Any experiences with IUGR?

[Lucille91]

After a super smooth first pregnancy so far (i'm 33+3) had an almighty shock on Monday when baby was diagnosed with IUGR, meaning he's not growing as he should. I'm 29 with zero risk factors and while they suspect it's a problem with my placenta, they can't be sure or rule out a chromosomal issue although I scored very low risk on my NIPT checks. Worse, we found out about this only by chance as nothing untoward had been spotted at any midwife appts – my fundal height always measured normally, which shows how reliable it is as my baby is measuring on the 1st centile for weight and below 10th for all other measurements :( if we hadn't gone for a private scan at the weekend, I'd have been walking around not knowing for god know's how long.

Just wanted to see if anyone else has experience or any IUGR stories? I've got to go in for weekly monitoring and a scan but am just in such a state at the moment, I can't stop crying and my anxiety over movements is through the roof. I almost wish we'd never got pregnant in the first place as the thought of going through a stillbirth or my baby being born with something terrible is more than I can bear.

I've been told I'll be induced between 36-37 weeks but from research this could potentially happen before if baby stops growing.

Any wise words much appreciated!

Hi Lucille, my now 3 yr old was a case of severe IUGR, for which they could never find a reason. I found out at 20 weeks and the rest of the pregnancy was so stressful, with scans every fortnight, then weekly.

I was sick with anxiety and I don’t think this helped the situation. I did have a few times where I thought he had stopped moving, so I went straight to the hospital, I wasn’t taking any chances! The final time they did find an issue with blood flow so he was born the next day.

DS weighed four and a half pounds when born and had feeding difficulties, so had to have a feeding tube. He stayed in the hospital for a week.

He’s now 50th percentile for height and weight, which I never dreamed possible when he was born! No long term effects, it seems, from IUGR. He’s a happy, bright little boy with loads of energy and a massive appetite!

My only advice would be to try and relax, which most likely won’t help you right now, until you see bub born healthy. Any reduction in movement, get checked out immediately, doesn’t matter if it’s a false alarm! Best wishes x

Thanks so much Whatisgoingonhere, that's really reassuring and i'm so so glad your little boy is healthy and thriving!

Just like you say I am trying to relax but also feel sick with anxiety. It's constant and then makes me worry i'm stressing my tiny baby even more! Keeping track of movements is all that's getting me through but I find the nights hardest as obviously can't stay up all night watching for kicks. Everything crossed in a few weeks will be okay and can put this horrible time behind us! x

Hi OP. My 8 yr old was born at 29 weeks due to severe IUGR. I'm diabetic so I was having extra checks and scans anyway. But it was actually one of those 3D scan places where the scan was done by an obsertrician that sent me straight to hospital and told me they need to get her out .
She is fine btw. Still tiny but no issues. But I do remember back on that time and the following 12 months (but she was v prem so not like you) as being really tough. She was 980g (2lbs 2) She is a feisty little so and so and very determined now-im sure her first year has got something to do with it!

I'm sure you've done all this already. But pack a hospital bag and have it somewhere accessible (maybe even in the boot of the car?). I know you're worried that something else has been missed, but IUGR is fairly common and of all the cases I have come across, I can't think of any of them where it was down to a chromosomal condition. I never did find out why my placenta had issues. It was stated it must have been my type 1 diabetes but the drs where never convinced as my control was excellent (classed in normal non-diabetic range) throughout the pregnancy.

Good luck and don't panic