microcephaly

[Mummywithlove]

hello my daughter was born 12 weeks early and she has been diagnosed with microcephaly... has anyone else got a child with this,, if so how and when did it affect them....?
hope you can share your stories as to shed a light on what I might expect..
Many thanks Emma

Hi Emma, how is your lo doing?

My ds2 is almost 5 months old and has microcephaly as well as other problems. They discovered his head was small when I had a scan at 28 weeks. They did an MRI and discovered that he has brain damage, they think this was caused by a stroke or infection during pregnancy.

He's a very contented little boy, he sleeps very well and loves cuddles and sensory play. He is developmentally delayed, relies on being tube fed and 24 hour oxygen. But he is slowly making progress and we love him just as he is.

sorry to hear about your boy, hope he is ok..
well I was pregnant with her I went for my 6 month scan and they said her head measured the last centile line thingy.. and I had her prem aswel :S
she is 1 now and she can eat and drink fine ,she can only just crawl and she sleeps terrible, she cant talk well apart from mama dada... and she has a MRI and a EEG scan but they said they couldn't find anything wrong?? she is a little terror lol but the consultants don't say much about her head... I just don't know what to expect in the future xx

I don't have personal experience but I have taught/ know a number of children with it. It's what it says, micro=small, cephaly= head. It's not a diagnosis in itself but can indicate other needs. One girl had it after a stroke, other I taught it was simply genetic. It has a range of outcomes. Often there is some degree of learning difficulty, though this can be mild and apparent in later primary along with stunted growth and a slow in motor skill development. Some children have greater need, as skull growth is an indicator of brain growth. Others simply have a smaller head as a genetic quirk.

I'm sorry to be vague, and this is only my personal experience of around 8 children. Everything in child development seems to be a lot of wait and see! My dd was diagnosed hemi plegic at 9 months, fine at 12, then is showing a big delay at 20 months!

thanks for your reply... so it can be nothing serious then? my daughter's head has measured the 9th centile since she's been born, so basically she will just be a bit behind on her development?? I have read some stories on "google" and some say some scary things... and can Microcephaly just go..?? #Thanks x

Microcephaly is just a description of head size and may be nothing at all as you DD grows. What is more important is her development. Is that 12 months adjusted or actual? Either way most 1 years olds are not speaking! It's good they have found no obvious brain damage on the MRI or EEG because any damage could slow down the rate of skull growth and there would be true microcephaly causing developmental delay.

She is a little late with crawling but nothing significant and I think from what you have said she has a good chance of developing normal head size.

Ask the doctors about the diagnosis of mc and they may explain it more clearly.

There is a difference in outcomes between primary microcephaly (genetic) and secondary microcephaly (usually as a result of an insult such as a stroke or brain injury). My dd1 has severe secondary microcephaly ans is developmentally delayed by about 9 - 10 months.

Mainstream nursery, slow to talk, also hemiplegic CP due to brain damage from oxygen loss at birth.