anyone else already been told to expect a small baby ?

[o0Squeaks0o]

hi ladies,

i am feeling a bit rubbish this morning . i have a heart condition that I've had since birth but it was only discovered whilst i was pregnant with my DD Brooke. whilst i was under specialist care with Brooke i managed to avoid taking meds for long periods of time but did have to agree to bed rest etc. now this baby was a surprise and i never really thought of my heart being a big issue, but its already apparent this pregnancy my heart is not coping well and im already up to an extra 13,000 beats a day so I've been told i need to start some meds to try make sure as the pregnancy gets further along the extra beats are managed. but the side effects of the meds are a guaranteed small baby which means i will also be delivering early. aim is to get to 36 weeks as long as baby is still ok at that point. i could kick myself for not asking how small a baby i should expect. just feel a bit rubbish as its my fault the baby will be small due to the meds but they've stressed the risks of not taking the tablets are bigger for me and baby then if i do take them.

i wonder if a small baby will mean the baby may need extra help after birth too.

thanks for listening.

 

[Tasha]

Im not pregnant but my last three babies have had IUGR so I know the worries of a small baby, and also about blaming yourself. You know rationally you didnt ask for teh heart condition that means you need the drugs, but you still cant help think well if I my body wasnt stupid and I didnt have this then I wouldnt need the drugs and my baby would be fine (I have clotting disorders and this is how I feel). It is not your fault, but I do understand why you feel like it is.

As for help, at thirty-six weeks they should be fine but if weight is really low then it might be maintaining body temperature they need help with (this would be a warm cot thingy) and also an eye kept on their blood sugars.

I hope my reply helps you to feel less alone, even though I am not currently pregnant.

 

[lewood88]

awww hun, my friend is due her baby april and she suffers with epilepsy and has to take meds everyday and she had lots of fits with this baby, she had them really bad with her dd, but they have told her because she is on the strongest medication to try and control her fits that her baby will be small because of it, shes 32 weeks and her bump looks the same at a 27 week bump

i know its not the same but they told her her baby will be fine just to be prepared that he will be small, which has scared her

dont feel bad about it, you cant help your heart condition hun, i have a heart problem too not as bad as yours but i have noticed that my heart has been pulpitating more than normal

 

[phrumkidost]

Aww, hun, don't feel guilty. It's so not your fault -- we're just dealt the things we are and we cope with them the best we can. There are thousands of women around the world with all sorts of health problems who deliver perfectly healthy babies.

 

[_Lexi_]

If depends on just how small baby is. My last pregnancy my baby was diagnosed with iugr at 24 weeks. He was delivered at 34 weeks weighing just 2lb 7oz. He needed a lot of medical care in his few short hours. It turned out he needed a blood transfusion, but needed to be 3lb for his veins to be able to cope, and as a consequence, sadly passed away. Plenty of babies are born very very small and go on to thrive. When we knew Joshua was going to be early, they told me to prepare for him not coming home until his due date, but it depends how far you get and how big baby is. 36 weeks, however not ideal, is fairly safe. Your dr wouldn't deliver early if they thought the risks outweighed the positives. x

 

[o0Squeaks0o]

thank you so much for the replies. they were a great help to read i have decided to write a list of questions to ask my specialist as every time i see him baby brain kicks in and i forget most of the things i would like to know and then get days like today where im racking my brain thinking about things. my niece was born 10 weeks prem but weighed a great 3lb 12oz and my nephew 6 weeks prem and again weighed a good weight at 5lbs so I've sort of experienced a small baby i am just feeling anxious. we will be having growth scans every 2-4 weeks so hopefully i will have a rough idea of what to expect nearer the end of the pregnancy. xx