So - since I have been about 18 weeks pregnant - my baby started measuring a little bit behind. At 20 weeks, she was 2 weeks behind and 8 oz. I went in yesterday for a follow-up ultrasound and she is still 2 weeks behind, but is 11 oz - so I was happy that she gained some weight.
My Dr.'s are scaring the living daylights out of me and telling me at 24 weeks I have to start getting steroid shots and getting monitored twice a week to see where we are. They are telling me I will definitely deliver early, but I am just so scared of delivering a 28 weeker.
Has anyone experienced IUGR and went further than 32 weeks?
Re: I officially have IUGR - Anyone else?
At 21 weeks we were measuring a few weeks behind. I had a f/u u/s at 24 weeks and it was the same story. We have asymmetrical IUGR as his head is measuring on target or even ahead a little but his abdomen is behind 3 weeks. My doctor said as long as he is still growing consistently, then he should be ok to stay in. I'm also being closely monitored for possible pre-e, since that happens 50% of the time in IUGR. I will be delivered early if either I develop pre-e or if his growth starts to lag even more. I'm now almost 34 weeks and my next u/s is in one week. I too was really scared about delivering very early at first. Once my dr diagnosed this, he told me about another girl he just delivered at 27 weeks with less than a 1lber, though that baby's doing great amazingly. He meant to tell me we'd likely be ok no matter what, but of course it scared me so much. I don't think they do the steroid shots unless they need to take the baby out very soon since they can only get the benefits from them once (that's what I heard), so ask your dr about that.
For my own peace of mind, I do daily kick counts and did buy a home blood pressure monitor. So far things are ok though (knock on wood). My hospital and doctor are highly trained for dealing with situations like this--one of the best out there luckily as they do tons on research and training of medical residents--so I do trust them. Best of luck.
I asked my doctor about bedrest and he said that research has shown that it really doesn't make a difference unless they see other problems arise (like high blood pressure). At this point, he said I should just continue doing what I am doing with frequent monitoring. At my last ultrasound, b/c LOs growth was consistent with what they observed at the previous ultrasound, he said he felt better about how things were progressing. If the growth showed a bigger lag then, he would have started me on twice weekly nonstress tests, but since it didn't I'm just going in for biweekly ob visits and thrice weekly ultrasounds.
Honestly, I was super freaked out at first, especially after hearing about a 27 week delivery for a girl with the same problem. But things seem to be going ok, and with frequent monitoring, I'm feeling more confident that they'll catch what they need to if things progress. My doctor said with my artery/placenta issues (he saw in an u/s that there is some restriction in the bloodflow of my arteries to the placenta, which is likely causing the IUGR), that I will likely develop high blood pressure; it's just a matter of when that manifests, knowing it might never manifest within the timeframe of my pregnancy. So it's really just a game of 'wait and see'. There is a great board for women with IUGR babies that's been very helpful:
https://community.babycenter.com/groups/a6717293/iugr_babies_and_kids?