Seeking Some Answers to an Undiagnosed Fetus That Is Severely Undergrown.

You don't say how far along you are. At 8mos my son was said to be not growing for the past month. My doctor, who specializes in complicated pregnancies, Dr Garbaciak, said that he would have to induce and do it immediately. He did and the inducement didn't work, so I ended up having a c-section. My son was fine. He was small, under six pounds, and has some developmental delays. He is very smart, but very uncoordinated. At six, he still can't catch a ball, but he is in first grade and does very well in school. There are so many different reasons, please don't panic. Good luck.

Dear M.,

I feel for you. How many months pregnant are you?

In 1989 I has an incomplete pregnancy. I had all the signs and symptoms of being pregnant, but the doctor said that just the amniotic sac was formed, and no baby. Because, nature had recognized that this pregnancy was not viable, my body started the process of expel the tissue. The doctor said I could wait it out for my body to finish the process, or he could do a proceedure on me to remove the incomplete pregnany. I opted for his help. A year later I had my son who is now 16.

Guess what I am trying to say, that if there is a problem, God has put into place a way to let us know that something is not right...and the body will show these symptoms. I look at children as God does, that they are a blessing. They are meant to be born. I would tell your doctor, "No more tests". IF you start having problems, (cramping, bleeding, or feeling bad,) then seek the doctors advice.

I will be standing in the gap in prayer for you...God is our mighty Physician. God Bless you and your family.

C.

Hi M.,I am sure you are feeling terribly scared at this point. Are you petite or your family members? I have a friend who is Japanese and small and her husband is anglo and very tall/thin, however, when she was pregnant on both occasions she was told they were small for gestational age. The ultra sounds measured their thighs and arms to be short. Both babies were fine and just happen to be more japanese in height. both children are very bright and fine at 4 and 6. My nephew was also small and has always been short on the growth charts but he is bright and plays all sports. He was going to take growth hormomes at one point but they didn't want to put him through all the shots. He is a cute 9 yr old now who does well in school. His grandparents are short, 5 ft and 5'3", and his dad is 5'7", mom is alittle taller than dad. If you had a level 2 ultrasound and it shows the skeletal structures as normal and the doppler shows the heart and vessels to be normal and organs are normal then perhaps it isn't so bad. I had my third son at 37. They thought he might have downs syndrome when I was pregnant but he was fine. He is 19 months now and a short stocky little guy who does everything. His height is at 25% on the charts. He was born at 38 weeks, 6lbs, 8 oz. I am 5'9" and dad is 6'3"! His two older brothers were taller. You never know what genes will present themselves in your family tree. Hang in there and think the best!

M.

How far along are you? Have you had an Amniocentesis or CVS for genetics testing? I know they can't test for everything with those, but I thought the major genetics disorders could be identified that way. I had a daughter with Trisomy 18, she was small from the get-go. Each U/S she kept getting more and more behind in size. At 15 weeks when I went in for the amnio appt, the Perinatologist was able to see on U/S that she had other problems that were related to her disorder.

My understanding is that the farther along you are, the more inaccurate the U/S's are in measuring baby's size. I had one at 26 weeks with my son because my fundal height was measuring 24 weeks. On the U/S he still measured small, but then I had many U/S's at 28-30 (cause I was on hospital bedrest) and he measured fine. When he was born at 30 weeks, 5 days, he was of normal size for his gestational age.

I've seen/heard of many babies born with IUGR, where it wasn't really known what the cause was. All of these kids were normal chromosomally. With known causes, I've heard of preclampsia, problems with the cord, Mom's nutrition (if she's having constant M/S), etc.

I really like the Perinatologists at the UofA - Dr. Kathryn Reed and Dr. James Macuilla. I'd go for a second opinion with one of them to try to find out what's going on!

Best wishes!

First I'm sorry. Second, I went through a very similar situation with countless tests and doctors visits. I was pregnant with twins 2 years ago (my son was completely healthy and perfect) but my daughter had severe growth retardation. I had an amnio done at 28 weeks that came back negative for all of the common genetic disorders. The doctors convinced me at 32 weeks to be admitted to the hospital for either an emergency c-section or constant fetal monitoring. I assumed that whatever was wrong with my daughter, the doctors could fix so I convinced my husband that we should go ahead with the c-section. My son was born at almost 5 pounds healthy but had to be put on a respirator for a week because of his lung growth. My daughter was born at a little under 2 pounds. She had several different complications and at 1 week old the geneticst did a muscle biopsy to determine if she had a Mitochondrial Disease. To make a long story short, the biopsy results were never finalized but the geneticist and neurologist both agree this is what my daughter was born with. There are MANY forms of this but because it is so rare and the only way that it can be verified is through a muscle biopsy done under anesthesia when the baby is born.
I hope this is not your case and I am not diagnosing your unborn baby but because it is so rare I am unsure how many doctors look into this. My twins were born at Good Samaritan and stayed at the Phoenix Childrens NICU there - if this is of any help. For the most part the doctors were very good, they just didn't know what to do for her.
I wish you the best.

Have they checked for Down Syndrome? There is blood test that checks for that.

M.,
I can imagine your heart is burdened. Please know dear lady that you are loved. I am writing to share my experience. When I was 23 and expecting our first child the ultrasound showed that our baby had a two vessel umbelical cord. The umbelical cord should have three vessels (two arteries, and one vein). In Carellyn's (our daughter's name)there was only one artery and one vein. This in itself is usually not life threatening, but many babies that are born with spinal bifida also have this anomoly. What the perinatologists were looking at was her growth rate. I had an ultrasound every four to six weeks and they did find that she was growing much slower than most fetuses. She was born healthy and full term, but only weighed 5 1/2 lbs., 17in. long. Our daughter is now 13. She is still a petite girl ( 4' 11" and 85lbs) and does grow slower than our other two children. I would ask your doctors about your baby's umbilical cord and about the ultrasound report.
God give you His peace durring this time.
C. T.

M.,
How far along are you?? I was diagnosed with an inneruterin growth restriction during my 5th month of my last pregnancy. My daughter also had visable kidney abonormalities. The Perinatologist decided to induce me at 37 weeks and my daughter weighed 5 lbs. I know that doesn't seem so small but just a week and half earlier she was just barely over 3 pounds. It was very stressful and I didn't handle the stress well, I cried a lot and worried a great deal, but she is healthy and happy. What other conditions have you researched?
~M.

I know this might be a little late...but have they checked for Primoridal Dwarf Syndrome (sp?)?? I was doing some research online last night and most of the mom's had amino's and genetic testing done and everything was fine...the babies were just small. It is something to look into. Good luck and keep praying!

J.

I had a similar situation but it wasn't until later in gestation. At my 36 week check up I was told that my baby hadn't grown since 32 weeks and that I would need to be induced. After going through a gamet of tests, they couldn't find the cause. At 36 weeks and 3 days I delivered a healthy baby girl that is now 4 years old. Even after birth, no one was sure of the cause. However, the umbilical cord was extremely shorter than most and they hypothesized that as she began to descend into the birth canal that it was stretching the cord and was depriving her of nutrition. For my second pregancy, they sent me to an ultrasound specialist to measure the length of the cord and blood flow etc, etc but everything was normal. I know that it can be really scary to think that something might be wrong with your baby... and that nothing anybody says will change that. Just have faith in God and know that I will be praying for you. God bless you and your family! Please let me know if I can answer any questions for you. You are welcome to contact me if I can be of any help.

Hi M.-

I know this is scary and I am so sorry to hear about your situation. My Daughter Kendyl was born in August 2005. She was born at 5lbs 10oz. Other then her being very small she was completely healthy, what I later found out was that she had a growth restiction, basically meaning that my body was not feeding her the right amount. I went in for a bio-physical ever week from the time I was 27 weeks until I was 35weeks when I started going in 2xweek, which continued until she was born at 37weeks and 1day.

I would suggest if you have not already, look into going to Maturnial(sp?) Fetal Medicine at Mermorial. That is where I went from the time I was 11weeks along, due to the fact that I had a high risk pregnunacy, because I had 4 miscarriages before my daughter was born. Anyhow they are one of the top group of doctors in the State that deal in special cases.

There are many things to be concerned with, and right now the best you can do is to make sure you are getting the best care and then just focus on staying healthy and positive for you and your little one. Having lost babies in the past anywhere from 7weeks to 7monthes along I know it is hard not to worry and not to feel helpless, but try not to stress yourself to much. I will keep in my prayers and thoughts. One thing that always helped me was something my grandma told me "God is in the myst of your mircles and in the middle of your Chaos", meaning he is always nearby and know exactly how to comfort you. Good luck please keep me posted on how you are doing and above all be blessed.

C.

P.S. Sorry for spelling errors

Hi M., is not for hope, positive or negative, but one of my best friend the doctors dignosis the 2 last babies with abnormal fetal and mental retardation severe than a Down Sindrome(have a name but now I do not remember it)and not expectations to survive the delivery, we was geting ready for the grief and lost, and believe me was very hard, but i do not know what happended now she have a beatiful 3 y.o girl and a 2 y.o boy perfectly normal. then, my advice is to try to be calm and see what God want maybe are a very special job waiting for you. God know to who send that task. But do not stress out before time (I know that sound easier than what is). My best wishes for you and your baby. A.

Hi M. ! I am not sure for the cause in your situation, but I do know that Doctors make mistakes. When I was Pregnant with my second child, they told me she had Down Syndrome. I went in for an amnio and it was negative. Then the doctor told me that my baby might not make it because she was under weight. The measure the weight by length of femur. I was told that if my baby lived that she would be less than 4 pounds. Well let me tell you. When she was born, she weighed almost 8 pounds. THe doctors may be correct. But also keep in mind that you can get a gestational age wrong. Your baby can be up to three weeks older or three weeks younger. They give you that gap and gestational age ranges in between there. That is unless you know the exact date of conception. Anyway, I hope I have given you some answers to what might be a mistake. One more thing PUSH....Pray Until Something Happens...Pray Pray Pray!

M. -
I was diagnosed with IUGR with my second pregnancy. I had ultrasounds every two to three weeks from 24 weeks on. The docs never found a reason from ultrasound for my son's slow growth. I was induced at 38 weeks and gave birth to a healthy 5lb 8oz 18.5in baby boy. That was in 1988, he is now 18 years old, 6ft 2in tall and weighs 130lbs. We think if he keeps eating he'll grow out of his small birth size!

It was discovered at birth that his placenta was deformed and not supplying him with the nutrition he needed. This was something they couldn't tell from ultrasound at that time. It was a very stressful time for my husband and I, especially the not knowing. Be strong, know that you and your husband are supported with prayer. If there is anything I can do for you personally, please give me a call or email.

Sincerely,
R. CD(DONA)
from heaven to earth
birth doula services
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Unfortunately, I have not heard much about this problem. I have had two successful pregnancies and births through midwives, however; I only had doctors as a back-up. There are times when doctors are too quick to judge anything different as dangerous. I, myself, was born at the right time but was only a bit over five pounds, because my mother smoked during her pregnancy. I was otherwise healthy. I don't know if you have pregnancy books, but I'd recommend educating yourself as much as you can through your local library, bookstores, etc. I'd also highly recommend any advice a midwife can give you; many have helped deliver more babies than doctors have and know more! (Check out their credentials first, obviously). If your husband can help you gather all of this information, then let him. I will pray for you.

I am sorry you are going through such a scary time. I can relate to your story in another way, not exactly you situation. When I was pregnant with my first daughter I started spotting in my first trimester around 10 weeks I think it was so my Dr. sent me for an u/s. They found a hemerage that had started growing right under where my little baby implanted and it was pushing her away from the uterus wall. The Dr. gave me 50% chance of losing my baby. How rare it was for this to happen was only really left up to my imagination and the reactions of the Drs when they saw it. Which to me they seemed very shocked. I mean the chances of this hemerage happening at the exact spot where my daughter implanted?! They did another u/s after a few weeks and gave me a 70% chance of losing her, hemerage was growing, not so much the baby. Than on the 3rd u/s I heard my Dr. calling for the results of my u/s outside of the room, at the time I didnt know it was for my results. All I could here was....oh...really...oh my.. are you sure.. She came in and looked at me with complete shock and told me that the hemerage was completely gone. She said she has never seen that happen before. It was like it was never there. 3 weeks later the next U/s showed a healthy baby GIRL, small but healthy. Those 6 weeks of not knowing worried me to no end, it was the hardest time of my life. I have the most beautiful 8 year old now that is just full of life. Still alittle on the small side but catching up fast. Things can turn around in a heartbeat! After that I learned to not look at the darkside of things, there is always a chance of good, even when its not expected by anyone, even Drs. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

How small is your baby? I had a friend who just had a baby and everyone was terribly worried about his size... he was very small and still is at nearly a year but is thriving. I hope this is the case with your little one and I will be praying for you and your family!