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Ultrasound At 39 Weeks, Femur Measures In 5th Percentile. Does This Mean Dwarfism ?

Posted on Mon, 16 Jul 2012

Question: I had an ultrasound at 39 weeks, the fetus measures in the 80-90 percentile in most instances other then the femur measures in the 5th percentile. My previous scan at 23 weeks everything was normal, quad screen was negative. The doctor stated he didn't know what to make of it, but it's too late to do anything about it at this point. I asked about dwarfism and he said that the ultrasound wasn't flagged as such. I'm 5'4" and my mother is 5'1", grandmother was 4'11", so we are a short family but 5th percentile seems extremely low considering the other measurements.

Answered by Dr. Minoo Bhagia (1 hour later)

Hello

Thanks for writing to us

If the measurements are correct mentioned above then it can be an achondroplasia

At 39 weeks nothing can be done so stop worrying , just relax and go for the labour

There are other methods like 3D and 4D ultrasound scans but it is better to wait and let the delivery happen in natural course

Sometimes the measurements can be fallacious and baby is normal

Best wishes for the mother and new born

Take care

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar