Anyone Have Experience with Low Amniotic Fluid?

I also had low amniotic fluid when I was about 30 weeks pregnant and what I did was drink a lot of Gatorade. When I went back to the OB, they were shocked as to how much fluid I gained. I don't know if the Gatorade is what did the trick but I would suggest drinking a lot more fluids than you already are. Good luck!

I experienced low amniotic fluid I was on bedrest for 2 months before delivering at 35 weeks. Our son is healthy and had a good and healthy 6 lbs 9oz. birth weight. He does have some problems with his teeth - don't know if its due to the low amniotic fluid or not. Get some good books, and stay on your left side.

Good luck! Don't worry!

All 3 of my deliveries were 34-37 weeks. My 1st was also breach and at 37 weeks they measured her at barely 5lbs and she was 6.9. Her only problem was a little trouble keeping her temp up but no NICU time. 2nd was twins at 34 weeks. They were 4.13 & 5.4 and did extremely well. 5 & 8 days in NICU, one was a little slow in eating so had to stay a couple extra days. My last one was a 36 weeker (6.4lbs) and had to do 8 days in NICU for a phenumothorax.
Definitely have the NICU come down and talk to you so you can get an idea of what to expect. Drink as much as you possibly can, that's one of the best things you can do yourself to help increase the amnio fluid. I would suggest puzzle books to keep your mind busy, crochet or cross stitch to keep your hand busy, movies upon movies (redbox is only $1 per movie), a laptop since you'll be there a while that way you can play games and keep in contact with everyone (and keep them updated without having to call so many as well).
Best of luck to you!! I hope the little miss stays put a few more weeks for you.

My daughter was in bed 7 months because she developed a leak with an amnio test early in pregnancy. Her baby was a breech also. She had a beautiful baby daughter who was not damaged in any way. She had a C section which was a blessing because the cord was also around the baby's neck. We decided this baby wanted to be born! Good luck and God Bless!
G. B

Hi L.!

Wow, I was having flashbacks reading your message. In late October, almost eleven years ago, I was expecting our first child and had a similar experience during a visit to the OB. I had low amniotic fluid and Ali (my daughter who is now almost 11) was measuring smaller than she should. She was also in a frank breech position, which is basically bottom down with her feet up by her ears.

My due date was December the 18th and after visiting a specialist and having a "level two" sonogram to make sure everything was OK, I was sent home on bedrest. I did not have to stay in the hospital, but had to count Ali's movements every hour. I stayed on bedrest for four weeks and ultimately delivered Ali by C-Section on the day before Thanksgiving after my blood pressure began rising. She was 37 weeks. I ultimately had preeclampsia which is high blood pressure in pregnancy. They don't really know why this occurs, but I did read that it is common in first pregnancies with women over 30.

I had gained very little weight up to the time I was put on bedrest, but once there, gained ALOT of water weight so you might expect that. My hands and feet got pretty swollen from laying down so much, but of course my amniotic fluid increased as well and that was good for Ali. After the birth, they had trouble getting my blood pressure back to normal, so I had to stay in the hospital for a few extra days. Although, there were neonatal specialists standing by for Ali, she was just perfect. She was just a bit small weighing just 5 lbs. three ounces and her head was a bit big relative to her skinny body :)! Apparently, when there is low amniotic fluid, the nutrition received by the baby goes to the most important places first (i.e. - the brain) which explained why her head was a bit bigger proportionally to the rest of her.

Also because she was so squeezed into my womb, her little legs and feet would go up by her ears for a few weeks after she was born. It took her a bit longer to stretch out :). Also common with breech babies is hip dysplasia, so we went to Scottish Rite several weeks after she was born to have her checked out. She was just fine.

For the first couple of years of her life Ali was smaller than normal ( in the 5th to 10th percentiles for weight and height), but over time she caught up :), and is now one of the tallest girls in the fifth grade, is a straight "A" student and is very athletic!!

I also should tell you, that two and a half years later, I gave birth to my son, Michael, who is now 8 and a half. I had him vaginally with no problems and it was a "text book" birth. Some doctors don't let you do a vaginal birth after C-Section but mine agreed to let me try. I think now days, they do not recommend VBACs. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that just because this is happening in your first pregnancy, doesn't mean it will happen in future pregnancies.

Anyway, while on bedrest, I passed the time catching up on some good books and watching TV. Not alot more to do !! Enjoy the time of rest, because after your daughter is born, you will be a busy girl :)!! I will keep you in my prayers over the next several weeks! Becoming a new parent is one of the greatest joys there is! Please let me know if you have any other questions!

C.

When I was 36 weeks pregnant with my son, my doctor told me that I had low amniotic fluid. I was also feeling decreased fetal movement. My belly was also measuring small and that it was growing in size like it had been. I was told to increase my fluid intake and rest. I wasn't placed on bedrest, but was told to take it easy. My amniotic fluid never increased and so at 38 weeks they scheduled a c-section. He was breech. He weighed 5 lbs. 9 oz. when he was born. He is five years old now and is a beautiful healthy active boy.

Yes, A similar thing happened to me the baby stopped moving as much they got ready to do an amino on me, but once they got ready they, "said I had very low amniotic fluid." I couldn't understand why but they didn't do the test because it was too dangerous for the baby and me. So they put me in bed for 4 week and had me lay on one side. They did a c-section as soon as they thought it was safe. We found out the problem my child's cord was in a complete knot. Not sure if the babies movement has slowed down for you, but you might want to check into this. Not sure why the Amnio fluid was low to this day. Hang in there my baby is now perfect and 26 yrs old . I was so scared, but it all worked out. Try not to worry and enjoy your sleep, because it will end soon with your new beautiful daughter. Good luck to you and yours!

L. - I am a 50 yr. old premie (I tipped the scales @ 4 lb. 2 oz. at birth, lost to 3 lbs. had to stay at hospital until I weighed 5 lbs. in order to go home.) All three of my children were born at or around 32-33 weeks. All of them at 6 lbs. + few oz. I wouldn't worry since you're at the best place possible in case anything goes wrong. For the boredom, have you thought about journalling your experiences for the last 10 months. Right now, I know it may seem that you'll never ever forget any of it. Age does have a way of creeping in, document, document, document!! Your child will thank you one day. Get a voice recorder to document. Do you do any kind of crafting? Plan your family Christmas presents to be handmade while you are waiting on YOUR Christmas present!!! Send me an e-mail I can help you! I love thinking up ideas!

I also have low amniotic fluid. My baby has been moving fine but my OB has us on close watch. I'm going to my OB every 2 days to be monitored and I am currently seeing a high risk pregnancy specialist due to the fact that I have low amniotic fluid. My husband and I have been in and out tof the doctors office not mention hospital due to this. They said the only thing that can be done on my part was to drink plenty of water and rest. I hope and pray everything goes well for you and your baby.

Dear friend, I can't say that I know about the low amniotic fluid problem, but I can totally relate to a high risk, problem pregnancy. I am a SAHM,& have 14 yr old son,& almost 5 yr old daughter. My kids were both born early at 35 wks. Both c-sections also. With my son I had major kidney failure ,& was in the hospital for 2 months, went home for less than a week, then back again for another month. That went on,& off for 4-5 months. I was so sick & miserable being in bed ,& in the hospital. I felt like a human incubator. I did alot of studying medical stuff trying to understand what was happening to me& my baby. I asked the nurses if I could watch their training/ teaching videos. They rolled in the tv with the VCR & videos. It helped me to understand,& helped with the boredom. He was 6 lbs even. In the NICU for only 5 days. Thank God. After that experience I was advised not to have more children because , it could take my life. So, I thanked God for my son,& spoiled him. LOL. Well, 10 yrs later, my husband ,& I concieved. I was terrified,& happy. It was a hard pregnancy also. She was very tiny ,& because of my Lupus she wasnt as formed like a 35 wk, but like a 30 wk baby. She was in the level 4 NICU for 3 1/2 wks. It was so hard on me with the pregnancies,& preemie babys. But, it was all worth the pain,& suffering for my 2 miracle babies. I just wanted you to know you are not alone with your troubles. And, if you are a believer, God will supply all your needs,& be your strenghth through it all. It seems so hard,& it was to be in the middle of that, it was all worth it for them. Try to get as much quiet rest now, because when your bundle of joy comes home , you will need it. I hope I have been able to at least offer you some hope& support. God bless you both. W.

i had low amniotic fluid with my daughter. i ended up doing bedrest at home at 32 weeks, with weekly sometimes biweekly sonograms. everything turned out perfectly! she was born at 36 1/2 weeks and was perfectly healthy.

my nephew was born 6 weeks early (not because of low fluid but high blood pressure) if your baby is going to be early they will probably start steroid type injections so that her lungs will mature quicker. it definitely worked with him!!he was perfectly healthy and spent no time in the NICU.

be prepared for anything but try not to worry, it just makes it worse!

as far as passing time, keep the laptop close by. sign up for netflix! get a gameboy , have lots of visitors! also check out some blogs, they are pretty entertaining! try blogspot.. heres mine to get you started :)

http://lifeandtimesofthehudsonfamily.blogspot.com/

hang in there, your precious baby will be here in no time!

My water broke at 23 weeks with my youngest who is now almost 5. I was in the hospital with minimal fluid for almost 2 weeks then she just didnt' want to hang out in there anymore!! She came at 25 weeks. Since there wasn't any fluid she couldn't move around. The fluid is baby pee so more water, juice and ice you drink the better... There is issue with infection but they will monitor you around the clock. Fever and High Blood Pressure are what they look for...

I was only in the hospital for those 2 weeks (she was there for 70 days) I had a laptop and surfed the internet. I also slept alot. Watched alot of movies and just TV in general. Also take some snacks with you. They don't come around that often with food!!! Hang in there.. you and the baby will be fine!! Good luck!!

Hi L.. I understand your concern but just remember that you can't stress yourself out because you are in a fragile state. I had low amniotic fluid when i was pregnant. My son is six months now! I was told to drink plenty of fluids and get plenty of rest to increase the fluid! I drank fluids even when I wasn't thirsty and I forced myself to rest! I am a busy body by the way which made it hard for me but i did it! My OB told me to drink good stuff like juice, water, or milk and to lessen my coke intake. I love coke! He said that the coke wouldn't count as a good choice because it wasn't good calories for the baby. I also ate plenty of fruits and vegetables and oh whole grain cereal and it helped me too. Once I ate better and rested more often I was good to go. My OB too had anticipated that I would deliver sooner than my due date but that wasn't the case at all. I strongly believe because I ate right and drank the good stuff that my son was born on time and at seven pounds eleven ounces. I hope this helps you. Congratulations on your pregnancy and I hope everything goes well.

Hello L.,

My friend was in bed rest for almost 4 months. she could do very little and had to make sure she drank lots of fluids. She delivered 6 weeks early and by the time she was two, her pediatrician said that she was not evaluating her as a primie. she caught up! WEll, her daughter turned 7 last march. find some good books, do some knitting, write letters, and rest and before you know it, your baby will be here. I pray for a healthy baby that you get patience and endurance for the next few weeks. Good luck! ~C.~

Hello L.,

I know every situation is different, but I had low amniotic fluid during my 2nd pregnancy and they never found the cause. I did not have a leak and no matter how much fluid I drank it did not increase my amniotic fluid levels. From 26 weeks on I went for a level 2 sonogram once a week so they could measure the pockets of fluid as well as the growth of the baby. Thankfully I never had to be put on bed rest. After my 33 week sono they scheduled me for a c-section the next morning because they had not seen the baby's growth increase for 2 weeks. I went in at 8 the next morning, scared and believing I was about to deliver a 4lb premi. The good news? He weighed 6 lbs 4 oz and was 100% healthy aside from a little jaundice. He is now 6 and in the 50% percintile for age/height for his age. I am very thankful there was nothing serious wrong, but it just goes to show you that even with all the technology we have now they don't know everything and the machines and tests are not always right. Good luck with the boredom and blessings to you and your little one.

hi L.,

i am too a first time mommy and just delivered my sweet little girl about 6 weeks ago. i was also told i had low amniotic fluid at 33 weeks and advised if it didn't increase i would have to be admitted into the hospital. briefly let me tell you that my birth plan did not involve a hospital, i was going to do a water birth, at home, all natural with a midwife. i did as much research as i could to see what i could do on my own to increase the level. this may not work for you, but i was told by the OB who did the sonogram, ( i was measuring small as well) to drink about a gallon and a half of water a day, and that measurements can vary drastically from day to day. my advice to you is drink as much water as you can and try and keep that little one in you as long as possible because the longer the better. 36 weeks is key to have your little one's immune system and lungs working as best as they can. trust your body and take good care!!! best of luck to you both.!!!

S...

ps: for your boredom, i can't recommend ENOUGH the book, INA MAY'S GUIDE TO CHILDBIRTH. it's beautifully written, and i still, after having birth, can go back to it and read the stories in it. i wish this was a mandatory reading for all mommies.

I had an amniocentesis (sp) which resulted in a punchure that caused me to leak fluid the from 4 months on. I would have to go into the hospital and lay still until the fluid built back up. I kept going into premature labor and the doctor gave me steroid shots to help develop the baby's lungs incase she came early. She did come 6 weeks early but at 3 lbs, she was able to breath on her own. She is now 19 and a Marine in Iraq. You would never know that she was premature. Just stay on bedrest and you should be fine. You may want to ask your doctor about steroid if there is a chance yours will be born early. Take care of yourself.

L.,

My hubby is a nurse and has done some work at Baylor Grapevine's antepartem unit. I know that the bedrest thing can be really boring...lots of books and movies and as many guests as possible. As for the low amniotic fluid, many times that leads to IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction) and if that is the case, yes, they would go ahead and take the baby out because it would be more beneficial. I know it can be scary, but keep your chin up, you will be just fine and the baby too! Good luck to ya!

One of my son's teacher (that we know well) wife had a baby in late September. They had to induce labor at about 36 weeks due to low amniotic fluid. I don't want to scare you, but this is a really, really serious condition and they are right to keep you in the hospital and monitor you carefully. Like you, the midwife noticed this at the regular appt and she was taken immediately to the hospital. So, you will be fine and they will know when the baby MUST be born. Our friend's baby would have died had they not induced that day. So, you are very lucky really that they have caught this know. Our friend's baby was 5+ pounds and is doing okay. But, please be prepared for feeding problems and if at all possible, setup a relationship with a lactation consultant ASAP, so you know all that you will need to do early on for a successful breastfeeding experience. Breastfeeding is even more important for these early babies since they are missing this last month of intense growth in the uterus. The problem is that smaller and early babies typically have difficulty with latching on and nursing vigorously enough to really stimulate the milk supply. So, be prepared for lots of pumping in the early days.

Also, given this situation, please make sure you have help lined up at home and meals for at least a month, if not two, since your transition period will be longer. Most early babies need extra time to adjust to being an infant (rather than a fetus in that nice comfy uterus). And, they do sometimes experiences more severe health issues after birth.

Good luck and my prayers are with you for a safe and healthy delivery for all!

You have received some great ideas. I just wanted to post and let you know that I am praying for you all. Blessings.

do you have a gaming system at home, maybe DH can bring it up and plug it into the TV. We did this with our PS2 which played movies as well, so my husband played games while I was asleep and I watched dvds when I was awake.

Have someone loan you a handheld video game player like a nintendo DS or something. I am a pediatric nursing student and that is what we use for kiddos on bedrest or post-surgery who arent supposed to move very much. I thought to myself when I was pregant and on bedrest for different reasons that would have been perfect! There are a lot of games types including puzzles, cooking, action, adventure . .. etc . . . pretty fun stuff. . .

I had low amnio and they sd to drink as much water and I started eating crushed ice and it helped. You can buy a bag of crushed ice from Sonic and I would eat a cup of ice, it helped increase the amount of water intake. Our son was born 33 weeks and he was breech of course but my water broke so there wasn't much they could do but deliver and he went right to NICU. He was larger since I also had Juenville diabetes with him. We were lucky he was border line as far as the lung development but his lungs were ok, so they didn't have to but him of any life support. But he was in a incubator and tubes one was feeding tube, and he had to much blood sugar so they had to lower that.

It was hard 2-3 weeks, the hardest was checking out of the hospital without the baby. But we got to come anytime to visit and in NICU you can't stay all the time, so they can help the baby and he had some juandace so he had to have time under special lights to get better. But we got to come in and get to feed the baby and bond with him. So

But before we knew it they said be ready your baby coming home. Since it was so early we had planned to fix the baby room and set up crib that weekend but then the baby came. We thought we had time since it was still 2 mo early.

Today you never know the baby was early and no health problems. MY 2cd child was born about 35wks and she was ok and she didnt have to go to NICU and got to stay in our room.
Get lots of rest, try ice or water and pray and it will all be ok.

L.,

I've been there! Two days after my fourth anniversary I was admited to the hospital because I had a leak in my amniotic sack. I was only 33 weeks and 5 days along and they were going to keep me in there until delivery. I thought I'd go stir crazy if I had to be there for six weeks!

Turns out they only let him stay in mama's belly until he was 35 weeks. It was a horrible time for me and my husband. I can relate to what you're going through.

During that stay we bought our portable DVD player. I spent a good amount of my time watching DVD's and TV. I also had my bible and novels. After I was off the Magnesium and the antibiotics and the IV was gone I pretty much could just do what ever, as long as I stayed in my room :)

We often had visitors, I think that was key. I think you're already going great by having a laptop and staying connected to the world while you're there.

Since I've been through a very similar thing, I'd love to come visit you and help pass the time. Let me know if you'd like the company.

Blessings,

S.

I did not have any experience with low fluid but had twins born at 28 weeks that were in the NICU. My only advice would be to have someone from the NICU come down and talk to you about what to expect in the NICU in case your little one has to spend anytime there. It can be very scary and overwhelming and if you have the info and know what to expect it might make it a little less stressful. If you make it to 34-35 weeks the baby should probably not have to spend anytime there. I know of a couple people who had their babies at 35 weeks and spent no time in the NICU. I almost delivered my 4th at 35 weeks and even though they did everything to stop my labor my OB reassured me that if they weren't able to stop it she would be great. Little girls lungs develop faster/better than little boys so that works to your advantage too. Best of luck.