Any success stories about IUGR?

[blondflava]

(Intra Uterine Growth Restriction).. I'm 27 weeks pregnant and 2 weeks ago, I heard that the baby girl is falling behind in the measurements.. 2 weeks, or as they told me, she was in the 4th percentile. They did a lot of testing, blood and urine, suspecting some infection (nothing came out though), they are watching out for pre-eclampsia (however, my blood pressure is in the range of 117/70 or so - and that condition had a high BP). They did tell me that the blood flow to the uterus is 'not normal'. I'm resting at home as much as I can, to provide the best blood and oxygen flow to the uterus and the baby. I go to the hospital twice a week for monitoring. they already told me that I'd most probably have a c-section if the baby keeps lagging in growth, that it would be beneficial for her to be out - I just pray it won't happen before 35 weeks, I want her to be as healthy as possible...
I had another Growth Scan today, and even though her vital signs and all the organs seem normal (she's kicking a lot too), she's staying very small, still about 2 weeks behind. I'm still trying to come to terms with all that, it's my first baby and I was eating healthy, taking vitamins from the very beginning (even before I got pregnant), was walking for health and fresh air, and it all seemed to progress so well! I never even got morning sickness... And now such a blow.. I realize she'll be born small, but I want her to be healthy, I was on the small side when born (I was born at 11 days past-due date and less than 6 lbs. But i hope she's going to be at least 4 lbs :((... Is there anyone who's baby was that small and turned out ok??

[WatchingThemGrow]

No experience w/IUGR, but a friend's DD was a preemie at 3 lb 9 oz and is in the 90th %ile for height at 2. She's adorable and DD loves playing with her. She's fine! Hugs to you. I know how hard it can be to hear something like this. You're doing all the right stuff!

[shawnandangel]

My daughter lagged 2 weeks behind on growth after I think the 30th week. She came out fine, 5lbs 15oz, 18 inches. Now she is 4 months and is 75% height and 66% weight. Try not to worry mama. I had once a week monitering and although I did have to have a c-section for low amniotic fluid at 39 weeks everything turned out fine.:hug5:

[toothfairy]

Yes! Similar situation. First child, IUGR diagnosis (not sure at what point in the pregnancy.) I was told that I would be induced at 37 weeks but . . . . DD was born at 36 weeks after I went into labor spontaneously. I never had elevated blood pressure during pregnancy but only during labor it did rise to, I think, 180-something/uncertain of lower number. My child weighed in at 4lbs 6 oz and 18 1/2 inches long. She is now 26 months old and weighs less than 20lbs, stands about 30 1/2 inches tall, so she is very petite for her age.

I am not certain what caused the IUGR in my case. It could have been a subclinical case of pre-eclampsia. It could have been the shape of my womb--I happen to have a septate uterus--meaning that there is a "wall" inside it that almost divides it into two halves. It could have been something entirely else.

Developmentally DD is fine. She breastfed for 13 months, has been on target with her milestones and is, overall, just a tiny, healthy little girl.

HUGS! Hope this helps just a bit.


Amy

[Melaine]

I don't know anything about IUGR, but just wanted to say that medicine and treatment for teenie preemies has come SO far and they are so well equipped to deal with these issues. My girls were 4 lbs 4 oz and did dip below four pounds after birth, but they are already tall for their age and are as healthy as they could possibly be. Hope all goes well for you and that you are able to relax and pray for the best!

[sariana]

I don't know if the cause was IUGR (though that was my first thought), but a friend recently had a baby born at 37 weeks (so not really preemie) and weighing only 3 lbs. 13 oz. But at one month she weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz, and she is doing just fine.

My DS was born at 32 weeks weighing 4 lbs. 9 oz. He stayed in the NICU for 18 days because he needed to learn to eat. He also had bilateral inguinal hernia surgery at 4 months. Other than that, he has been very healthy. He is 4 1/2 now and doing just fine. He is at about the 50th percentile for height (because I'm kind of short) and the 25th for weight (because DH is tall and skinny). I do have to say that he probably has ADHD, but I don't think that is because he was a preemie. I think it is hereditary (in his case).

I know these are two different cases and neither one quite reflects your situation, but tiny babies and early babies can do quite well (and nowadays almost always do).

[BabyMine]

My DS1 was diagnosed with IUGR. I had a single umbilical artery so they attributed it to that. He was removed at 36.5 weeks and weighed 4lbs 10oz. He did have some other complications at birth ( Vaters Syndrome ) but you could never tell now. They make it up big time as they grow.

[kijip]

My DS1 was diagnosed with IUGR. I had a single umbilical artery so they attributed it to that. He was removed at 36.5 weeks and weighed 4lbs 10oz.

I also had a single umbilical artery with F and was told he was measuring behind though they did not diagnose IUGR. In my case, while I knew the cord issue could be responsible for slower fetal growth, I felt the dating was potentially off enough not to panic. We had already had a lot of ultrasounds so we declined to do another based only on size issues (did not want the stress). As it turns out he was 6 pounds, 13 ounces at about 35 1/2-36 1/2 weeks depending on what dates you believed or what early u/s we thought was most reliable. It is my understanding that later term u/s are not spot on accurate on size estimates.

[Melaine]

I had an ultrasound hours before my c-section. The weight estimates were laughable inaccurate, fortunately. I agree that the later term us do not seem to be too accurate....

[LMPC]

I agree, measurements can be SO inaccurate! I was told after an ultrasound that DD was at most 4 lbs....four hours later she was delivered via c-sec at 4 lbs 9oz -- that's a significant difference! She's 4 mo old now...eats like no one's business (up to 12.5 lbs)...and is the picture of health! It sounds like you have been taking really good care of yourself, which is so important. So don't stop now...staying calm is going to be good for you and the baby! BTW, I was born 1 week past due and was 6.5 lbs...so small babies run in my family too!

[mommy111]

Similar experience with DD1, she was falling behind on the growth curve (less than 5th percentile) so they induced me. She came out tiny. Now she's a beanstalk, 90th %ile for height, 75th for weight. I would not worry too much if everything else is fine. I was a tiny baby too when I was born and now I'm always worrying about losing weight :)

[dhano923]

I had IUGR with my firstborn. He started measuring smaller when I was about 26 weeks, starting with 2 weeks behind, and then 3 weeks behind. I ended up seeing a perinatologist starting at 30 weeks, on a weekly basis. Baby was moving and kicking just fine, and he was consistently 3 weeks behind. the PN said that as long as all the body parts were measuring roguhly the same percentile and baby's heartbeat, etc were fine, they wouldn't induce me until 39 weeks. I also had gestational diabetes which further complicated issues too. They ended up inducing me at 38w3d because the baby hadn't grown as much as they wanted between one appointment to the next. The PN estimated that he would weigh around 6lb, but DS was born at 6lb 13 oz. He did tell me at the time that the weight was just an estimate and was +/- 1 pound. DS only lost 3oz of weight after birth (in the hospital), which is excellent because most babies lose 8-16oz after birth. Because he was 6 lbs at discharge time, I was able to bring him home, otherwise they would have kept him another couple days until he gained enough weight to hit 6lbs.

[blondflava]

Thank you Ladies...It's reassuring to hear that even though those babies were born earlier or smaller, they caught up eventually and didn't develop any health issues.. I hope my little girl will continue to grow up, maybe at a smaller rate, but steady and will not have to spend time in the NICU after birth. She's a miracle Vasectomy Reversal baby, and I hope that the good luck we were blessed with continues :).