Placental deficiency.

Hi all,i had a u/s monday to check foetal wellbeing.I was told baby was small for dates,4 pounds at 35 weeks(not that bad) but that the placenta had decreased in suffiency and i have been booked in for another u/s next thurs to check.They said the worse case scenario is induction at 38weeks! I didnt want an induction i wanted to have my natural labour.Also.other women are telling me i may need a caesar.Has anyone had this? Can the problem right itself? Is there a BB article on this? Ive had a look but cant find anything.Thanks.

My mother had this. In her final pregnancy, my brother was born at 36 weeks, after spontaneous rupture of the membranes and was delivered very quickly weighing 4lbs 4ozs. (She had been scheduled for an induction on Monday but he was born on the Saturday before).

If you have placental insufficiency, the problem doesn't right itself unfortunately. Can you ring the doctor who gave you the diagnosis and perhaps see if they will give you some more information? It might help put your mind at rest.

BTW my brother, although very small and undernourished at birth, did very well and is now 30 years old.

Best of luck Caddie.

My friend had this, it wasn't found out until the last few weeks of pregnancy so when her girl was born, she looked like a frog, with scrawny little legs and a bottom...she's perfectly fine now :)
Her second was the same, and this time they discovered it around 37 or so weeks and she was induced. Again, her son is perfectly fine now.
If your worse case scenario is an induction at 38 weeks.....well, that's a great worse case scenario isn't it, considering? Plus, you wouldn't have to go straight onto that drip, you could have a s&s, then gel, then waters broken and finally if they didn't get things going, the drip?
Good luck.

I agree that if that is what the problem is, baby is better off out than in by 38 weeks. As others said it won't get better but can get worse as placental function begins to wind down towards the end anyway. 38w is still considered full term and although induction isn't your ideal scenario it's certainly better than a caesar. I'm not sure that would be necessary as a matter of course, but maybe if they think that baby is distressed and wouldn't tolerate labour.
Good luck with the follow up next week.

I have a scan this thursday morning.I picked up the referral today and it has some scary stuff written on it.
*AC just above 3rd centile
*? IUGR which i know means uterine retardation.
I suppose i just have to wait and see.At least its been picked up.I hate the waiting though.Thanks for your replies girls.

IUGR means intrauterine growth retardation - meaning the baby isn't growing as well as expected for dates. You may just be having a little baby (which may be normal for you) but it can mean your placenta is not functioning as well as it should. Do you have an appointment after your scan with the specialist?? Take care and good luck with the scan.

I have an OB appointment friday.He has requested that i have the results be given to me there and then but i think that will be a problem as the sonographer is just doing the scan.I dont think anyone is available for follow up report there and then.

If the U/S is at a radiology centre they usually have radiologists there to complete the reports (takes an hour or so to get them though). Ask when you go for the appointment when the results will be ready and let them know you have an appointment with the specialist the next day.

Good luck.

Hey Caddie,
Thinking of you hon, all the best for tomorrow xo

Good luck for tomorrow Caddie!

Well ruby now weighs 4 pound 11 ounces which is great.Placental function no worse and no better.Just regular checks i think but will wait and see what OB says tommorow.Thanks for your support girls.

Oh thats brilliant, Caddie!

That's wonderful news Caddie!! Good luck tomorrow with the Ob

Kathryn has dealt with IUGR, I shall ask her to post for you...

Phew, great news Caddie, we are almost there hon xo

I have a close friend, besides Aunty Kathryn, whose first baby was questionable IUGR but she also had high BP and other underlying issues which made them induce her. The second time around she had to be monitored closely but went to term without needing to be induced, he was still a smaller baby but both have flourished. HTH!

Caddie - please try not to let the words IUGR stress you out too much. Kameron stopped growing from 30wks. At my 30wk check my fundal height was 27cm and they were concerned so they booked me in for an Ultrasound to check placental flow and amniotic fluid levels.

At 32 weeks I had another scan as they still were not happy and Kameron had hardly grown. My fundal height was only 28cm.

34 weeks and another scan, placenta was fine and fluid levels were "normal" but on the low side of "normal"

At my 36wk scan they were predicting a 4lb baby. At just over 37 wks it was just over 4lb. Kameron was induced at 37wks 6 days due to "possible IUGR" and I also had the onset of pre-eclampsia. They had a humidicrib set up ready to go for Kameron and specialists on hand at his delivery ready for the tiny baby to be born. He was birthed vaginally weighing 6lb !! ... not 48hrs before their "measurements" were just over 4lb.

Lachlan - My 2nd "IUGR" baby. Once again stopped growing from 30wks and I had scans done every 2wks. They were highly considering giving the baby steroids for his lungs and inducing me at 35wks !! I would go to each appointment with my hospital bag in the car. Once again my fundal height was down from what it should have been. At one stage my fundal height was 6cm below, so it was back to fortnightly scans to keep an eye on the placenta and make sure bubs was growing.

At 37wks they were predicting a 4lb something again. Lachlan was induced at 38wks 1 day delivered vaginally weighing 6lb 7oz !!

So what I am trying to say is please take the u/sound "weight checks" with a grain of salt. Both of my boys were way out, and both were born over the IUGR cut off limit which is 5lb something.

I will probably be facing the same thing again with this baby, but I have already declared I want a natural labour if they are only suspecting IUGR, and they are happy to let me do that.

Love

Caddie - I forgot to mention last night as well that both my boys were also in the "low percentiles" on their in utero growth charts

Love

Thanks kathryn! Thats a relief to know that your boys were a good weight when born.Millana was 7pounds 4 ounces and was 5 days overdue.I just think we have small babies and there is nothing wrong.She was kicking me enough last nite to tell me she was nice and healthy.Thanks again.

Hi,

Just wanted to say that my DD was born 6 weeks premmie because of this.

They watched me over a two week period and decided that she wasn't growing and was better off on the outside.

I was induced and she was 3.5pound (1.5k) when she was born. Spent around 20 days in special care nursery and is now a thriving one year old. Y ou cannot tell that she was premmie at all.

So at 38weeks, i'm sure your bubba is going to be fine......

Good luck

Caddie in my last pregnancy I had alot of testing done as Lachlan was headed down the same path and they did discover that I have a gene abnormality. My body doesn't break down stuff properly to help nourish the baby. They have had me on meds to try and combat it with this pregnancy but it hasn't worked.

So yep we are just blessed with birthing perfectly fine small babies ;)

Love

Thats interesting kathryn that your body does that.What is it called? Id like to read about it.
The drs appointment went well but i have to have a scan next week.Looks like i will be having them weekly! $175 each time,lucky i get some back on medicare as money is abit tight at the moment.
The dr reckons ruby will weigh about 51/2 pounds when born but i reckon she will becloser to 6pounds.He just wants to monitor and let her grow! The only downside is that when i do have the baby i will have to be monitored more closely and i wanted to be free to walk around and stuff:(

Hey Caddie

I have a MTHFR gene disorder. It is pretty complex, but this is basically what my ob told me when they first discovered it with me. - https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...ead.php?p=3423

Love

Wow that is interesting.I have never heard of that.Can the clots and stuff happen anytime or whilst only pregnant?

They can happen at anytime Caddie. When I birthed Lachlan I had alot of clots, so much so even the midwife commented. I also passed alot of clots after the birth.

But yeah I have to be careful of clots as I get older as well.

Love

Scary! I hope in the future you dont get any kathryn!

Hey Caddie - that's good news from you. I've been checking to see when you posted. Hope everything goes really well.

Kathryn - That's interesting about your gene. Mum also has a thrombophilia gene (the syndrome is Factor V Leiden) which causes blood clots. We didn't find this out until recent years but if they had known that then, they might have known what would happen with her pregnancies.

I had my scan today and she has only put on 80g this week.They say she weighs 5pound or thereabouts.Amniotic fluid down but still within the limits and placental function remains the same.The u/s dr said she may have to be born this week but i will wait and see what my OB says as he is looking after me afterall.So just a waiting game really!!