2nd Trimester
kidney dilation
Has anyone ever went for their 20 week ultrasound and been told that they have "bilateral prominence in the renal pelvis?" I know this now means the baby's kidneys are dilated. We are not finding out the sex, but through all the ultrasounds, I believe it's a girl. I have not seen anything to make me think otherwise. From my research, this is more common in boys and it typically works itself out before birth or shortly after birth. But I have not found anything about baby girls with this issue. Does anyone have any stories that they'd be willing to share. Thanks in advance.
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Re: kidney dilation
Have you made an appt to speak with a specialist about it? I was notified when I was 20W that DS had it. My DR had me meet with a specialist who went over DH & my direct family tree and wrote down any abnormal symptoms, (ie asthma, diabetes, heart attack, etc) then I was taken to a special 3D ultrasound where the specialist went in and measured DS' kidneys. After that appt I saw my OB every other week where an ultra sound was given to keep an eye on DS' kidney's. Thankfully by 36W his body had caught up with his kidneys. I was told ahead of time that this is common in boys but it is not unlikely to happen in girls.
I would assume that from now on you would be labeled as a high risk pregnancy, so your OB can keep an eye on the baby.
GL
Our baby boy has this issue and it is being monitored with ultrasounds every 6 weeks until birth and then he will be seen by a pediatric urologist after the birth and for as long as needed to make sure it isn't causing any issues for him.
Our perinatologist told me that it is a condition they see far more often in baby boys than baby girls and that seeing it in a girl is more cause for concern for them. He said it is usually caused by a narrowing of the ureters which causes waste to flow too slowly or back up into the kidneys which causes the dilation. He said that 90% of babies show full improvement by birth and that of the rest, 90% show full improvement by the first year. A small number of children will require surgery to correct the condition if it is causing issues.
Also, our perinatologist said that his daughter was born with the same condition and was monitored for several years. Her condition never got better but it never got worse either and since it never caused her any issues they eventually stopped monitoring it and chalked it up to "just the way she was" so just because your baby might be a girl it doesn't necessarily mean much more than it would for a boy.
I go for my next ultrasound on 12/14 and then I will find out if the condition is the same, worse, or better. The doctor said that as long as it is stable or better then that is a good sign that it is not serious. He also told me not to worry myself until I actually had something to worry about which is advice that I am taking to heart.
I hope this post helped you! Just remember that the vast majority of these cases work themselves out on their own.
ETA: He also said that babies with kidney dilation that is still present at birth may be put on an antibiotic regimen because the backing up of waste makes their risk of kidney infections greater.
His didnt go away so we saw a urologist at a week old. The doctor believed it would resolve on its own so no antibiotics were needed, but I do think its common if its a bigger issue. We had a check up at six months and it was still there but it was resolving on its own. We go back next April.
The urologist said moms usually come in freaked out about the condition but he reassured me it really is no big deal!
ETA: my son was born at 36 weeks so who knows what those extra four weeks could have done!