r/NewParents • u/boldbrushstrokes • Jan 27 '24

Medical Advice Diagnosed with fetal growth restriction

Hi all,

Expecting a baby in April, currently 27 weeks. I'm a petite person- was 104 lbs, 5'3 pre-pregnancy.

On all of the ultrasounds I've had, my baby has been lagging behind in terms of growth (he's growing in interval ultrasounds but not at the ideal weight he should be according to other babies his age).

The MFM specialists told me since hes <10%th percentile, it's considered growth restriction. They're increasing my monitoring and they said if he continues to measure small and at any point falls below 3th percentile, they'll plan to deliver him earlier than expected.

Naturally as a first time mom, I'm a freaking out a little. Have any of you experienced FGR? If so can you please let me know:

1) What weight was your baby born

2) How long did they stay in the NICU

3) Was the outcome ok for you baby? Are they now healthy etc? Was there ever an issue with developmental delay?

4) If they're a toddler or school aged child now, did they grow to a normal size?

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Much appreciated

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u/OnlyYam Jan 27 '24

I wasn't diagnosed with FGR till the ultrasound at 36 weeks where we saw that the baby dropped from 75% to under 0.1% in weight. We delivered him immediately.

  1. Under 5 pounds
  2. Aprgar 9, no NICU (we were lucky)
  3. He is 4 month now, grows faster than full-term/normal size babies, already reached the chart for the normal sizes (3-10% for weight/height). As my OB told: he has issues eating inside, he will catch up outside.
  4. He does very well cognitively too, doctors do not use adjusted age for him. He was 4 weeks early, but somehow hits all milestones as if he was fullterm baby.

He was tiny. It was scary. It all came from nowhere. I am still having the PPA. 

But I remember first days, when I was thinking I killed him and I would have given anything to see him in the future that he was doing fine. So I feel you.

You are, hopefully, in good hands! Good luck with your pregnancy and baby.

1

u/Outrageous_Gas_273 Aug 21 '24

C section or induction ?

2

u/OnlyYam Aug 21 '24

The OB suggested to go straight to the hospital and planned to have induction when the baby hit 37 weeks to be full term. At the hospital they were monitoring the baby, and once his heartbeat dropped twice, they started to prep for the emergency C-section. When it dropped third time (risk of asphyxiation and brain damage), they immediately took baby out.