small baby at 30 weeks

[tigersmum]

My daughter in law has 10 weeks to go and has been having regular scans due to baby being small. Expected birth weight was around 6lbs. Two weeks ago they were told baby had a small head circumference, today its babies tummy thats small and head is now fine. Is it right that doc says babies blood goes to different parts of the body, the parts that need it the most?She is having a scan again next week as baby has only put on 9grams in the last two weeks and at 30 weeks weighs 1.09kg. She and my son, are very worried about it all. Thing is they are only small people themselves, (both under 5ft6) so baby was never expected to be big. Now hospital say they may deliver at 34 weeks. Has anyone ever had any experience of this?

I was measuring small for dates at 30 weeks and was subsequently diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. I was induced at 37 weeks and DS was born at 5lb 2oz; small and jaundiced but otherwise perfectly healthy. My friend was measuring small for dates with no apparent cause and had a CS at 34 weeks. Her DS was 4lb 9oz and took a while to catch up with things like sitting up, crawling, walking etc. but is now almost 3 and absolutely fine.

It must be a very worrying time for you and your son's family. Bliss (www.bliss.org.uk/) is a charity that supports babies born 'too soon, too small, too sick' and they have a lot of useful information on what to expect, how to prepare for an early baby etc. as well as a helpline with a friendly, knowledgeable member of staff at the end to give support. It would be well worth putting your daughter-in-law in contact with them and doing so yourself as well.

I hope everything ends well. Things change so much from scan to scan and your daughter-in-law's consultant will be able to make a tailored decision on when and if the baby comes early that is best for her and the baby.

Thank you so much for your reply. I will forward on the info you have given and hope it brings them some comfort as they are very upset today as are we all. I think it is worse at the moment as they are a 4 hour drive away and its their first baby, an IVF baby as well, so things have been tough getting this far but it seems that every time they go to the hospital they tell them something different so gives them something else to worry about. Anyway, thanks again.

My niece just had her baby at 35 weeks, she was small for her dates. Her daughter was 4lb, just big enough to escape going to SCBU. She was home after 3 days and baby is breastfeeding, at first she expressed in between feeds and started baby of with bottle for premature baby to wake baby up for feeds as she was very sleepy. Baby is absolutely fine 3 weeks on and gaining weight well.

Why is the hospital saying they want to deliver early, are they concerned about the placenta or have they given another reason?

I'm sure it is really tough. I remember driving home alone from hospital after being told that there was something wrong with the baby, feeling absolutely numb and later very upset. There's very little that you can do except take care of yourself, plenty of rest, as good a diet as you can manage and praying for the best. It must be awful for you to feel that you are too far away to help but by reading up on premature babies and being positive as well as someone to cry down the phone too you can be a real source of comfort and support; much better than flapping around not knowing much! Big hug x

They think that baby may not continue to grow so would be better off being delivered. They are taking it week by week. They have another scan next week. They see a different doc each week so there dosnt seem to be much consistency and I suppose each doc reads scans differently, as each week the problem from the week before has righted itself and there is a new problem to contend with. She had the blood flow test today and that came back normal and the babies heartbeat was normal and baby is very active.

That's good news then. How frustrating to see someone different each time! Mad.

I have emailed my son your replies and will point him and my daughter in law towards this site and to the bliss site. My son himself only weighed 4lb 12ozs at full term 30 years ago and his sister was born at 29 weeks weighing 3lbs 2ozs ,28 years ago but its no small comfort to him now, as they have waited a long time for this baby, but although I am sure things will turn out Ok there is still a lot to worry about.

Looks like it runs in the family then if everything else is ok. I really hope they're alright, please do keep us updated.

I will. Thanks for your replies. Off to bed now, us old folks cant take the pace.

I understand it's all very worrying. Firstly scans have to be interpreted and it's a bit of an art. There's a wide margin of error. I had the same, at the same stage of pregnancy (though not ivf). I was also threatened with induction, though at 32 weeks. In the end we made it to 38 weeks. Induced only due to reduced fetal movement. Ds 5lb 11oz and absolutely fine. Please tell your dil how important it is to be aware of the patterns of her baby's movements and to go straight to the labour ward if she detects a change. She might feel daft but it's very important.

The scan today sounds very positive. Glad the hospital is assessing the situation on a regular basis, they will make the right call I am sure.

Also wanted to add that my other niece was born premature at 30 weeks and was under 2lbs and was in SCBU for a month then came home. She did have a hole in the heart that was fixed when she was 1 and she is now a strapping, happy healthy toddler of 18 months. The only thing that her mum has had be aware of with her is to go by her corrected age of 15 months for her physical development milestones, but mentally she is very advanced and gets frustrated that her body won't do all that she wants to be able to do.

It is a worrying time, but you are doing the best you can by providing positive stories and advice for them.

hello - this could have been me 2 years ago. My first son was diagnosed with Interuterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) and was delivered at 31+4 weighing 900g. It had been picked up on the 22 week anomaly scan that he wasn't growing well and we then had to have regular monitoring (scans twice a week) until they decided that the growth was so slow that he would be better off out than in.

I was given steroids to promote his lung development and he was delivered by elective caesarian as he was so small that labour would take too much out of him.

I'd like to sugar coat it and say that we had a really easy time after that but unfortunately we didn't. My son spent 16 weeks on the NICU before eventually coming home. It was an incredibly tough time and I wouldn't wish it on anyone BUT he is now a very bouncy 2 year old (particulary between 12.30 am and 3.15 am this morning).

I am also on the Bliss website and they have provided an enormous amount of support to me over the last 2 years. If your son or daughter in law would like to message me to find out more information or to ask any questions - please do pass on my contact details.

I know how worrying it is and please pass on my best wishes.

x

As above my last baby was IUGR (growth restricted) and he was born at 35 weeks by emergency c sec, he was 3 lb 14 oz and then lost a little more.
My first was 10 days late and only 6 lb so he potentially had it too.
My 3 lbers scan was wrong as he was estimated to be 5 lb +...
As above I had the steroid injections and we were kept in SCBU until we hit 4 lb, the hispitals know what they are doing and I'm sure it'll be fine.
5 lb sounds a good weight to me.
Other friends have had similar experiences with inaccurate scans, a friend of mine was told to expect a 7lb baby and he was 10 lb 5 oz.
Scans aren't terribly accurate and my little one is now 2 and I am expecting again and being very closely monitored incase the IUGR returns this time.
Fingers crossed for us both.

hello there- I have an IUGR baby too, my son was very early and tiny but is ok now.

It is frightening, and it's very difficult when different doctors say different things. But the scan sounds positive and at that size/gestation baby has an excellent chance even if it does have to be delivered. I second the suggestion to check out Bliss, they have a very useful website, a support phone line and message boards.

Hope all goes well for them.

I forgot to say we were told that babies with poor growth generally grow their heads more than any other area, they naturally prioritise the brain. My son's scan showed his head growth was about two weeks ahead of his tummy.

Thank you all so much. I am passing on your messages to them and will urge them to look at the bliss site. I will let you know what happens next week after the next scan, but reading your posts has made me feel a little happier about the situation and I am sure they feel a little better today.

Quick update. The scan this week was a lot more positive. Baby is now 3lb 4ozs so has put on a lot of weight in the last two weeks. 8 weeks to go and everyone is a lot happier. Two weeks till the next scan. Will keep you updated and thanks for all your help.

I was induced with both ds' for iugr, ds1 was 6lb 3 at 39 weeks so a lot bigger than they thought and ds2 was 4lb 14 at 39 weeks which was smaller than they thought and he was in scbu for 4 days as his temp kept dropping, he's fine now though just on the small size.

My placenta was fine with ds2 but I had low fluids but the different scan people all got totally different measurements so I had to push for them to double check and the worst one was correct.

I was told I had I had a small baby at 31 weeks, due to pre-eclampsia the baby had intrauterine growth restriction. He had to be delivered at 34 weeks due to P.E.T and weighed 3lb6. He was in SCBU for 4.5 weeks, by 15 months he had caught up with his age in every way. Hope everything continues to go well now. It's a very stressful time, especially if your baby needs time in SCBU x

Also second that the scans can be way out! I actually had an over estiamtion, ds1 was 1lb smaller than scan had said 2 weeks previously.

They have now actually admitted that there are no problems its just that both parents are on the small side so as I have said all along, and grandma knows best, that of course they are going to have a small baby. They are still estimating a 6lb baby.