IUGR -- just diagnosed and need advice

We received some unsettling news yesterday (32 weeks 3 days). Our little girl isn't growing as she should be growing. She is in the 27th percentile but her stomach is only in the 7th percentile. They tell us that this is a sign that she isn't getting all of the nutrients she needs. They suspect it is a matter of her placenta not doing all it should, perhaps due to the location where it implanted.

She has always been a couple of ounces smaller than her brother, but the estimates yesterday had them at almost a pound apart (3 lbs 10 oz for our girl and 4 lbs 9 oz for our boy).

Our little boy is growing fine and is actually big for his age (69th percentile).

So, they are going to wait 2 weeks and do more u/s measurements. If she doesn't make enough progress they will discuss delivering them (They would be 34 weeks and a few day). Fortunately, the dr said that she expects there will be enough progress to hold out 2 more weeks which would get us past the 36 week mark. That would be good although I'm not sure how big she will be.

Could anyone who has dealt with a situation like this give me some advice? Is there information online that I could read about this condition? I would really like to hear other stories -- both bad and good.

Please send prayers our way. We are hopeful but, of course, we are worried and daunted by the thought of two premature babies.

 

We were informed around 29 weeks that Addison (baby A) was not growing at the rate she needed to be. We were told that she was a possible IUGR baby. We went every 2 weeks for growth scans and I had to have NST (non stress tests) 2 times a week at the hospital. She always performed great! Even though she was alot smaller, my doctor didn't see any reason to deliver super early. I had a scheduled c-section for a little past 37 weeks. My water (baby A's) ended up breaking when I was 34 weeks 1 day. We went to the hospital and had to be transferred by ambulance to a women/children's hospital a hour away. My water broke at 5:30 AM and we had the girls by c-section at 7:01 PM and 7:03 PM. Baby A (IUGR) weighed 3lb 4oz. and baby B weighed 4lb 12oz. Baby A (IUGR) actually needed no assistance with breathing. Baby B was on the CPAP for around 4 days. Their NICU stay was 16 days. They mainly needed to learn to take a bottle and baby A needed to put on some weight. The girls are now about 4.5 months old and Addison only weighs 8lb 8oz but she is very strong and is gaining great! Peyton (baby B) now weights 11lb 7oz! The doctor has had me start on baby food to try to put some weight on the girls because Addison is obviously in less than the 3rd percentile. I was so scared when they told me about Addison being IUGR because I read so much on the internet about it and none of it was good. The only difference it made with us was that she was just tiny! I even got to hold both of the girls for about 5 min. right after they were born. There wasn't a rush to get them off to the NICU. I hope this helped! You can write me if you have any more questions!

 

Oh, big hugs! I have a SUCCESS story! Eve developed IUGR as a result of a velamentous cord insertion. This happened after we thought everything was going well after a multitude of other problems (unrelated to IUGR). I had weekly dopplers on the girls until the last 4 days when I was initially hospitalized for preeclampsia, and then it was daily. Due to a change in Eve's doppler results they decided it was time to deliver. I was 29w6d. She was anemic and hypoxic.

Eve weighed 1#15oz. She never needed intubation, came out breathing on her own with 8/9 apgars, and only needed the help of CPAP, then a nasal cannula for 9 days.

She is the feistiest of our bunch at 9 months old. She spent 54 days in the NICU which put her home with us when I would have been about 37 1/2 wks. Aside from another unrelated complication, she was a grower/feeder.

All things considered, her sister is doing great, too.

I know how scary it is, I really do. But I know I'm not the only success story here so try to think positive. I would, however, request at least weekly dopplers to keep an eye on her. That is solely based on my experience, though, because for us it happened pretty quickly (signs of distress).

Big, huge hugs again and lots of prayers.

 

Big hugs coming your way! Really sorry you and your baby are having to deal with this. It has been found relatively late in the pregnancy which is going in your favour, the nearer to 36wks you get the better We were told at 31wk that Ruby's growth had slowed right down, we had fortnightly scans and daily monitoring and managed to get to 36wks. She weighed 3lb 5, about a 1lb smaller than they had measured. I'd had steroid jabs to develop her lungs and she came out breathing on her own, she only needed a little help feeding, she was home after 15days. Rubys is 1yrs old and thriving you'd never believe she was so small at birth! She has some has a problem with her legs/hips(still waiting on a diagnosis) and some development delay but is making amazing progress in PT. I was oblivious to how serious IUGR can be when i was pregnant and i am thankful for that, I would of driven myself bonkers with worry. I would try to take comfort in the fact that you are quite late on, the drs are aware of the growth problem and will not put you or babies under unecessary risk. I am sure that your babies will be born fit and well, take care and put your feet up!

 

I found out at 30 wks that baby B had slowed down a lot in growth. I got the steriods and when I went one week later for their BPP they decided he would do better on the outside. He was 2 lbs 8oz and they both spent a long time in NICU for their age. One positive thing is that she is a girl and they seem to do better born as prems than boys do. Also I was wondering if they are doing any NST's or BPP before your next ultrasound? If there is nothing scheduled for two weeks I think that I would ask for at least a NST in a week so they are monitoring more frequently. There is an IUGR group on here with a lot of great stories! Best of luck

 

We found out about our Baby A's IUGR when I was 19 weeks. We had a rollercoaster ride (weekly appointments, hospital bedrest) from then until they were delivered at 29w1d due to some sudden bleeding. Baby A also had a velamentous cord insertion and I had a full previa. At 19 weeks they gave Baby A a 50/50 shot at survival and even gave us the option to ligate her cord to save Baby B.

She was born at 2 lbs (her sister was 2 lbs 11 oz) and was intubated for 2 weeks. She was in the NICU for 70 days (her sister was in there for 55). We had significant problems breastfeeding in the beginning but now she refuses a bottle so we worked through it!

Lily (our Baby A) is now actually the more advanced baby in motor skills at 9 months (adjusted 7). She's sitting, getting to sitting by herself, crawling, climbing a stair, etc. Juliette has just started to crawl and can sit (but not get herself there).

I think if you deliver at 34 weeks you'll be just fine. Chin up, the preemie time can be difficult but I'm sure you have a couple of fighters on your hands!

 

There are many parents of IUGR surviving babies on this site. Please visit this link for all of our stories (mine included). :grouphug:

 

Our girls were born at 33 weeks and 1 day. We found out baby B (Quinn) was IUGR at our 24 week ultrasound. We had weekly u/s and at 33 weeks they decided she wasn't progressing and we had a c-section. She was 3lb 10oz at birth --her sister was 4lb 8 oz. They gave me the steroid shots 48 hrs prior to the c-section.

They came out screaming, needed no oxygen or breathing assistance at all. The interesting thing the Dr. mentioned was that the due to Quinn having been in some distress that she would have a better time breathing than her sister because it is natures way to release the steroids herself. Intersting.

We spent 3 weeks in the NICU, their IV's were taken out within the first few days and it was all uphill from there, no setbacks. We were very blessed. It sounds like you are getting great care, and another two weeks will make all the difference to those babies. The hospitals are great and your little ones will do fine, I'm sure. I completely understand how scary it is.

 

Thanks for the link! And the stories and reassurance :thanks:

Did you ladies see a perinatologist? My OB didn't recommend it but I have requested a consultation.

 

i've got a success story too! first of all, seeing a perinatologist is a must! they can check cord flow studies to make sure there's no absent or reverse end diastolic flow. i went to my 34 wk ob/peri visit and found out one of my girls' abdominal circumference was also much smaller than her other measurements, and i had gestational diabetes so it's common for babies to get even bigger than normal. so she was diagnosed as iugr, and they estimated her weight at 1 lb less than her sister. i was sent over to L&D for extended monitoring- about 7 hours which all looked good, then my doc admitted me to the antepartum unit to have cord flow studies in the morning and another u/s. again, different sono tech and different sono machine, still estimated 1 lb weight difference. but everything else looked good, so i stayed in the hospital, having my babies monitored 3 times a day. the plan was to deliver them at 36 wks before anything bad could happen, mainly because i've had a prior stillbirth. so i got my c/s at 36w0d and sadie weighed 4 lb 7 oz, and elena weighed 4 lb 9 oz. turns out elena just had a gigantic head, so her abdomen seemed small in comparison, so that's where the machines were getting a 1 lb weight difference. anyway, 2 weeks in the nicu and they came home in perfect condition! at their 18 month pedi visit, sadie has stayed in the 25% of her weight, and elena in the 75% of her weight and doing great!

 

I found out at 24 weeks I was carrying twins this is also the same point I was put on bedrest. Jessy was almost a 1/3 smaller than Jazz at this point. I was transferred to a High Risk Doc for their velamentous cord insertion and Jessy's 2 vessel cord( and her then undiaganosed ASD). I had all three docs in the High Risk practice tell me Jessy would never make it to birth but it was best to work towards getting Jazz big enough to do well. I could never feel Jessy during the pregnancy. I was on bed rest for 10 weeks on my left side including 2 weeks total in the hospital(one for possible pre-e and once for no fetal movement). I was on twice weekly u/s measurements with bpp. They decided at 34 wks that Jessy was not likely to grow any more inside and if we delivered we would know more about what was wrong. At the u/s before delivery (3 days) Jazz measured 4lbs 9 oz and Jessy measured 2lbs 6oz. Jessy was born weighing 2lbs 13oz and Jazz weighted 4lbs 9 oz. Jazz spent some time on o2 but Jessy never had to have any. Jessy did spend almost a week longer in the nicu but it was just to grow. She is smaller than her sister but that is a side effect of her ASD not really the IUGR.

 

YES! SEE A PERI!

 

My little guy didn't develop IUGR till the very end so I didn't even know it. At their 33 week US they were both 5 lbs and then at 37 weeks they estimated baby A as over 2 lbs bigger than baby B. They delivered the babies that day and DS was only 5 lb 6 oz and DD was 7 lb 12 oz. DS never had any problems related to his small size except for not latching well at first.

I wouldn't read too much online because you will just freak yourself out. If your doc thought it was severe he would have put you on bedrest. Also, in my experience with NICU babies, the smaller IUGR babies are the fiesty ones that do better because they have already been stressed in the womb. The big babies are lazier and have more troubles with breathing and feeding. Even if your babies are born at 34 weeks, the only prob they will likely have is learning to eat...usually leads to a 1-2 week hosp stay max unless there are other complications unrelated to prematurity.

 

I agree with PP--you MUST see a high risk doc. I credit my son's life to the high risk docs and their aggressive monitoring and placing me on strict bedrest.

My 34 week, 1 dayer is doing great--almost 7 pounds. That seems small at 3 weeks adjusted, but it is huge to me. He was born at 3 pounds, 5 ounces. He wasn't breathing at birth--but that was due to the C-section--and had to be rescucitated (sp?) and then went on CPAP very briefly and then room air. DD went right on room air. I credit this to not just their age, but also the steroids. Turned out DS had a marginal cord insertion (not as bad as velamentous) and clots in his placenta. DS's NICU stay was a little longer due to apneas--very normal and he grew out of them.

DS is definitely the fiesty one and is unbelievably strong. His grip at birth was strong enough to keep me from being able to remove my hand. He had great head control from birth, rolled on his side on his own at 38 weeks gestational age, and now lifts up on his arms at 3 weeks adjusted.

Be prepared for a very small, fragile funny looking baby. I knew this would happen so I wasn't shocked when I saw my little guy--he looked like a wrinkly old man with no body fat on him at all. The skinniest arms and legs and a bony abdomen. He looked like a child who was starving. Not like what you expect a baby to look like. But he is on preemie formula and has developed some fat!!!!!

The NICU journey is awful, but now that they are home, I rarely think of it in a bad way and everything about these two little ones is perfect. Small, but perfect.

I had hospital monitoring with twice daily nst and twice weekly u/s. Then home bedrest with twice weekly nst and once a week u/s.