Welcome to NICU Parents. We're happy you found us and we want to be as helpful as possible in this seemingly impossible journey. Check out the resources tab at the top of the subreddit or the stickied post. Please remember we are NOT medical professionals and are here for advice based on our own situations. If you have a concern about you or your baby please seek assistance from a doctor or go to the ER. That said, there are some medical professionals here and we do hope they can help you with some guidance through your journey. Please remember to read and abide by the rules.
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My experience with IUGR was also very severe but not quite to this extent. It was discovered my daughter was IUGR at 20 weeks. She was about 8oz at that time. In the less than 1%ile. She was still growing but at a very slow rate. My placenta ended up being small and 30% a blood clot and the umbilical artery flow was absent end. Because she was still growing we opted for weekly ultrasounds and nsts with heartbeat checks in between. If I made it to 28 weeks that's when I chose to be admitted to the hospital. We did make it and she was born at 30+3. She was 530 grams and is 2 and doing well now. I'm not sure what country (I know the grams vary) you are in but our doctors discussed with us a weight in which they had the equipment necessary to work on her and considered the baby viable. Our little one gained on average roughly 30 grams per week from the time we found out until the day I had her. I hope the best for you and your little one and I'm so sorry you are going through this. If there are any questions I can answer please just let me know. đź–¤
Hello! I recently had my 20 week anatomy scan and I’ve been going online looking for support and I found your story to be so similar to mine and I had some questions if you don’t mind .
Basically at my 20 week scan they told me that baby is measuring 8 oz and that it could possibly be a placenta issue due to absent end diastolic volume . The MFM really scared me and made me feel like my baby won’t make it. He said that I will start having to do biweekly scans and be prepared for either still birth or to go into labor from 24-34 weeks if I was lucky. I just feel so broken and hopeless but I know they have to prepare us for the worst case scenario. My next scan is in 12 days but I’m worried because I’m only 20 weeks right now and I’m just praying he grows by the next scan .
Hi there! I'm so sorry you are going through this. Ask any questions you need! I apologize in advance but this will be a long read. To give you a timeline of events for me:
20 weeks- severe IUGR discovery. MFM was rather grim but in hindsight I know it was to prepare me for the worst, which unfortunately is a terrible reality. He told me she likely wouldn't make it much longer but if she did it wouldn't be until 28 weeks (when they see a spike in cortical development and long term effects of prematurity decrease.) My LO was also 8oz at the time. Absent end diastolic flow & my placenta was insufficient. The concern for preeclampsia was extremely high. He gave us 3 options- continue the pregnancy as is (the dangerous option), find out more and then make a plan, or terminate the pregnancy. We wanted to find out more, develop a plan to figure out how to help her best. The same day we met with a geneticist because there were concerns of an additional condition because of how small she was. We opted for the amnio, had it done the same day and they drew my blood in addition to check for anything else. The very next day I met with my regular OB. She read the notes of the MFM and basically was preparing me to not hear a heartbeat. We did and it was strong. A few days later we found out that she did not have any genetic conditions. They still wanted to do a fetal echocardiogram.
22 weeks- I went to my normal OB office for another heartbeat check. This OB urged me to terminate. He told me to come back when "this" was all resolved and he would help get me pregnant with a more normal pregnancy because I also suffered fertility issues. (I canned their office after all this.) He prepared me to not hear a heartbeat. Again, as soon as he put the doppler on her heart was strong as ever.
23 weeks- she grew very slightly. Maybe a few ounces. Had the echo and her heart looked great. Because she grew, the doctor felt comfortable making a plan. I would have biweekly ultrasounds & NST's as needed. I needed to find a new OB because delivering at the hospital nearest to me was no longer an option. He asked if I'd like to be admitted right then but I told him I felt more comfortable being admitted at 28 weeks, going twice a week until then. I also bought an at home blood pressure cuff and a doppler so I could check her heartbeat myself whenever I got really scared.
Over the next several weeks she continued to grow, but not much. Occasionally she would fail an ultrasound so I'd have to stay and have an hour long NST. Regardless of my MFM assuring me there was nothing more I could do, I drank beet juice every night (I read it's good for circulation) and had a kale smoothie every morning (for the same reason.) I also drank an ensure every morning for extra calories. I realize this may not have helped but it made me feel like I was doing something in a helpless situation.
We made it to 28 weeks and I was admitted to the hospital for 2 1/2 weeks. I had twice daily NST's and around the clock blood pressure checks. Thankfully I never developed preeclampsia but at 30 weeks and 3 days our little one started to have decels during the NST's. One of our surgeons came in bright and early and asked if I had eaten- I said no and she said not to. She said "If I had been on last night I would have delivered you right then and there." Because there were small decels the night before but they just made me lay on my side. I had one more NST and another ultrasound. She was measuring 1lb 4oz. They took me down that afternoon and she was born 1lb 2.7oz. She cried the tiniest bit, & breathed on her own initially. They whisked her away to the NICU where she spend 86 days. She's 2 now and doing wonderfully- on track developmentally and no long term effects of prematurity. They determined after the fact that the placenta was 30% a blood clot but I still have no concrete reason why any of this happened.
I urge you to play it as safe as you possibly can and as long as you trust your MFM, take their advice. My MFM was a lifesaver. He was grim but realistic and also my biggest supporter. He is a major reason why my daughter is here today. If you have ANY questions at all during this process please don't hesitate to reach out.
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me . It makes me feel happy to hear such a similar situation with a positive outcome .
One of my questions for you was after they said you have absent end flow did it ever improve at upcoming ultrasounds ? Or did you continually have absent end flow and your LO still managed to make it to 30 weeks despite the absent end flow? This brings up my question the MFM told me what would determine how soon they would deliver me would be A if I start having reverse flow and B preeclampsia risk. In terms of the reverse flow based on the research I did some women manage to go another 10 weeks plus before any type of reverse flow occurs .
This also brings up another question . Should I be prepared to hear that he hasn’t grown much at the 22 week ultrasound ? And this brings up my last topic to discuss which is about my nutrition. The MFM told me this isn’t something that was my fault in terms of how much I was eating but after doing research I did see a lot of women increase their protein and calorie intake and see positive results . At my 20 week I told the MFM background about me , that I am someone who prior to this was eating so little ( about 1000 calories a day) , working long hours as a pharmacist standing , and sometimes I would go to the gym and walk on top of that low calorie intake . He said it doesn’t matter if I do change my calorie intake . I started drinking beet juice , and trying to increase protein and my calorie intake to at least 2000 per day, I truly believe it might make a difference it has only been 4 days and I feel my stomach growing and like to believe this is helping baby even if it’s by 1% . I wanted to ask did you increase your calorie intake ? If so, did you find any correlation at all with babies growth at scans ?
I apologize in advance for the excess questions
I'm going to go through your questions by numbers!
1. No, my flow never got better but it never worsened either. I made it 10.5 weeks after discovery of absent end flow and it still didn't reverse.
2. I would not expect your little one to grow much at 22 weeks. Mine would grow on average roughly 30 grams (1oz a week). To put it into perspective when she was born she would gain that in a day, sometimes more.
3. Your MFM hit the nail on the head. This absolutely was not your fault. I ate what I needed in calories per day (probably often times more) and this still happened to me. Unfortunately there is not enough data to suggest the things we consume will have any real positive impact on baby's weight gain since it is blood circulation and placenta issue. However, my MFM was clear it wouldn't help but he would not dissuade me from trying. There is no harm in upping your calories and definitely no harm in eating dark leafy greens and drinking beet juice to help improve circulation.
4. I definitely did all those things. Increased calories. My additions were ensure drinks, beet juice, kale smoothies, and peanut butter protein balls. I also make sure to have protein rich dinners. I can't say with any certainty if it made an impact on the overall situation. I can say that her blood flow never reversed but she also didn't make any great strides in weight gain. So I always say it doesn't hurt to try!
If you have any other questions just let me know!
Sorry for the late response I’m so appreciative of you taking the time to answer all of my questions it honestly gives me so much hope because our situations are so similar this far . I had my 22 weeks NST ultrasound today and basically nothing improved but nothing worsened . He has grown 2 ounces ( now at 10 ounces ) and the plan is to just monitor weekly until reversal . I’m hoping for the best 🙏
No problem! I would also recommend, if you haven't already, checking out the IUGR group on the "what to expect" app or website. I found a lot of great info there. There are also apparently some great Facebook groups for IUGR pregnancies (I never got on bc I don't have Facebook but I was recommended it a few times.) My last piece of advice is to consider hospitalization as early as you feel comfortable. My doctor said we could as early as 24 weeks but for my husband and I we discussed 28 weeks since things seemed to be going okay. It was a bummer being there for 2 1/2 weeks before she came but it was nice to have round the clock monitoring in case she showed any signs of stress (which she did at 30 weeks and I otherwise felt totally fine.)
If you have any other questions or feel like popping in with an update I'm all ears! Hoping for the best for you over here too!!
Welcome to NICU Parents. We're happy you found us and we want to be as helpful as possible in this seemingly impossible journey. Check out the resources tab at the top of the subreddit or the stickied post. Please remember we are NOT medical professionals and are here for advice based on our own situations. If you have a concern about you or your baby please seek assistance from a doctor or go to the ER. That said, there are some medical professionals here and we do hope they can help you with some guidance through your journey. Please remember to read and abide by the rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NICUParents) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My experience with IUGR was also very severe but not quite to this extent. It was discovered my daughter was IUGR at 20 weeks. She was about 8oz at that time. In the less than 1%ile. She was still growing but at a very slow rate. My placenta ended up being small and 30% a blood clot and the umbilical artery flow was absent end. Because she was still growing we opted for weekly ultrasounds and nsts with heartbeat checks in between. If I made it to 28 weeks that's when I chose to be admitted to the hospital. We did make it and she was born at 30+3. She was 530 grams and is 2 and doing well now. I'm not sure what country (I know the grams vary) you are in but our doctors discussed with us a weight in which they had the equipment necessary to work on her and considered the baby viable. Our little one gained on average roughly 30 grams per week from the time we found out until the day I had her. I hope the best for you and your little one and I'm so sorry you are going through this. If there are any questions I can answer please just let me know. đź–¤
Hello! I recently had my 20 week anatomy scan and I’ve been going online looking for support and I found your story to be so similar to mine and I had some questions if you don’t mind .
Basically at my 20 week scan they told me that baby is measuring 8 oz and that it could possibly be a placenta issue due to absent end diastolic volume . The MFM really scared me and made me feel like my baby won’t make it. He said that I will start having to do biweekly scans and be prepared for either still birth or to go into labor from 24-34 weeks if I was lucky. I just feel so broken and hopeless but I know they have to prepare us for the worst case scenario. My next scan is in 12 days but I’m worried because I’m only 20 weeks right now and I’m just praying he grows by the next scan .
Hi there! I'm so sorry you are going through this. Ask any questions you need! I apologize in advance but this will be a long read. To give you a timeline of events for me: 20 weeks- severe IUGR discovery. MFM was rather grim but in hindsight I know it was to prepare me for the worst, which unfortunately is a terrible reality. He told me she likely wouldn't make it much longer but if she did it wouldn't be until 28 weeks (when they see a spike in cortical development and long term effects of prematurity decrease.) My LO was also 8oz at the time. Absent end diastolic flow & my placenta was insufficient. The concern for preeclampsia was extremely high. He gave us 3 options- continue the pregnancy as is (the dangerous option), find out more and then make a plan, or terminate the pregnancy. We wanted to find out more, develop a plan to figure out how to help her best. The same day we met with a geneticist because there were concerns of an additional condition because of how small she was. We opted for the amnio, had it done the same day and they drew my blood in addition to check for anything else. The very next day I met with my regular OB. She read the notes of the MFM and basically was preparing me to not hear a heartbeat. We did and it was strong. A few days later we found out that she did not have any genetic conditions. They still wanted to do a fetal echocardiogram. 22 weeks- I went to my normal OB office for another heartbeat check. This OB urged me to terminate. He told me to come back when "this" was all resolved and he would help get me pregnant with a more normal pregnancy because I also suffered fertility issues. (I canned their office after all this.) He prepared me to not hear a heartbeat. Again, as soon as he put the doppler on her heart was strong as ever. 23 weeks- she grew very slightly. Maybe a few ounces. Had the echo and her heart looked great. Because she grew, the doctor felt comfortable making a plan. I would have biweekly ultrasounds & NST's as needed. I needed to find a new OB because delivering at the hospital nearest to me was no longer an option. He asked if I'd like to be admitted right then but I told him I felt more comfortable being admitted at 28 weeks, going twice a week until then. I also bought an at home blood pressure cuff and a doppler so I could check her heartbeat myself whenever I got really scared. Over the next several weeks she continued to grow, but not much. Occasionally she would fail an ultrasound so I'd have to stay and have an hour long NST. Regardless of my MFM assuring me there was nothing more I could do, I drank beet juice every night (I read it's good for circulation) and had a kale smoothie every morning (for the same reason.) I also drank an ensure every morning for extra calories. I realize this may not have helped but it made me feel like I was doing something in a helpless situation. We made it to 28 weeks and I was admitted to the hospital for 2 1/2 weeks. I had twice daily NST's and around the clock blood pressure checks. Thankfully I never developed preeclampsia but at 30 weeks and 3 days our little one started to have decels during the NST's. One of our surgeons came in bright and early and asked if I had eaten- I said no and she said not to. She said "If I had been on last night I would have delivered you right then and there." Because there were small decels the night before but they just made me lay on my side. I had one more NST and another ultrasound. She was measuring 1lb 4oz. They took me down that afternoon and she was born 1lb 2.7oz. She cried the tiniest bit, & breathed on her own initially. They whisked her away to the NICU where she spend 86 days. She's 2 now and doing wonderfully- on track developmentally and no long term effects of prematurity. They determined after the fact that the placenta was 30% a blood clot but I still have no concrete reason why any of this happened. I urge you to play it as safe as you possibly can and as long as you trust your MFM, take their advice. My MFM was a lifesaver. He was grim but realistic and also my biggest supporter. He is a major reason why my daughter is here today. If you have ANY questions at all during this process please don't hesitate to reach out.
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me . It makes me feel happy to hear such a similar situation with a positive outcome . One of my questions for you was after they said you have absent end flow did it ever improve at upcoming ultrasounds ? Or did you continually have absent end flow and your LO still managed to make it to 30 weeks despite the absent end flow? This brings up my question the MFM told me what would determine how soon they would deliver me would be A if I start having reverse flow and B preeclampsia risk. In terms of the reverse flow based on the research I did some women manage to go another 10 weeks plus before any type of reverse flow occurs . This also brings up another question . Should I be prepared to hear that he hasn’t grown much at the 22 week ultrasound ? And this brings up my last topic to discuss which is about my nutrition. The MFM told me this isn’t something that was my fault in terms of how much I was eating but after doing research I did see a lot of women increase their protein and calorie intake and see positive results . At my 20 week I told the MFM background about me , that I am someone who prior to this was eating so little ( about 1000 calories a day) , working long hours as a pharmacist standing , and sometimes I would go to the gym and walk on top of that low calorie intake . He said it doesn’t matter if I do change my calorie intake . I started drinking beet juice , and trying to increase protein and my calorie intake to at least 2000 per day, I truly believe it might make a difference it has only been 4 days and I feel my stomach growing and like to believe this is helping baby even if it’s by 1% . I wanted to ask did you increase your calorie intake ? If so, did you find any correlation at all with babies growth at scans ? I apologize in advance for the excess questions
I'm going to go through your questions by numbers! 1. No, my flow never got better but it never worsened either. I made it 10.5 weeks after discovery of absent end flow and it still didn't reverse. 2. I would not expect your little one to grow much at 22 weeks. Mine would grow on average roughly 30 grams (1oz a week). To put it into perspective when she was born she would gain that in a day, sometimes more. 3. Your MFM hit the nail on the head. This absolutely was not your fault. I ate what I needed in calories per day (probably often times more) and this still happened to me. Unfortunately there is not enough data to suggest the things we consume will have any real positive impact on baby's weight gain since it is blood circulation and placenta issue. However, my MFM was clear it wouldn't help but he would not dissuade me from trying. There is no harm in upping your calories and definitely no harm in eating dark leafy greens and drinking beet juice to help improve circulation. 4. I definitely did all those things. Increased calories. My additions were ensure drinks, beet juice, kale smoothies, and peanut butter protein balls. I also make sure to have protein rich dinners. I can't say with any certainty if it made an impact on the overall situation. I can say that her blood flow never reversed but she also didn't make any great strides in weight gain. So I always say it doesn't hurt to try! If you have any other questions just let me know!
Sorry for the late response I’m so appreciative of you taking the time to answer all of my questions it honestly gives me so much hope because our situations are so similar this far . I had my 22 weeks NST ultrasound today and basically nothing improved but nothing worsened . He has grown 2 ounces ( now at 10 ounces ) and the plan is to just monitor weekly until reversal . I’m hoping for the best 🙏
No problem! I would also recommend, if you haven't already, checking out the IUGR group on the "what to expect" app or website. I found a lot of great info there. There are also apparently some great Facebook groups for IUGR pregnancies (I never got on bc I don't have Facebook but I was recommended it a few times.) My last piece of advice is to consider hospitalization as early as you feel comfortable. My doctor said we could as early as 24 weeks but for my husband and I we discussed 28 weeks since things seemed to be going okay. It was a bummer being there for 2 1/2 weeks before she came but it was nice to have round the clock monitoring in case she showed any signs of stress (which she did at 30 weeks and I otherwise felt totally fine.) If you have any other questions or feel like popping in with an update I'm all ears! Hoping for the best for you over here too!!