleeding also affects the brain tissue surrounding the ventricles. Microcephaly (my-kroh-SEF-uh-lee) is a rare neurological condition in which an infant's head is much smaller than the heads of other children of the same age and sex. Bleeding within the fluid filled spaces (IVH) can be mild to moderate (Grade 12) or severe (Grade 34). It is safe and similar to an ultrasound that mothers have during pregnancy; it does not expose your baby to any radiation. For months the doctors made us run around getting MRIs, head sonograms, cat scans. You made it we did it. You would have to go to an MFM or peri for that. My first was in the 75% for weight and length but his head was the 40%. But iam in a similar situation . Need help getting started? The doctor didn't mention anything, do I did. But of course we wanted to be sure so we did everything they asked. Other body parts are measuring between 4-10% on the charts and her head is at about 2%. Best of luck with your new arrival and rest assured if they felt the baby was at any risk they would have delivered straight away. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008747. If possible, I would ask for a level II u/s. I'm so confused and worried. I'm sure everthing will be fine hun, some babies just have small heads! X, I agree with pp you probably just have small babies and it will defini. By using our website, you consent to our use of cookies. 32 week scan showed legs were catching up . The #1 app for tracking pregnancy and baby growth. The position of the baby in the womb can indeed make it difficult to obtain accurate measurements at the routine 20-week ultrasound scan. it says she was breech at time of ultrasound. But iam in a similar situation wondering what was your outcome . Even with accurate measurements, the correlation between gestation and measurement is not as reliable at 20-weeks as it is earlier on in pregnancy. This was in Galway where only anything below 5th centile or above 95th centile were deemed outside normal range. During pregnancy, a baby's head grows because the baby's brain grows. I'm assuming you did anonymous de but would your clinic be able to contact the donor and ask the questions maybe?? Hopefully she will measure differently when we go back for another. My baby's head circumference and BPD are measuring at 5th percentile which is very small. Grade 1 bleed a small amount of bleeding limited to the lining of the ventricles. I have growth scans every few weeks it seems and did for my last kiddo too since I always measure small. I just can't stomach the possibility of a problem now when I chose this time to go DE as I didn't trust my older eggs. However, it is very unlikely that there is anything for you to be concerned about. Measuring the baby's fundal height - the distance from the top of your pubic bone to the top of your uterus allows your OB/GYN to roughly assess the size of your uterus and the size, growth rate and positioning of your baby. My baby measured 2-3 weeks smaller each time (for memory around 37th centile) but dr wasn't concerned as there was continual growth. His Padetrican wasn't worried especially since my hubby has a tiny head n wears kids size hats so does his mum. Hopefully when they said "small head" they just meant relatively small, but still perfectly healthy. It's not the Small baby that's my worry but the Small head that can indicate Brain development issues so that's the huge worry. My daughter had a small measurement with my first A/S, similar to yours, in the <5% range. We had our 20 week scan yesterday too and ours is measuring ahead on the timmy circumference - same as our 4th baby who ended up being rather large. I decided against any genetic screens cos donor was only 29. Yes, anos.I did Ring clinic to ask if donor had history of smaller head/ in her family and was told they did enquire and said no. I wish you all the best Katie and that your lo will be perfectly healthy on arrival. Tekola-Ayele F, Zhang C, Wu J, Grantz KL, Rahman ML, Shrestha D, Ouidir M, Workalemahu T, Tsai MY. My 20-week scan yesterday showed that all of my baby's organs appear to be functioning normally and all measurements, except the head, were within the normal range for this point in the baby's development. Check out our. gest. Major abnormalities were noted in respectively 26.2%, 3.0% and 1.1% of fetuses with Z scores < -2.5, -2.5 to -2.0, and -2 to -1.645, compared with 0.3% of fetuses with normal HC (p < 10(-4)). We collected all major malformations, intrauterine deaths and other abnormal outcomes. All he said was baby measuring small but was still consistently on the curve sitting just below the 50th. Some ultrasound results make the risk higher, and other results dont affect the risk much. At my 20 week u/s, my LO was measuring small, so I had another u/s 4 weeks later. It says my placenta is posteiror, low lying. The doctor went on to say this indicated a strong likelihood of some kind of skeletal dysplasia. They will probably give you extra growth scans during the pregnancy too - so you'll get to see baby regularly. Small head does not mean less intelligence. Dwarfism and short stature are not . Epub 2021 Aug 12. If microcephaly is real, it could be part of several fetal s Pediatrics - Developmental and Behavioral. Im having twins and when baby b finally turned head down at like 28w, all of sudden her head measurements went from 40% to like 2%. To my boys: I will love you for youNot for what you have done or what you will becomeI will love you for youI will give you the loveThe love that you never knew. seizures. Trans-ethnic meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies maternal ITPR1 as a novel locus influencing fetal growth during sensitive periods in pregnancy. Makes me so nervous!! As you say, a second scan is usually arranged when difficulties are experienced. Doctors apply that diagnosis when a baby's head size is in the 98th percentile. The outcome was worse when the HC was smaller. Messages: 2. The gestational age of your baby is determined. 0:00 / 10:50 Intro 20 WEEK ANATOMY SCAN UNEXPECTED NEWS, FIRST BABY, BABY MEASURING SMALL, BABY'S BRAIN CONCERNS The Homemakin' Mama 2.84K subscribers Subscribe 4.9K views 2 years ago. X, 36 weeks is great! I have had NO prg issue's. 30 week scan showed head had slowed in growth under 5th centile. Small heads run in their family. Thanks. 20/01/2023 19:20. It is very common for a measurement to be equivalent to a week less, or more, than the predicted value. The estimated age based on her head size is just 25 weeks while the rest is between 28-30 weeks. The baby's head molds to whatever it is up against. Coopers 3 now n just had his check up w Paed his head was 20th % n the rest of him was 95th %.like already said sum times bubs just have little heads. I know a lot easier said than done but I've had this since 28 weeks. Thanks ladies, I'm so concerned about Microcephaly, although the doctor made no mention of this, I googled it. If things are growing steadily, and it's just a smaller head than average (but not a health concern for your baby), I would try not to worry. I had a 36 week growth scan on Tuesday and they said my little man was in fact "little" and his head circumference is in the 10th percentile while the other measurements were all around the 50th. This happened until she was delivered and the paediatricians were in the birthsuite with me since she had a small head. Apparently my OH's niece had s smaller head that Drew negative attention at the time and she is a perfectly typical 8 yr old now so there's a chance its similar with this little one. I would ask for clarification though. Outcomes of fetuses with small head circumference on second-trimester ultrasonography A head circumference below the 5(th) centile at second-trimester scan is associated with various abnormalities, especially neurological disorders. My midwife said she would have been more concerned if the overall growth was slow. Microcephaly can occur because a baby's brain has not developed properly during pregnancy or has stopped growing after birth, which results in a smaller head size. I just got my 28 week ultrasound results and am very concerned. I know I was over 8lbs when I was born and Im not sure about my husband but I think he was the same. A head circumference below the 5(th) centile at second-trimester scan is associated with various abnormalities, especially neurological disorders. I had a follow up scan due to a virus (coxsackie b) I contracted in the beginning of my third trimester. They're more accurate and detailed and can give you a better idea of what is going on. We examined the outcomes of pregnancies in which the fetal head circumference (HC) was below the 5(th) centile at the routine second-trimester scan. There were seven intra uterine fetal death (1.3%). 32 weeks 5 days scan, foetus ga is as follows; We're going to scan again in a couple of weeks in the hopes of getting a more accurate measurement. The ultrasound doc told me not to worry, that she's a little on the small side so to make sure I'm eating every 2.5 hours and don't be afraid to put on a few kilos, and to take my iron. The fundal height is measured in centimeters for most of your pregnancy. and transmitted securely. It doesn't exactly have a warm, fuzzy sound. It might give you reassurance. Stay positive! facial distortions. Depending on several factors, including the experience of the sonographer, the fetal head and abdominal measurements can be on the "small" side. My baby's head circumference and BPD are measuring at 5th percentile which is very small. Shes also referred me for another scan with a Dr so they can check the head. However, often the baby is perfectly healthy. Get prescriptions or refills through a video chat, if the doctor feels the prescriptions are medically appropriate. However, you should try your best not to worry. delayed speech. While the report said all is fine, my measurements show the baby head at less than 5% while the rest of her is relatively normally. The growth scans are pretty inaccurate in my opinion so try to not worry. had our 20 week scan today. The dr reassured me that it was just because of the baby's position and not to stress and come back in 4 weeks for another scan. Doctors typically provide answers within 24 hours. These measurements don't necessarily mean your baby will have a low birth weight, or that there's anything wrong with your . My OH's family have a history of smaller babies, 5 and 6 pounder's. IUGR may often be a result of a small parent, but the . Grade 3 bleed indicates there is more blood within the ventricles and the ventricles have become swollen (distended) or enlarged. Obviously I have no genetic Link so my family history is irrelevant. Her face looks great on the pictures, big nose bone evident and full lips. I am 37+5 and went for my growth scan today. PLoS Genet. Baby might grow for another 4 to 6 weeks and all should be well. Panchaud A, Stojanov M, Ammerdorffer A, Vouga M, Baud D. Clin Microbiol Rev. I tried calling my doc back, but he was gone for the day. The estimated age based on her head size is just 25 weeks while the rest is between 28-30 weeks. You will be convinced your child has everything under the sun all the way to fetal alcohol syndrome. So back we went and I got a fright to see the consultant was doing the repeat scan as opposed to the sonographer and the result was the same but baby growing and nothing else showing up. My sons head was in the 15th % n the rest of his body was in the 90th. I had several referal ultra sound with specialists and all confirmed it. Could my operation have affected my sperm count? What is important is the growth velocity with time. They might suggest you take aspirin to increase the blood flow through the placenta, I have to take 75mg aspirin a day. Before We have the growth scans at 30 and 36 weeks to keep an eye on it, but try not to panic x, Definetly if small babies are the norm for you I'd try not to worry. I'm getting checked every 10 days to see if her head catches up or falls further behind. Aug 21, 2016 at 11:17 PM. 8600 Rockville Pike The measurements are plotted on a chart - the centiles (lines) on the chart show the expected range of . Bethesda, MD 20894, Web Policies