Uterine Artery Notching - my experience

[24/7]

Thank you so much for starting this thread, although I am still so very worried about our little beanie, it has helped slightly. I am starting 85mg of asprin daily as of tomorrow and have four weekly scans already booked and a cardiac scan for baby at Kings.

I hope we can make it to a good about of weeks to give the baby a fighting chance xxxx

 

[chloelyra]

the doctor who did the scan seemed concern, but my OB is not?? I have HBP and am on Aldormet for the past few months, on aspirin since 17 weeks. I am about 20 weeks 3 days pregnant, the fetus measured 19 wks - 6days but weighs 11 oz. The fetus has been very active these past few days, not sure he is trying to tell me he is alright or something is wrong.

My OB was going to see me in 4 weeks but moved up to 2 weeks after seeing fear on my face. When asked what i can do, she said try taking the aspirin and watched my weight (gained a bit more than i should). She said I will need to do a blood test in 32 weeks to see if the protein S has gone from bad to worst.

Any chance of the notches going away in my case? I doubt it since the doctor said it is 'severe'
What is the risk of losing this baby? I am very concerned.

 

[24/7]

From the research I have done, they can clear, so that is a possibility for you. All I am doing is taking the aspirin and keeping everything crossed for our little boy. I am sceduled for regular growth scans and doppler scans to check the blood flow, and my cosultant has already said as soon as their are any issues afer 24 weeks he will deliver the baby, and that after 27 weeks, 9/10 babies survive, so thats our goal right now.

Stay positive, for you and the baby. xxx

 

[chloelyra]

thanks for the comforting words. Yes, I do have the same goal as you, 28 weeks. My OB is talking about 32 weeks blood test - she was very calm, either she has seen it all and thought the chance is good or she didn't wants to scare me. I am on cardiprin once daily in addition to my blood pressure medicine.

Let's try our best to relax and keep our fingers crossed. Please keep us posted on your progress.

xxx

 

[Marleysgirl]

The fetus has been very active these past few days, not sure he is trying to tell me he is alright or something is wrong.

<snip>

Any chance of the notches going away in my case? I doubt it since the doctor said it is 'severe'
What is the risk of losing this baby? I am very concerned.

Mine was severe, and Andrew survived

My best piece of advice is to trust your instinct, your body and your baby. Andrew didn't feel particularly active but that was because he was so small so difficult to feel!! However, I knew that something was "wrong" on the last day, I hadn't felt him move at all since the middle of the night before. I tried the cold drink technique (drink cold water, baby moves as if uncomfortable) and still no movement. I called Triage & then my Consultant, and my Consultant agreed to scan me in his lunch-hour. That's when they decided things had deteriorated to the extent that baby had to be delivered.

 

[24/7]

Well we are still moving along nicely, now at 18+4, and our little boy is nice and active - I have two scans coming up, 20th December with a fetal cardiologist, and another scan on 22nd December, then an appointment with Consultant on 23rd, and we continuing to stay positive and enjoy our pregnancy. xxx

 

[mmmsrb]

thankyou so much for posting this ! it made me feel a lot better .
my situation is almost the same , i had that blood test and my results came back 1 in 16 chance of my little girl having down syndrome because of high hcg levels . i'm 21 years old and was giving the same chances as a 47 year old woman ? but i also opted out of the amneo . everything showed up perfect on the high resolution ultrasound besides abnormal blood flow in my left uterine artery . i was told it could regulate but found out today that it hasn't . the baby is growing perfectly though , i'm 27 weeks and i have to get another ultrasound at 28 weeks and then every two weeks after that

 

[Marleysgirl]

Hi there, didn't want you to think your post hadn't been seen

If your baby is still growing okay then that's really good

 

[Felicity96]

Hey can you pm i have Uterine Artery Notching in my left and right artery and im only 15 i have not been told much of the risks xxxxxxxx

 

[PoodleMommy]

I realize this thread is old, but it's been both extraordinarily helpful (and has me scared to death at the same time!).

I'm at high risk of pre-eclampsia so I've had ultrasounds at 16 weeks, 21 weeks, and 25 weeks so far (I will be 27 weeks on Thursday).

I had to ask them to do a doppler flow of my uterine arteries... my perinatologist/MFM seems to be more concerned about possible heart problems, which my baby does not have... and sure enough, I have severe bilateral uterine arteries.

I don't know that they were looking at reversal of blood flow, but I will ask them to look for that when I have another growth ultrasound next week at 28 weeks... what specifically should I ask for?

Thankfully, as of 25 weeks, there was no sign of IUGR and baby weighed 1 pound 13 ounces, so I'm praying that if he does have to be delivered early, he'll have good chances.

I've read that uterine notching CAN resolve, but if it hasn't by 24 weeks, then it will NOT resolve. So, I guess this problem will not get better, but only possibly worse?? Should I be asking for growth ultrasounds more frequently than every 3-4 weeks at this point??

We've been trying for so many years for this baby, and have had six miscarriages, AND I'm about to turn 41... I would be beyond devastated if something were to happen to him because the perinatologist wasn't monitoring him closely enough...

 

[Marleysgirl]

Hi Poodle

I had to google "perinatologist" as it's a term I'd never come across, I just had a "consultant" I'm guessing that you are not in the UK - if you are, it must be a very posh hospital

I seem to remember I was switched to fortnightly scans around 27 weeks. I would suggest to you that you go to the 28wk scan as scheduled but ask them to repeat the dopplers to compare to the last visit - to be honest, I'd be surprised if they didn't do this as a matter of course. If the notching is still present, tell them of your concerns regarding long periods between scans and ask if you can have more frequent appointments. It could be that the notching isn't too severe, but they should explain this to you.

As for something happening to your baby, as I've told others before on this thread, trust your instincts. You should be feeling your baby move, so keep daily notes on when/where, so that you have a comparison. Ask your perinatologist (love that word now!) what you should do if you have reduced movement, do they want you to contact them or do they want you to report to maternity triage for a heartbeat check? And have your hospital bag packed now, rather than thinking that you don't need to bother until 36weeks onwards.

I'm not trying to be alarmist, just trying to make sure that you are prepared. And then hopefully you won't need any of these preparations, you'll carry to term and wonder what all the fuss was about

PS. I was 40 when I had Andrew!

PPS. Something someone else mentioned, can't remember if it was on this thread or not, but it struck me as obvious afterwards ... This other person was told to make sure that they stayed really hydrated during their pregnancy, as liquid intake can affect bloodflow. I tried to give blood once about ten years ago, and my blood was really slow coming out, like treacle! I don't ever feel thirsty, so I don't drink much (certainly not the 2 litres/day that's recommended). And this could have contributed to the arterial flow problems. I've never had a conversation with a medical professional about this, but it's worth considering. Whilst you drink a cool glass of water

 

[PoodleMommy]

Thank you so much for the tips and encouragement! (and yes, sorry, I'm in the U.S... I should've looked up what they're called in the U.K. before posting! ) I will definitely make sure they repeat the doppler when I go back next week. I also want to ask them to look for reversed blood flow... do you happen to know if that happens in the uterine arteries or the umbilical cord (or both)?

Funny you mentioned going ahead and packing my hospital bag already just in case... I actually decided to do that just this morning and have started it already! and, GREAT tip about drinking enough water/fluids... I am very bad about that and know I need to drink the recommended amount... I never thought about it in relation to blood flow!

I wish I could trust my instincts, but they seem to be leading me all over the place with this pregnancy. At 10 weeks, I was 100% sure my baby was dead and told my husband my instincts are never wrong. Well, thankfully, in that case they were... baby was doing perfectly fine at that point. Nowadays, my instincts have me panicking that my baby is dying of any of 1,000 dreadful things (some related to my very real risk of pre-eclampsia, some completely unrelated). I fear if I trusted my instincts, I'd be at the hospital almost daily.... goodness, I hate being such a worrier!!

 

[Marleysgirl]

Thank you so much for the tips and encouragement! (and yes, sorry, I'm in the U.S... I should've looked up what they're called in the U.K. before posting! ) I will definitely make sure they repeat the doppler when I go back next week. I also want to ask them to look for reversed blood flow... do you happen to know if that happens in the uterine arteries or the umbilical cord (or both)?

I wouldn't tell them to look for reversed bloodflow - they'll probably think you're telling them how to do their job Ask them (particularly if it's different staff) to carry out a doppler, tell them that the doppler last time showed bilateral notching and that you'd like them to check whether the situation has improved (less notch), stayed steady, or deteriorated. Reversal would be the result of really bad deterioration, they'd certainly let you know if that was the situation.

I wish I could trust my instincts, but they seem to be leading me all over the place with this pregnancy.

That's why keeping a notebook is a really good idea. Carry it around with you while you get on with normal life, but stop to note down kicks etc - times when you can feel movement, whether you were still/active at the time, whether you'd just eaten or drunk (especially any cold drinks). You will build up a picture of baby's active times, which will help you to recognise when he is not active at an expected time; it'll also help you to learn what baby responds to in terms of your behaviour & drink, so you can sometimes 'force' them to move by having a really cold drink (which could be reassuring if you think he's been a little quiet).

 

[Marleysgirl]

Just doing a little check back on people who have posted in this thread:

mmmsrb - posted concerned in September - appears to have given birth around 36wks

24/7 - carried all the way to 41 wks

 

[24/7]

I did indeed go at the way to 41 weeks in the end, and my apparently teeny tiny baby was actually 7lbs8oz.

Marleysgirl has said all the right things, so I'll just send some xx

 

[turkeysmom]

I am so happy to have found this forum. I am a mom to happy & healthy 3 year old son.

The year before my son was born I was pregnant with a baby girl. She died in utero at 22 weeks due to severe IUGRand lack of and lack of brain function from placenta failure . During my pregnancy with my son I wa smonitored closely. At 26 weeks I had unilateral notching and at 38 weeks I was induced because of high blood pressure and he was born at a healthy 7lbs 2oz. I am now pregnant again with another baby girl. I am 20.5 and my ultrasound at 19.5 weeks showed that I have bad bilateral notching. I have to go back in mid march for another scan at 24weeks to see if the notching has gotten better. My perinatologist has told that if things haven't improved that I could be at very risk for PE, preterm labour and IUGR. I am so scared right now. I've been searching on goolge and what little information is out there isn't good.

Has anyone here had bilateral notching and went on to have a healthy baby without any complications?

 

[turkeysmom]

I should also add that I've been taking low dose asprin since 5 weeks at my Doctor's request and have been drinking lots of water. At 20.5 weeks I'm still not feeling that much movement. Also, at my 19.5 week ultrasound the baby was measuring perfectly and is a good size.

 

[24/7]

I had bilateral notching and although I had high bP at the end I didnt have PE and had a healthy little boy at 41 weeks! cx

 

[turkeysmom]

24/7 that is fantastic! hearing stories like yours gives me hope that bilateral notching isn't all doom & gloom.

 

[24/7]

Lots of hugs! I was so so worried!
Drink lots, take the aspirin and stay as relaxed as possible. xx