Growth Discordance

Hi Ladies,

I've been lurking here for quite a while, and really learned a lot from your discussions. Now we have a big concern and I could really use some help and stories. I'm 23 weeks with B/G twins. So far things had been going fairly well. Last u/s at 20 weeks showed baby A measuring in the 9th percentile (our girl) and Baby B measuring in the 29th percentile. Today we went for another u/s and now our little Baby A is only in the 3rd percentile and her brother is in the 52nd. I have an appt with a peri tomorrow, but the OB mentioned that a major cause of such a large growth discordance is a chromosomal abnormality. We are completely overwhelmed and scared....any stories or advice please??

Thank you,
Ashley

 

Hi Ladies,

I've been lurking here for quite a while, and really learned a lot from your discussions. Now we have a big concern and I could really use some help and stories. I'm 23 weeks with B/G twins. So far things had been going fairly well. Last u/s at 20 weeks showed baby A measuring in the 9th percentile (our girl) and Baby B measuring in the 29th percentile. Today we went for another u/s and now our little Baby A is only in the 3rd percentile and her brother is in the 52nd. I have an appt with a peri tomorrow, but the OB mentioned that a major cause of such a large growth discordance is a chromosomal abnormality. We are completely overwhelmed and scared....any stories or advice please??

Thank you,
Ashley

 

We had a growth u/s 4 weeks ago. At that time one baby was in the 11th percentile. Today the same baby was now in the 50th percentile. (other baby has always been around the 50th). I guess it is possible that they can catch up or have a growth spurt. The u/s tech also said the numbers are estimates (of course) and the position of the babies can make them measure bigger or smaller. Hope this helps and good luck!

 

Madison had a cystic hygroma early on, so my doctors were already worried, then she started to slow in growth around 22 weeks or so. My peris started to talk of genetic problems, saying something was wrong with her. I was pushed for the amnio, which I chose to not have. Madison got to less than the 3rd percentile and stayed there until delivery and she was perfectly healthy. It turned out to be that her umbilical cord placed funny

I know its stressful. Try to lay on your left side as much as possible, it will help flow through the placenta. Drink 3 Boost or Ensure High Protiens a day .

I'll keep you and your little ones in prayer

 

Jake was diagonsed as IUGR around 25 weeks...he also had a 1/2 pound discordance from Becca. As we had done all genetic testing, we knew that wasn't the problem. I was put on modified bedrest (i also had high bp) and my peri did growth u/s every other week. As long as Jake continued to grow, I was fine.

We ended up delivering at 36 weeks on the dot - and Jake weighed 3 lbs 8 ounces, but was otherwise perfectly healthy. We did have almost 12 days in the NICU...but some of that was unncessary in my opinion. I think if they had done a few things differntly he would have been home by day 7.

Try not to worry, discordanct growth is common in twins. We never found out why Jake was small (placental and umblical cord didn't show any issues) and he is very healthy (albiet a pound or more less than his sister0>

Miriam

 

I don't remember percentiles, but my girl was always smaller than my boy. And the difference got bigger and bigger as the pregnancy went on. At 35 weeks they measured 3lbs different and at birth two weeks later they were 2lbs1oz apart. Now that they are 20mos, ds weighs a good 7lbs more than dd! Try not to worry too much, as long as your baby girl continues to grow, she'll be okay. At one point my dd had only gained an oz in two weeks. It's true that the u/s measurements can be off based on their positions. GL and keep us updated!

 

Also remember they are a boy and a girl. He may always be much larger than her. I was told u/s can be up to a lb off, so it just maybe the way she is laying.

 

Update

We had our appt with the peri today. Turns out that the tech yesterday measured something wrong, and our babies are very close in size. Baby A is 1 lb 3oz and Baby B is 1 lb 5 oz. Phew. Everything looks great. Just a screwy ultrasound yesterday which caused lots of stress.

Thank you all for the info and help. I'm sure they'll continue to stress us out regularly (that's why we have kids, right??) But as of now everything looks great.

Ashley

 

I'm so glad things are looking better now! We are dealing with a growth issue right now as well. Since your babies are boy/girl and obviously fraternal, don't be surprised if a growth difference occurs in the future. Could just be how they were meant to grow, just like the difference between singleton siblings. It sounds like your doctors are keeping a good eye on things.

 

Sorry to hear the stress you went through but glad to hear it was a measurement issue. It is definitely a good thing to keep an eye on potential growth issues no matter whether the babies are frat or id. While there are circumstances specific to each type, all can be equally devastating if gone unnoticed.

Sounds like you are getting great care and that is a huge key! Try to relax and get some rest Momma!