IUGR

ckalm5

Hey Ladies,

I was hoping to get some helpful information / support from any of you who have had an IUGR baby. This is my 4th child and I have been seeing a perinatologist since week 19. At that appointment my baby was in the 10th percentile. I went back for another scan at 23 weeks and the baby had dropped to the 6th percentile. Yesterday I had another scan and the baby was down to the 3rd percentile and my placenta was starting to thicken. I have to go back in 2 weeks and he said if the baby falls off the growth curve at all I will be admitted to the hospital. I am very worried about this little one. From what I understand it is symmetrical IUGR. The goal is to get me to at least 34 weeks but 37 would be awesome! If any of you have any wisdom to share with me I would greatly appreciate it! TIA!

CTbride79

Hi! 

I was diagnosed with IUGR at 31 weeks, caused by absent/reverse flow through the umbilical cord, which meant he was not getting adequate nutrition and the placenta was slowly starting to fail.  I had hoped to make it to 35 weeks, but he was delivered at 32 weeks, because they were unsure how long my placenta would last and because I developed severe pre-e. 

DS was 2 lbs. 9 oz. at birth (about 3 weeks behind in growth), and is still very small for both his adjusted and actual age...he's about 14.5-15 lbs. at 9 months old (7 adjusted).  He is perfectly healthy however and doing well developmentally.  He is still in the 10th or less percentile for height and weight for his adjusted age, however his head is around the 60th percentile I think...we go for his 9 month appt. on Friday so we'll find out his exact stats then. 

My friend had IUGR with her daughter and delivered via c-section between 36-37 weeks...her DD was about 4.5 lbs. at birth, but was able to come home right away, and is now a very active and perfectly normal almost 4 year old...she is still small though for her age (I think my friend said she can still wear 2T pants). 

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have! 

jennbent

First off, I am so sorry you are dealing with this.  I know from personal experience that it is very, very stressful.  My T&P's are with you!  Secondly, it's great that you have already made it to almost 27 weeks!  I was already admitted to the hospital at that point, so every day you make it past that is great for your baby.

My LO was severe early on-set IUGR.  Like you, I found out at week 19.  By that time he was already 3 weeks behind and kept falling further and further behind.  At week 25, the MFM doc discovered that the cord flow was going backwards, so I was admitted to the hospital.  I hung out there for 3 weeks and delivered during week 28.  My son was 1 lb, 3 oz.  He spent 85 long days in the NICU, but did really well (for the most part) and came home 5 days after my due date. 

You mentioned your's is symmetrical IUGR - that's what my DS was too.  Have they mentioned doing any genetic testing to rule out genetic abnormalities?  We went ahead and did the amnio and a whole bunch of blood work to rule out everything.  The cause of my IUGR was just a crappy placenta, but statistically (and I don't want to scare you) but statistically symmetrical IUGR *can* point to a genetic abnormality.  Doesn't mean it always does, it's just more likely.  I'm assuming they've already talked to you about that?

If you search the internet a lot of IUGR moms do the high protein diet to try to boost their LO's growth.  I tried it, but in my case, it didn't work.  It can't hurt though.  Also, bed rest did nothing for me either, but I think it makes sense that blood flow to the placenta would be improved with less activity. I'm sure it's hard to stay down with 3 other kids though!

The good news is that you are being monitored closely, and if need be, you can hopefully get steroid shots to quickly grow your baby's lungs.  There's a lot of moms on here who had no prior warning and bam! they delivered and had a baby in the NICU.  So at least you have some time to prepare and process it.  I hope and pray you make it to 37 weeks.  My story is pretty extreme, so don't let it scare you.  There's a lot of other women on here who had better results - bigger babies at later gestational ages.  ;-)  Good luck!

ckalm5

Thank you both for your responses. It is just nice to have someone to relate to and hear from people who have been through this. I was sent to the high risk doctor at 19 weeks because of my elevated hormone levels which indicated the baby could have down syndrome. They found an echogenic bowel at that 19 week scan so I did do further screening to rule out infections and genetic abnormalities. Both of those tests came back negative. At my 23 week appointment the bowel had cleared and this last appointment was when they noticed my placenta was starting to thicken. He determined that a bad placenta was to blame for this which he said is why my hormone levels became elevated in my second trimester screening. It is just very reassuring to hear positive outcomes from both of you. Thank you both so much for your responses!

jennbent

Good!  I'm glad to hear that they ruled out genetic abnormalities. 

Also, as the specialist may have told you already, gestational age generally trumps size.  So even if your LO comes out small, he or she will act more like his gestational age.  Mine was the size of a 23 weeker, but "acted" like a 28 weeker in the NICU, so he did a lot better than you would expect based on his size.

Good luck!

ckalm5

jennbent:

Good!  I'm glad to hear that they ruled out genetic abnormalities. 

Also, as the specialist may have told you already, gestational age generally trumps size.  So even if your LO comes out small, he or she will act more like his gestational age.  Mine was the size of a 23 weeker, but "acted" like a 28 weeker in the NICU, so he did a lot better than you would expect based on his size.

Good luck!

Thank you so much! This is so reassuring to me. It is so scary to hear that my placenta is not working right and hearing from someone who has gone through this is such a help.

snoangel79

My daughter was severe IUGR and son was SGA. They never found issues with the cord or anything and she always scored 8/8 on her biophysicals and passed NST's.  I think she was in the 9th percentile at 25w. They watched me like a hawk from then on and she never showed distress and continued to grow at the minimum. She was born at 34w,2d and weighed 3lb, 4oz, currently 13lbs and 8 and 1/2 months! She is actually a little ahead developmentally for her real age. She' s my little superstar peanut <: I hope the same for you! I'm glad you are at 27w!! Hoping you can get a few more in there!!

ckalm5

snoangel79:

My daughter was severe IUGR and son was SGA. They never found issues with the cord or anything and she always scored 8/8 on her biophysicals and passed NST's.  I think she was in the 9th percentile at 25w. They watched me like a hawk from then on and she never showed distress and continued to grow at the minimum. She was born at 34w,2d and weighed 3lb, 4oz, currently 13lbs and 8 and 1/2 months! She is actually a little ahead developmentally for her real age. She' s my little superstar peanut <: I hope the same for you! I'm glad you are at 27w!! Hoping you can get a few more in there!!

Thank you so much for your response! I love hearing about such great outcomes! It is definitely helpful 

prepster7

Hi! My son was IUGR, diagnosed at about 20 weeks. I was monitored regularly and told to rest as much as possible. The cord flow was watched; it went back and forth between fine and diminished. He went from the 10th to 1st percentile. I was put in the hospital at 32weeks when my blood pressure got high. I ended up with pre-e and they decided he was better out than in. He was born at 34 weeks weighing 3lbs 6oz and spent 2 weeks in the NICU and another 2 weeks in the step-down Special Care Nursery. He was kept that long in the hospital for mainly growing and feeding issues; he battled some jaundice and had trouble regulating his temperature at first too.

 He's now 13mo and doing well. His height and weight have climbed to the 29th and 26th% and he doesn't have any medical problems. He has been receiving EI services since 4mo of age for developmental delays but is progressing nicely, ie he's now walking.

 The placenta was sent to pathology and while it was small, it seemed in ok shape. Doc thinks maybe it didn't attach to me that well.

ckalm5

prepster7:

Hi! My son was IUGR, diagnosed at about 20 weeks. I was monitored regularly and told to rest as much as possible. The cord flow was watched; it went back and forth between fine and diminished. He went from the 10th to 1st percentile. I was put in the hospital at 32weeks when my blood pressure got high. I ended up with pre-e and they decided he was better out than in. He was born at 34 weeks weighing 3lbs 6oz and spent 2 weeks in the NICU and another 2 weeks in the step-down Special Care Nursery. He was kept that long in the hospital for mainly growing and feeding issues; he battled some jaundice and had trouble regulating his temperature at first too.

 He's now 13mo and doing well. His height and weight have climbed to the 29th and 26th% and he doesn't have any medical problems. He has been receiving EI services since 4mo of age for developmental delays but is progressing nicely, ie he's now walking.

 The placenta was sent to pathology and while it was small, it seemed in ok shape. Doc thinks maybe it didn't attach to me that well.

Thank you for your response. I am glad to hear that your son is doing so well now. It seems from what I have heard that babies end up released close to their due dates but I was wondering what requirements they need to meet for release ...especially weight???