Hi Babywonderful,

My DS was also born with a single kidney. It was picked up at the 20 week scan. Unfortunately, his single kidney has multiple abnormalities and we were initially told that the kidney would be non functioning and as such it was a 'non-viable pregnancy'. My DH and I chose to continue the pregnancy and I had scans every couple of weeks for the remainder. My DS turned 6 yesterday! He does have multiple abnormalities of the kidney which is present but it is functioning. He initially had scans and tests every 3 months, then every six and we have just gone to every 12 months. My DS did have multiple UTI's in the first 12 months of his life and several hospital admissions for IV antibiotic's. We had him circumcised at 12 months (it was done under a general anaesthetic at the same time as another renal procedure) and he has not had a UTI since.

My DS is happy and healthy and you would never pick him as a 'kidney kid'. We do have to be mindful of UTI's and he will also be strongly discouraged from playing contact sports (consider the fact that several AFL players have lost a kidney in the course of playing the game!) but otherwise he lives a very normal life. I am also very conscious of his diet as there is a history of diabetes in my DH's family and I don't want to predispose him to Type II with a poor diet. Diabetes often leads to kidney damage and my DS only has one kidney to start with! (Having one kidney does not cause diabetes or even make it more likely that a person might develop diabetes.)

A kidney in a person born with only one is usually larger than a single kidney in a person born with two - it's called a 'Super kidney'! Seriously, I'm not making that up... It is the bodies way of compensating for the fact that one kidney is absent.

My DS's issues are not because he only has a single kidney, they are because the kidney he does have has many abnormalities which affect both the structure and the function of the kidney. Having said that, he's a normal, active, happy little man! I'm sure your daughter will be well and I wish you the best of luck with the rest of your pregnancy. I'm happy to answer any more questions you have.