[Mum_of_five]

Had my 28 week scan and bubs is IUGR.. Her legnth is 28cm, so growth is fine, head measures 'normal' tummy measures small and she weighs at the moment 1080 kg, on the 40-45th percentil...
They are doing 'fetal monitoring' and the monitoring showed that heartrate and breathing are currently 'normal' with mo signs of distress ect..

I am due Dec, but they are doing another growth scan at 32 weeks and at least want me to get to 32 weeks, then week after week from there... They will induce only when bubs has had enough and needs to come out... I have a scan already booked for 34 weeks and am being closely monitored... Bubs was moving around alot during the US and that is a great sign that at the moment, she is not under any stress and doind well apart from the weight... There is a very high possibility that i wont go full-term, but hoping we can get close to full-term as possible with close monitoring...


Has anyone been through this and can tell me what to expect at birth/after birth? I know that all pregnancies and births are different and that babies can spend time in NICU, and alot depends on bubs weight ect.. I am going to buy a 'hand electric breast pump' incase bubs has issues with attaching and am planning on breatfeeding fully, this is our 5th and all my other children were full term and over 3kg at birth... This is the first IUGR baby for me and i am going to be a little anxious until bubs is born...

[elmo_mum]

hey
i would suggest a medela swing, or if you can afford it the freestyle (its a double pump)

you can also hire one through aba (if you join up is pretty cheap)

i suggest medela as thats what most hospitals use... so its easier to interchange the bottles and shields etc

there are also heaps of support groups available - for iugr and prems as well

try miracle babies
and lifes little treaasures

[myfairlady]

Hi, My DS sounds very similar to you. I too had very similar concerns as you do. His length and head measurements were within the normal range and all other checks were fine as well but his abdominal measurements were below the 10th percentile from about 30 weeks. I had fortnightly ultrasounds to monitor his growth and while it was slow, he kept growing. I was induced at 37 weeks as my OB felt it was better for him to be out than in, and the risks of prematurity had passed. My labour lasted 2 hrs and DS was born 2.3kgs (5lb2oz). He was perfectly healthy, no NICU, fed brilliantly and came home in the normal time frame. Now his is 19mths and perfectly healthy. Still tiny (has been below the 3rd percentile in weight all along) but very healthy and normal in every other way. Hope this helps ease your mind! Good luck!

[thunderbird]

Hi - my DD was very similar, too. Only that her IUGR (tummy size only) was picked up at the 20-week scan. Then gone through heaps of blood test to work out why (nothing abnormal was found) and was then closely monitored from 28 weeks onwards: 2 ultrasounds and 3 heart rate monitors a week! She was growing well but stayed behind. Then at 36 weeks the ultrasound found that she did not grow at all for that past week so the OB decided to get her out. We had her 2 days later. She weighed just over 2 kilos (2.046) but perfectly healthy. She stayed in special care for 7 days just to get her weight gain started and then we took her home. Has had no problems at all since. She caught up in size in a few months (was 50th percentile by 6 months actual age). She is happy, chatty 3 year old now! Good luck, hope you'll make it as long as possible!
Oh, yes, the OB said that the placenta was on it way out - it looked like a 42-week placenta at 36 weeks.

[Xiola]

My DD was IUGR. I had a low papp-a level at the bloods for my NT scan which was an alarm bell and she measured around the 12 percentile from the beginning. I had regular growth scans from 20 weeks, she had a growth spurt between 24 and 28 weeks (jumped to the 34th percentile) and then dropped off completely between 34 to 36 weeks where she hardly grew at all. I was induced at 37 weeks and she was tiny but perfectly fine weighing in at 2.28kg (5 lb) 46cm with a 32cm head. She was incredibly tiny for me as my boys were both big (3.98kg and 4.39kg).

She was in NICU for 2 days to regulate her sugars and I pumped round the clock to get my milk to come in as her mouth was just too tiny to latch on (she tried though but would get too tired). She had formula with a supply line (she sucked on my finger to keep her sucking reflex going strong) for a few days and had any milk/colostrum I managed to get out. We were in hospital for 6 days and she was breastfeeding exclusively by day 7 (although some midwives told me it could take weeks which scared the crap out of me!)

She's 13 months now and still quite tiny (10th percentile for weight, 75th for height) but absolutely fine, eats wonderfully and still has two BF's a day.

Good luck!

[sydneylawyer]

My DD was growing normally till very late on in the piece - at about 33 weeks my BP went up dramatically but since I was between visits to the OB and was in the middle of a busy patch at work it went undiagnosed until 35 weeks, at which point the OB wanted her out for both of our sakes.

She was born at 36 weeks at 2.15kgs (4lb11.5oz), and spent 11 days in the SCN because her sucking reflex was poor - she was otherwise perfectly healthy. Her placenta was apparently on the way out though, so I'm very glad the OB didn't let me "wait and see". She is still tiny (10th percentile for adjusted age), but otherwise a very normal and happy baby.

Re BF, it took a while to establish, she struggled to latch (had to use a nipple shield) and got too tired, so was about 12 weeks old when we finally stopped giving her top ups. Still BFing today (though she also loves her solids!). I hired a Medela Symphony to use at home (same as they used at the hospital) and she was given EBM from the time my milk came in. I can't say I was sad to be rid of it, but having a strong double pump was a lot more efficient than using a smaller battery operated pump. It cost me $20 a week from a local pharmacy.

[Mum_of_five]

Thankyou all for your replies You have all been so reassuring, and i am waiting now for my 32 week scan and see what they say.. I am 30 weeks tomorrow, and i am doing movement monitoring at home... So far she has been active and doing 10 movements in less than 30 minutes...

Will be harder to do the movement counts as there becomes less room for her to move, and i am hoping that i have more regular visits to the hospital so they can monitor, but they are going to be keeping a close observation on my placenta, because that is their concern... They have said that her stomach is small and that indicates that the placenta functions need to be monitored, and that they will deliver when needed, even if that is at 32 weeks...

They are hoping to get me to min 34 weeks and i have to be prepared to be induced at any time, so for me it is a matter of waiting and taking this week by week.. If the placenta is functioning and bubs is growing at least, they will let me go to37maybe 38 weeks. Dont think they are happy for me to go past 38 weeks at the moment...
But if it is better for bubs to be out and to put wieght on through BF ect, then i am definantly happy to have bubs when the hospital says i need tobe induced, no matter how many weeks i am... Bubs comes first and the placental function is the one thing i am worried about..

Thankyou for the breast pump suggestions and also info on BF, i am hoping that bubs is able to latch properly at birth, but am prepared to express and know that i may be in for an emotional hospital stay with bubs... All my other children were 7 pounds to 9 pounds so i have never had a small baby and this is all a very new experience for me, and has been an emotional pregnancy as well...

Thankyou elmo_mum for the web sites

[Mariamsmum]

Hi mum2bof5.

I hope that you are doing well and that your 32 weeks scan shows improvement in growth.

To be honest I'm surprised that you were given a diagnosis of IUGR with your daughter measuring on the 40th-45th percentile as that is is still within the normal range. I know twin gestations are different but my twins were measuring on the 10th percentile and IUGR was never mentioned. My understanding is that IUGR refers to a baby whose estimated weight is below the 10th percentile for its gestational age and whose abdominal circumference is below the 2.5th percentile.

In any case to reassure you, my twins were born at 36 weeks weighing 2.3 and 2.6kg and spent 10 days in special care and did very well. I was able to establish breastfeeding with help, my smaller twin had trouble sucking so needed EBM and formula top ups but both thrived. All the best in the coming weeks.

[Mum_of_five]

miriamsmum I will have to ask about cicumfrance of her tummy, because they said her tummy is smaller than it should be, small enough for them to want to monitor her... I know she is 1080 grams and i am not sure if that is within the range of being ok... All my other children were decent weights from 7 pound 1 to 8 pound 15, but next time i have an appointment i hope they can give me a better idea of what is going on...

thankyou all for your replies and advice I am hoping at my 32 week app that she has gained weight and her tummy measures according to gestation...

[PonyoLand]

My DS was born at 34 weeks & was IUGR at 1.6kg, difference being ours wasn't picked up until he was an emerg c section due to preeclampsia. He spent 5 weeks in SCN, largely because his suck reflex & feeding took ages to establish. We used a nipple shield & bottle EBM top ups until 4 something months. He also spent the first 2 weeks in a humicrib because he couldn't maintain his own body temp. He was breathing on his own so didnt need any support there. Our staff were great & would answer even the same questions over again, no worries. They understand you're trying to process a lot & may forget. They also did his keepsake footprints for us & took photos of what he was doing when we weren't there too

With an IUGR diagnosis I'd stock up on premmie clothes, 00000 & 0000 size clothes. DS didn't make it to 000 until he was around 5 months.
DS is now just on the 3% line on the charts for length at 8months, but got chubby & has made it closer to the 15% for weight

I hope it all goes well for you & you can make it to that 38 weeks.

I also second the Medela Swing recommendation - great pump. Electric is much much easier than manual.