Low Amniotic Fluid once...will It Happen Again?

The first time around with triplets, I had low fluid at 34 weeks with my son and they could not measure him clearly. They were born a few days later due to infant distress with one of my girls. They were just going to monitor me. The second time around this year, I kept asking about problems that would come up. No problems this time around. She actually decided to hold out another week. Talking to other moms, the amount of fluids you take in affects the amount of amniotic fluid, and of course there could be other issues. It is very hard not to be nervous when you have had problems before, but try to relax and just keep asking questions. the next 5 weeks will fly by. Good Luck.

I had the same thing happen to me with my daughter who is now 2. Low amniotic fluid and also a growth restriction. My son, who is now 7 months old had no problems what so ever. They kept measureing my uterus to make sure he was growing every week and had ultrasounds at least once a month to be sure, but it was smooth sailing. I did nothing different from the first pregnancy so you never know. I was worried also when I was pregnant with my son especially since my daugther stopped growing at 24 weeks ( which wasnt caught until I was already 9 months) miracle baby really! I know your scared but each pregnancy is different and you might find that things happen MUCH differently with this one. I was induced also with my first and was hoping and praying that I wouldnt have to be with my second because I heard that the pain is more tolerable natural than being induced. They were right! Night and day difference. With my second my husband had to deliver because everything happened so fast. 1 1/2 labor and didnt have enough time. :)

The reason docs get worried about low fluid is that it's an indicator of how well blood is flowing from the placenta to the baby. So if you have low fluid and it can't be brought up by staying well-hydrated, they worry about the baby. Fortunately, it's unlikely that you'd have placenta problems a second time. I had low fluids with my last pregnancy, but I was also over 41 weeks pregnant at the time (so they were worried about the placenta getting old at that point). Fortunately for me and my baby, I went into labor the same day they did the measurements, so I didn't have to be induced.

I had low fluid with my first child and became dehydrated also. I was not a big water drinker at the time.

My second child I had no problem, but I also was much more diligent about drinking water in that pregnancy.

I assume there is some correlation, but who knows?

Hope that helps some!
D.
www.TheReadingMother.com

Congratulations on your two girls!!

Your amniotic fluid replaces itself every 3 hours, so if you had an ultra sound and it shows low fluid, if you drank a ton of water and had a 2nd scan 3-4 hours later, you might get a different result.

Keeping up your fluids is your best bet to it not happening again.

I do know that its hard to not stress when you've encountered issues with a prior pregnancy!

Try to enjoy your last 10 weeks!!

Congrats Again,
B.

Hi!
I was just like you and had low amniotic fluid at 36 weeks with my son. Unfortunately it was discovered at about 25 weeks that I had it with my daughter. I was measuring too small so they did an ultrasound. It turned out to be a complicated situation of low amniotic fluid and a growth restriction. So LONG story short I went to the dr. 3xs a week and specialist at Loyola and they induced me at 35 weeks(when she stopped growing) and I had a baby girl who was 4lb 11 oz. They assure me that it is a minimal risk of it happening again if I have another baby--we are not planning on it. I don't know if this was at all related to the low fluid I had with my son--he was 9lbs, but the doctors say it is unrelated. Just have them monitor it closely and try not to worry(easier said than done).

Good Luck!!
L.