High resistance uterine artery

[shininglight16]

Hi mums,

I'm 33 weeks pregnant and worrying myself to death. My bump isn't as big as most women have by this time and it was never really big from the start, as in, I haven't seen much growth on a weekly basis. There are days when the baby is really active but then she goes quiet and lays low for a couple of days before kicking off again.

I have been going in for monitoring whenever I experience reduced movements but they say everything is ok. Only once the CTG monitoring didn't match their criteria so they put me on it for another hour and they said all ok.

I have been referred to growth scans and whilst previously there haven't been issues with the blood flow, this time at 32 weeks, I was told that there was high resistance to the uterine flow which meant that the placenta was pumping harder to transfer blood and nutrients/oxygen to the baby. They mentioned that this could be a false reading though so they would monitor me more closely. I have another scan this week and am hoping that the reading was a one off.

Everything else seems fine, baby is growing fine, her weight is going up every scan and measurements are within parameters. I'm not sure what it is, I'm not that tall only 5'6 so surely baby bump should be bigger by now. Wondering if my partner's smoking has anything to do with the placenta not being strong enough.

Please can someone tell me what to do/share your thoughts and experiences as I'm really stressing myself out. I'm 37 and this is my first baby, being TTC for long. I really want my lil one to be healthy and fine, I don't want to lose her 🙏

Just want to add that my blood pressure and urine has been fine so far, and there's been no other symptoms such as bleeding, etc

I had this from 27 weeks. It was high on one scan, 2 days later it was normal, then next week it was high again. They scanned me twice a week and it was always like that.

I know it’s scary, but it’s good they’ve picked it up so they can monitor it. It might’ve just been a one off but better to keep an eye on it.

The blood flow started to reverse in my case so I was induced at 35+5, baby was born at 36 weeks at 1.6kg. She was healthy though and didn’t need any extra support. Now a feisty 3 year old!

Did you have a small bump and reduced fetal movement as well @ForeverTired89 ? I'm really worried ☹️

I had this at 20 weeks with my first. I had monthly growth scans after that. Luckily it never got any worse, and growth and measurements were just fine. I never had any worries about movements. Bump was average sized, but it didn't 'pop' so to speak until somewhere around 32-34 weeks. I just looked a bit fatter than normal until then.

However, I did go on to develop pre-eclampsia at 36 weeks (though I think it started ~34 weeks) and was induced at 37 weeks. Baby was born healthy (and still is) and is coming up 4 this year. She was good sized at birth (3.315kg, 7lb5 at 37+1), but gently floated down the centiles to "find her line" around the 10th centile.

I had normal uterine artery values in my second pregnancy. Still got pre-eclampsia, so who knows if it's related.

Here's hoping things have resolved by your next scan. I would be reassured that baby's growth is on track, and no other signs of IUGR. Bump size really means very little, so try not to be worried about that.

I had this from 28 weeks. Mine got quite bad so they delivered my daughter via a very unwanted c section at 34 weeks weighting 3lb6. She spent 3 weeks in nicu and was titchy for a long time but is now 8 and seems to have finally caught up size wise!

@shininglight16 My bump was tiny! Couldn’t even tell I was pregnant. I didn’t have reduced movements though; she was very active (even now she doesn’t keep still!). I know it’s hard, but try not to worry. It’s good your baby is growing nicely, mine was following 3rd centile then suddenly dropped off the charts completely.

Thanks @Dyra so Im not concerned about IUGR because all her measurements are fine. It's the reduced movements and bump not growing that is bothering me. I've seen women's bump grow massively but mine hasn't so I really don't know what's going on. I went in for CTG monitoring and it didn't show any variations the first hour, hence, didn't meet the criteria. The second hour of monitoring was on.

I'm really worried because of the reduced movements in particular, how many times did you feel your baby kick every hour and did your baby kick every hour or did you had quiet periods during the day and a few kicks here and there?

I'm so sorry to hear that @eurochick but glad your daughter has caught up and all is well with her now 🙏

Agh I just wish my baby kicked more @ForeverTired89...how often was she kicking week 32 onwards like say on average per hour and did you feel her every hour or was it here and there during the day? I feel my baby for a day or two with strong kicks then she lays low for 3-4 days which scares me to bits...my baby is growing in the 50th centile...so she's average sized...

I never counted kicks tbh. Certainly never expected a certain amount every hour. Only time I ever did that was when hooked up to a CTG as an inpatient.

Babys do sleep in utero, and can reach deep sleep state, so you can get quiet periods, same as you get active periods. I have a vague memory that DC1 would be quiet around 10am, and have an active period around 4pm. In comparison, DC2 thought it was dance time after meals, and just after lying down to sleep. The pattern and strength of movements mattered more than the number of them.

Whenever I worried that I hadn't felt any movement in a while (usually because I had been busy or super focused on something) I would pause for 5-10 minutes and see if I felt any. Most of the time, simply being quiet and still allowed detection of movements. If after that I still couldn't feel any, I would give the bump a short jostle/prod, and see if that triggered movement. That would invariably set off a flurry of movements, then some disgruntled wriggling to get comfortable again. If that failed to work, there's the lying down in the left hand side and drinking a cold can of caffeinated beverage trick. I only ever had to do that once.

If at any point I hadn't been satisfied with movements i.e. they remained absent, or were sluggish or faint, or if things just didn't feel right then I would have contacted MAU ASAP. Fortunately it was never needed.

Has your midwife said anything about the size of your bump, or the size of it in comparison to the scan estimated size of the baby within? Midwives see bumps of all shapes and sizes, and are the most qualified to say if one is normal or not. It could just come down to that you naturally carry small/neat and compact, and the size of your bump does not correlate to the size of the baby within. Please don't let it continue to worry, or get you down.

Hope my ramblings help a little. ❤

Thanks @Dyra, I hope my concerns are put to rest soon. I've heard friends say that they can feel the baby move and go all the way round in the stomach but that's never been the case with me. I've had strong kicks yes but that's only on the days she's active. Otherwise, the kicks are few and at irregular times during the day with no specific patterns as such. I would have loved to have felt her kicks more and to have a consistent pattern.

I'm worried that I may have placental insufficiency and that may be triggering the umbilical cord not being able to supply enough oxygen/nutrients to the baby. I wish I could see what's happening inside. I just worry and worry.

Midwives haven't measured my bump because I'm currently going for growth scans so they say it's not needed. The midwives have been very poor to say the least. I'm not sure if anything else will help with this, exercise or yoga will that trigger more movement and bloody supply through the umbilical cord? I'm 33 weeks and have not seen her legs or hands sticking out of my belly either. Placenta is fundal so no issues with that.

The other thing I've noticed is that her head has been down right since the beginning, not moved position at all. Is that even normal?

That's mean of the midwife not to measure your bump if it might help even a little to reassure you. The time they would have taken to say no and explain why is about the same as it is to whip out a measuring tape and check.

Baby being on the 50th centile is honestly really great! Through my job, I've seen my fair share of bumps, and seen perfectly sized babies emerge from the tiniest of bumps. Being cephalic throughout is completely normal. Same as you can get babies being breech throughout, and in every position in between. If anything, being constantly head down is a good thing! Far more likely to be in that position when it's time for labour to start.

Other than continuing to take aspirin (if you already are ofc) there's nothing you can or could do to change anything. The placenta is formed by the baby, not you. Avoiding drinking, smoking, and drugs is about all you really can do otherwise.

Movements is such a tricksy thing. It's impossible to know what normal should feel like when you're a FTM. There's nothing comparable to it. And it's such a personal experience, dependant on so many factors. The key one of which is baby themselves. Your baby could simply be a relaxed little creature that is perfectly happy just floating around making small movements with the occasional big one. But I would never say that was the case for certain and would be dangerous if I did. All you have is what you can feel, and your gut reaction.

❤

Where does your partner smoke? Does he shower and change before coming to bed in clothes he doesn't smoke in? Even second hand smoke has been linked to a reduction in babies birth weight. Also having even one parent (mum or dad) that smokes greatly increases risk of SIDS, its one of the biggest risk factors.

It could be unrelated to your issues but have a look at the link between a parent smoking and SIDS and I would really encourage your partner to give up smoking for babies sake. The lullaby trust says 60% of SIDS deaths can be linked to smoking! https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/smoking/