Ok so I found out today after a growth scan for my twins, that twin a has low amniotic fluid. We found out at the morph scan that she only has one kidney, does anyone know what causes low fluid levels? Also is there anything I can do to increase the fluid for her? As a side note, they have separate sacs and placentas so it can't be twin to twin transfusion.
Ammiotic fluid in created by the baby's wee. The kidneys process the wee, turns it into amniotic fluid, which in turn, develops the lungs. Kidney problems are quite common and have a broad range of severity.
DS1 had polycystic kidney disease. He had overlarge kidneys full of cysts. They could not produce enough fluid, so his lungs did not develop. One working kidney gives your baby a much better chance.
i recently read an article about an American Senator whose baby had Potters Syndrome (no kidneys). It's normally fatal, but they added saline to increase the fluid and helped develop the lungs. Baby also had steroid shots. That baby was born early but survived.
i'd talk to a neonatologist about what it means for your baby, especially as you're carrying twins. It may mean a watch and see approach. They may offer steroids for lung development. Many people live a full life with only one kidney. It may mean keeping an eye on blood pressure and no contact sports.
Hi Amanda, congrats on your twin girls... I've recently had a pregnancy with low amniotic fluid and bilateral kidney dilation of baby. I'll have to come back and fill you in though... This little man is a tad unsettled. Lions and bears has given some good info though.....
My 20 week scan reviled fluid on baby's kidneys, so we had another scan at 26 weeks which also showed low amniotic fluid. From there on I had regular scans it started off 3 weekly and then with other issues it was twice weekly.
With the kidneys your hospital should monitor them...or in your case it, every few weeks. I saw a renal specialist at 34 weeks and she told me that its a wait and see approach. She indicated that he would need daily antibiotics from birth. Then watch urine output. They don't scan straight away with mine because it takes about a month for the kidneys to function normally, however my baby has both kidneys so I'm not sure in your case. Lachlan's just had his scan and then we will be seeing the specialist in a few weeks. A friend of mine has a baby with one kidney and I know she's on antibiotics daily and has had a few operations because the only kidney had a blockage. Sorry I'm not trying to scare you. Other than that her baby is great.. So the antibiotics are a prophylactic.
As for the amniotic fluid. L&B explained how it works. With my pregnancy I had 2 weekly monitoring of afis. They say drinking lots of water may help but didn't do too much for me. I guess what they look for is if your levels are stable or if they decrease. Mine were low, but they didn't decrease significantly. Its quite subjective really and depends on the person scanning. For example my levels were low and I had a breech baby. On the day of my ecv the midwife scanned me and got an afi of 9. The on then came in to do the turn and scanned me and got 6. It happened again with a difference of levels with my second attempt of ecv. So essentially your just looking at consistent numbers. Mine ranged from 5-7 consistently. They went up and down but on the chart it never went lower and lower if that makes sense. If it went lower it indicates either a leak or the placenta is not functioning properly.....also it can indicated some issues with kidneys.
With my birth there wasn't a great deal of fluid when the waters broke and he wasn't as slimy as the girls were. In terms of the delivery for me it didn't make a difference....only that he was breech was the difference.
I hope that helps a little. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. I'm not sure if I can help. I know its easier said than done but try not to worry too much about the fluid at this stage. A friend of mine who's twins were born at 30 weeks and had ttt said that you know they have concerns when you're getting scanned and monitored every couple of days. I'm sure you're in good hands.
We've already spoken to the specialist about the absent kidney and done research so know what we are in for in regards that. I was just wondering if that would be a contributing factor to the low fluid. I guess we'll just have to wait and see and see how often I need to have scans as I'm already on monthly scans but I'm sure it will go to fortnightly now.
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Low amniotic fluid
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