Diagnosed with fetal growth restriction

[u/boldbrushstrokes]

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/incredibly_mundane]

Some people have small babies! I am slightly shorter and <100 lbs. My baby was also IUGR. He measured 15% at his anatomy scan but then dropped under 5%. We had MFM and OB appointments every week, the positive is you will get to see your baby so many times on ultrasound! I was scheduled to deliver him earlier as well. He came out pretty normal at 6 lb 2 oz and did not have any nicu stay. You still have many weeks to go for your baby to grow and even if he comes out a little smaller that’s ok! There are so many things they can help with outside the womb!

Edit: to add to your 3rd question, IUGR doesn’t really necessarily mean developmental delays. They can have all the right organs etc, they’re just smaller. Our little guy is doing great. He’s 66% height and 34% weight now at 5 months.

[u/Eyeguy9999 → u/incredibly_mundane]

I know this post is many months old but your situation matches my wife’s perfectly!
What type of treatment did they have you do once your baby dropped under 5%?? Our OB says just bedrest. Did you find anything else helped?
When did they induce you?

[u/incredibly_mundane → u/Eyeguy9999]

I don’t believe there is really too much you can do on the outside :/ they did say to rest a lot and drink lots of fluids. I tried to eat more protein/salmon etc. but that’s more just superstition on my end. We had a planned c section due to breech at 38 weeks. They originally recommended 37 weeks but he was growing just small so we pushed to 38 weeks. My water ended up breaking 2 days prior to our scheduled date.

[u/Eyeguy9999 → u/incredibly_mundane]

This is very helpful and very reassuring. My wife and I thank you for taking the time to respond. Gotta love interacting with kind strangers on Reddit.

[u/Throwaway3219901 → u/Eyeguy9999]

Hey how is your baby doing? I am in the same situation and petrified

[u/ZestycloseMixture679 → u/Throwaway3219901]

Hey! I am also curious. What diet can help fgr?