As much as I've loved being pregnant, I think I'm ready for it to come to a happy ending. We officially have the IUGR diagnosis now--our u/s today measured him at 5 lbs even and the10th percentile in terms of growth. No weight gain for me or baby in 3 weeks and my OB has no idea why. And yes, I'm eating everything in sight! He wants me to come back for another BPP on Fri. and deliver on Monday as planned. Just wondering how much variability there is in the u/s technology, and if anyone had an IUGR diagnosis but delivered a baby with better growth than predicted by u/s? Thanks ladies! Trying really hard not to get worried but with everything involved, it's hard not to.
Re: Anyone with IUGR experience/advice?
Dylan was IUGR and at last measurements had a head in the 98th %ile and abdomen in the 3rd.
When he was born he was loooong and skinny with a big noggin.
No oxygen needed although they prepared us that he might.
We had a placental study and blood flow study to make sure his head wasn't robbing his body of nutrients. Everything was normal.
He had a huge noggin and was really skinny on u/s. Same deal when he was born.
Same deal today at almost 4 years old.
Some kids are just gonna fall outside the average, ya know?
They did make me deliver at 38 weeks to be safe.
I went on bedrest and ate everything in site starting at 34 weeks and none of it made a hill of beans of difference.
Sound familiar?
Don't beat yourself up. I'm guessing this may just be his constitution.
Everything worked out perfect with Dylan and I'm sure it will for you too!
Total score: 6 pregnancies, 5 losses, 2 amazing blessings that I'm thankful for every single day.
One of my dd was IUGR. Actually, it went undiagnosed. When she was born she weighed 4lbs 11oz (3rd %). We had some NICU time but not due to IUGR. I had a fever during delivery and so they put the girls on antibiotics. So they had to wean them from those, the fluids and establish they would eat afterwards before I could take them home. But today my IUGR baby is in the 50%. She recovered fast! She's the one on the right in my siggie at 8 months.
E was close to SGA, but not IUGR, so I can't comment exactly. But at a BPP (I got them twice a week from 36w) at 39w1d, the u/s measured her at 6 pounds 3 ounces. I didn't deliver until 40w5d and she came out 6 pounds 5 ounces. She just didn't grow much the last week, but it was her constitution -- she's just a smaller baby and still is!
Hang in there -- you're doing great.
I did three weeks of bedrest when my DS was dxed IUGR at 33 weeks. The bedrest helped a tiny bit because he grew a little during those three weeks, as opposed to the "not at all" from 30-33 weeks. BTW eating doesn't often help - it's usually an issue with the placenta, not food intake. By 36 weeks we were starting to talk about when to go "get him" when my water broke on its own and I delivered at 36w1d. He was 4 lbs 11 oz at birth, my tiny little bird.
My advice is this: make sure your dr's treat your IUGR child like more of a preemie than they think. I know you are 36 weeks now, so your baby won't be an official "preemie" but more of a "near term" baby. But the IUGR dx and tiny size often makes them more susceptible to preemie issues. My son had feeding issues. They let us go right home with him and told us we could wait for my bm to come in and didn't recommend we supplement him with formula while we waited. It took a WEEK for my bm to come in. Meanwhile, after just a few days of no food but colostrum he got really sick and had to be hospitalized. My sis, who is an L and D nurse, said there is no way they should have let us wait it out and insisted on supplementation for any baby 5 lbs or under.
I am sure your baby will be just fine - small but fine You asked about u/s weight determination... my DS was bigger, a few ozs, than they thought he would be. Honestly they were hoping for 4 lbs, so the 11 oz was a big deal.
He's a happy, healthy 3 1/2 year old now.
Good luck! I hope that helped.
DS was IUGR. It was determined via doppler study with ultrasound, that the blood flow from placenta to baby was restricted. I was monitored super-closely and at 36 weeks, I was induced. J was born weighing 3lb 7oz and was in the NICU for 10 days.
With IUGR, you want to be monitored closely. Plenty of ultrasounds, non-stress tests, dopper studies, etc. Your OB should either do these or send you to a specialist.
Btw - the ultrasound the day before I was induced had DS at over 4 lbs. There is margin for error with that test.