HELP!!! Reduced growth and AFI 32w scan- anyone had this?

[Minimin]

Hey,
This is kind of a spin off from my low amniotic fluid (AF) post and the same post in Third tri. Someone suggested posting here which I should have thought of


have been monitored the past month as my AF is low. They measure the abdominal circumference (AC) to ascertain whether the baby is growing well. The past coupld of scans have shown and reduction in the AF but growth has been seen albeit slow and only in the 5th percentile. Today at 32 weeks I have been told AF still low and the AC has not changed since two weeks ago ie no growth.

The doppler flow for the cord is in the 95th percentile so this has increased since the last scan. The sonographer actually asked if I had BP checked so I guess he was wondering/thinking that was high and possibly affecting AC growth????

Has anyone had this reduction in growth. Her measurements for 32w puts her way below the 5th percentile now

Any help advice or stories are much appreciated!!

 

[Emmea12uk]

i have no experience, but wanted to offer you some support.

 

[Minimin]

Thanks Emmea12UK! I am seeing the consultant tomorrow so lets she what she said. Other posts on my threads in 2nd tri have been reassuring and I also got a post for a consultant ob's person who said it is good they have picked these things up and they should monitor me with more scans (weekly) and CTG (one if not more a week) so I hope I get this at the very least!
How are you doing? I hope all is well for you
xxxx

Minimin

 

[baby05]

High BP can cause IUGR, which is pretty common with high BP. it would be weird for your dr not to be checking your BP at every visit though...

eat enough food to be gaining weight, rest when you can, and try not to worry. They should monitor you very closely now, and will deliver the baby if need be. the Dr's are trained to deal with iugr and should be able to do what is best for the baby.

I have HBP and expect at some point IUGR will kick in again ( this is baby #5) My babies have been small but they have lived and now have made up for the slowed growth!!
So try not to worry, the important thing is that they are aware of it and making sure that the baby will be fine!

 

[Minimin]

Thanks Baby05-I am glad your wee ones are well and this pregnancy congrats!
I have my BP monitored at least once a week if not more and I am on baby asprin. The readings from yesterday are fine so technically not high BP as yet!
Hope the consultant this morning can make things more clearer

Thanks again

Minimin

 

[baby05]

no problem! IUGR really is only a big issue if it is not caught. weight in a baby once born can go up so fast! I with my first , he gained a pound a week when he was born and ended up being a very chunky baby! They will likely have you doing kick counts and possibly NST's a few times a week if growth continues to slow, but at this point for you the biggest thing is getting the lungs mature. If they can get the lungs matured, then really the weight is going to be just fine once born and eating. at 32 weeks though, the baby is quite developed and if you can make it to 34 or 36 weeks, many IUGR babies dont have to stay in the hospital very long at all!
Hopefully the baby's growth will pick up and you can carry to term ( 37 weeks or longer) and even if the baby is small he can come home with you when you go.
My first we were able to bring home at 5 pounds. He was small but healthy, so size isnt everything for sure.
Best of luck today!

 

[vickyd]

Im going through exactly the same thing at the moment. My last scan last thursday showed low AFI at 8cm and placenta ageing. At that scan the doc didnt mention anything about low weight. This morning i was freaking out cause i hadnt felt LO move as usual so i went to hospital where they did an NST and US. Turns out my baby is in the 7th percentile for weight gain with Amniotic still at 8cm. I will be going in tomorrow for a consultant meeting. I will let you know as soon as i get more info. By the way im also on baby aspirin as im MTHFR homozygous.

 

[Glowstar]

just wanted to offer you some support. I had low AF (13 years ago) I had at the time also tested high risk for Spina Bifada on the AFP test. I had a a few detailed scans and everything appeared OK but like you at around 32 weeks I was measuring small for dates and was sent for growth scans, which is when the low AF was detected. I had 7 scans total to keep an eye on things and was booked for induction 3 days after EDD.
As it turned out the last scan I had 2 days before EDD they measured baby at 7lbs 2oz, she was born 2 days later without induction 7lbs 6oz and absolutely fine!!!
I am sure they will keep a close eye on you now

 

[Minimin]

Baby05, VickyD & Glostar. Thank u so much for taking the time ti reassure me and share your experiences. Consultant basically didnt seem too worried. I have my Doppler scan this Wed. She they will assess monitoring status once this scan is done. U have another appt. With her in 2 wk & I'll see how scan is. Am on iPhone so apologise for typos and keep this short. I'm still worries as to what the doppler will show & I don't think she Oz moving much but they are ok with it :/
Thanks ladies

 

[vickyd]

Minimin I went in for doppler and yesterday an NST. The consultant explained to me that as long as the doppler is good they arent too worried about low weight. I was reassured that i shouldnt worry too much....I will be getting shots on Monday nad Tuesday to help increase the lung development in case i have to give birth in a few weeks.

 

[Minimin]

Thanks VickyD. I'll post more once I knowshat the Doppler on Wed comes up with. Todayskuck count has been good so I'm hoping all us well. However, a couple of toilet trips I'm not sure if ive leaked!!!! So stressful 
I'm goad yours went well and you were reassured.I you don't mind me asking, what made them decide to given you the steroid shots. I have not had that conversation as yet with any appt I've had?

TC xxxxxxxxx

 

[baby05]

I am not vickyD, but hope you dont mind if I add my 2 cents
steroid shots are common, with IUGR, and can make the difference between having a baby that breathes on his/her own and having to be put on a ventilator for a week or longer! Getting the lungs to make surfactant and to have enough that when the baby is born is really important. Some dr's will use it sooner than others. As a general rule you want to try to get the shot at least 48 hours before you deliver.
If they are concerned you will deliver before term, they will either do the shot or an amniocentesis to check for lung maturity. If the lungs come back fine then you do not need the shot. there are many factors that they look at when deciding to deliver early. when ever possible the REALLY want you to make it to 37 weeks.
Talk to your dr about it at your next visit to see if they will be considering a early delivery or if everything looks good to keep going.

 

[blessedmomma]

hi ladies. im glad you started this thread hun. im kinda having the same issue. i went in for my 32 week US and found out my fluid is at 8 and baby wasnt moving a lot. he hasnt been moving much for a couple of weeks now. he weighs 4lbs 4oz according to US so she says his weight is ok. she also checked placenta and his bladder and kidneys and said he is fine that way. not sure why his fluid is low or why he isnt moving much. they did a NST and he seemed fine there. now i have to come in every week for US and NST and may have to induce early. this is baby #5 for me and have never had this happen. for now my OB told me to take it easy and drink more water than usual. i go back in tues for my next check. i will be looking forward to see how things go here...

 

[vickyd]

Basically they decided to have me take the shots now as my placenta has aged as well. Im grade 3 as of yesterday. I suppose they are preparing me for c-section within the next 2 weeks. Ill find out more tomorrow when i go in for my next NST.

 

[Minimin]

Good luck tomorrow VickyD. Keep me posted on how it goes.

I have not had my placenta graded (or if I have I have no idea what it is!) I will ask at the doppler scan on Wednesday. I guess they are waiting until that before they make a decision as to whether to give me the shots now, wait, or if I will be induced etc. I think I will be fortunate if I can hit 37 weeks.

Blessedmomma- 8cm is still in the normal range as far as I understand and coupled with baby's weight I think your reduced movement maybe due to baby growing I hope they keep monitoring you and all stays well.

Baby05- thanks for the info- I didnt realise they would do an amniocentesis and check lung maturation prior to administering the steroids. Good to know! My Consultant did not mention a SINGLE thing about this- other than acting like she didnt really care/wasnt bothered I didnt really get much else from her

 

[blessedmomma]

i dont know. my OB says she will not induce based completely on low amniotic fluid, but she is keeping an eye on it coupled with the NST. she said she prefers the fluid to not go under 10. dont know much about it, never had anything like this come up. i usually notice around 36-38 weeks that my babies start to slow down. this has been since about 30 weeks for me that he really isnt moving much. he should still have had plenty of room from then til now. hopefully he is just a calm baby.

 

[Minimin]

I think you have a calm relaxed baby
My doc also said low AF is not enough to induce alone! They look at several factors in combination.
oh BTW whats NST?

 

[pinktigereyes]

my lil girl amy was full term accourding to scans but docs andconsultant recom she was only 32 weeks when she was born she was tiny and only weighed 5lb 2 oz plus she had a few other problems to i had to much water around her ive not had low af but for size what was baby measuring the scans normally say how many weeks it measuring by sometimes it can be in correct and are only a guideline as mine had showed that amy was gonig to be a big baby but turned out she was tiny lol but now with this one ac was measureing 2 weeks bigger the head was a week bigger and the femur was also a week bigger and this was at 20 week scan so also because of amy being small ive got to go for growth scans to make sure this one is deffo okay ive also gotta go for an echo on baby as amy has heart probs whichi m waiting on a second oppinion coz Leeds General and my local hospital come up with 2 completely different things

 

[blessedmomma]

pinktigereyes- thats what my OB says too about weight on a scan/US. it can be a pound bigger or a pound smaller so they cant really trust it too much.

minimin- a NST is a non-stress test. they hook you up to a fetal heart monitor to check babies heart rate, at the same time you have a push button to record every time baby kicks, rolls, moves, pokes, etc. when my baby was getting his US done he failed some of the biophysical profile tests they were running. thats why she was concerned. it wasnt just that his fluid was slightly low at 8 when she wants it at 10. that was coupled with the fact that he didnt move or kick enough during the test even though she was trying to get him to. and also his heart rate was going high and low during the test. i asked her if maybe he was just calm and she said perhaps, but it didnt explain everything that was going on. even though his weight seemed ok, he was a bit small but not too much, the weight on US is unreliable so she cant trust it. one good thing was that the cord and placenta seemed to be working ok.

 

[blessedmomma]

just got back from US and baby's fluid is down to 5 today. had to go to hospital to get checked and make sure my water wasnt leaking and do a NST. baby is doing ok and not leaking fluid. i would have had to get steroid shots and been induced in 3 days if it was leaking. since my fluid levels are going down, they will still be inducing in 3 weeks at 37 weeks gestation.

any updates on anyone else?