IUGR?

I'm having my next ultrasound this Wednesday, my last one was two months ago! My doc said they will be screening for IUGR, and that it can be pretty common in twins. My little ones have been growing at the same rate so far, measuring the same down to the day, but I was a little alarmed, since I am pretty clueless when it comes to twin pregnancies (there are no twins in my family or daddy's family). How common is it really, because the doc kinda scared me a little bit when he told me what it was. Anyone have experience with IUGR, and how does it affect the babies?

A side note...Baby A's heartbeat was 147 and Baby B's heartbeat was 160 at my visit last Wednesday...is it okay that they're so different?

Thanks in advance
Jessie

 

I cannot help you as to the frequency of IUGR in twins specifically, but I can give you TONS of information about IUGR in general, as my daughter was IUGR and I learned all kinds of things about it.

One important thing I can tell you is DON'T STRESS ABOUT IT UNTIL YOU GET THE DIAGNOSIS FOR SURE! Multiple studies have linked maternal stress levels to IUGR, so if the doc is just being careful (which is most likely as IUGR is incredibly uncommon in the general population), then all will be great and you will have stressed needlessly.

Let me know if you have ANY questions dear, and good luck.

Hugs,
Dominique

 

I don't have any experience with IUGR, but the heartbeat difference is pretty normal. I don't know if you are finding out the genders, but my doc said there was such a difference in mine because we had one girl and one boy. Good luck!

 

I don't know the exact statistics on it, but it doesn't seem overly common on here. If you babies are growing at the same rate I would think that you wouldn't have to worry. GL at your Dr's appt!!

 

I don't know if it's common or not. Since my "little" one had it, I seem to know a lot of people who did too. It's like you don't think you know anyone with twins until you have them and everyone knows someone with them. It sounds like your Dr. is just being cautious. If he really thought you had IUGR you would be having u/s every week. There are a lot of IUGR success stories and I'd love to share our story if you'd like to pm me.

Hugs, Megan

 

Thanks so much, everyone, I appreciate the reassurance.

Jessie

 

If your babies have two placentas, they just need to be growing on their own growth curves. This will not necessarily be at the same rate. They just need to keep growing at their own pace. If on baby's growth slows for drops very far down on the growth curve, then they'd consider diagnosing IUGR. If you have one baby in the 50th percentile and another in the 30th, that is not reason to worry. They're just different kids.

One of our girls had IUGR and the reasons for it were very apparent. She had a 2-vessel umbilical cord (90% of babies have 3 vessels) and was also pumping blood to her sister through their shared placenta (TTTS). She was small but extremely healthy though and got out of the hospital before her sister even did.

All of my kids have had very different heartrates, even the identical twins. They ranged anywhere from 140-175.

If there was a chance they are sharing a placenta then you should be having u/s every two weeks to watch for placental problems. I'm assuming they already ruled this out for you since it's been two months since the last u/s.

Have a great u/s!

 

I'm having mono/di girls and was diagnosed with IUGR 2 weeks ago due to an elevated resistance to cord blood flow in baby A. She was 45% smaller than her sister. As I understand it, IUGR is a blanket term given to any reason (other than TTTS) that one baby is smaller than the other. Sounds like your doctor is just being proactive in looking for any type of infection, placental problems or cord blood issues.

I wouldn't worry if I were you. Good luck at your u/s and keep us posted on your little ones!

 

Thanks so much, everyone...I'm having fraternal boy/girl twins, so to the poster that made reference to that being a factor in the difference of heartbeats, thank you. TwinsinFL, I've been following your posts...and I was glad to hear that your girls are doing better . Hugs to Dominique, reading your siggy reminded me of your little one's battle with IUGR. And thanks again to everyone for your information

Jessie