Information Needed on Intrauterine Growth Retardation

Dear C.,

I just went to a website that explained IUGR. It is so complicated, but looks to me like it means that the baby does not weigh as much as she should now at the gestational age she is. Sometimes they are just born weighing less than the usual baby does. Then they develop at their own rate, sometimes nothing more happens. Morbidity and mortality means that the baby may weaker than usual.

With the loving care and nourishment and a close warm family and environment that you give her will bring her through this early time of her life. You will really enjoy every moment, and feel so lucky to have her. My grand daughter had a baby that was born very small even though she was a full term baby, and she told me that the doctor told her that the baby may not live, but she just did live with the usual mothering and extra attention to the food and loving. The baby is now about 2 and is a normal busy two year old. You are lucky to have her, and she is lucky to have you for a Mother. You will have a great time with her. C. N.

C.,

My son was diagnosed with IUGR when I was pregnant with him. However, it was not labeled Intrauterine growth retardation, but instead Intrauterine Growth Restriction. Big difference. I am wondering which the child has. If it is IUGR (Intrauterine Growth Restiction) then I can tell you my son is absolutely perfect. I was very worried last month before he was born on May 18th and I had sent a request out to the Mom's on this site to help with what it could mean. I got back lots of good responses, that made me feel much better. Aaron was born 5 LBS., I OZ and it is now one month later and he is well over 7 LBS and thriving wonderfully. The Moms on this site gave great advice. Here are some of the responses I had gotten:

Mom #1:
I have had IUGR with my three kids. My oldest was 37 weeks and 5lbs 2oz. He spent 3 days in NICU. My second was 37 weeks and 4lbs 3oz. She spent 3 days in NICU. My third was 36 weeks and 4lbs 11oz. She only spent a couple of hours in the NICU just for observation. None of them have any complications to the IUGR. The first two were natural and the third was an emergency C. They are all doing great now. You would of not know that they were so small. You and your baby will be O.K. I had great doctors taking care of me. It made me feel so at ease knowing that the doctors were right there for me. Take it easy and get some rest now. Good Luck.

Mom #2:
I have had 2 IUGR babies. My first was 4 lbs 6 oz 17 3/4" at 35 weeks. She was in the NICU for 2 weeks. My 2d was 38 weeks 5 lbs 14oz 17". She was fine and came home with me. Both my girls are great now. You would never know they were that small.

Mom #3:
My now 4 year old daughter was delivered by C-Section at 28 weeks due to severe early onset IUGR. She was a 1lb 4oz preemie. She had a lot of complications due to being so tiny, but a very different scenerio than what you're dealing with. But, today she is a healthy and happy 4 year old.

Mom #4:
A good friend had 2 IUGR children both were delivered near term at around the same weight as your baby is expected to be. There were no complications and her children are now 7 & 10 with no lasting effects.

I know it is a scary time for you. Hugs and best wishes!

Mom #5:
I experienced IUGR in both of my pregnancies, with my daughter who is now 3.5 yrs old at about 26 weeks I noticed my stomach was not growing as much as I thought it should and when I asked my Dr's(I saw a team of 3 different DR's) they kept telling me that I was fine, the 3rd Dr I saw in my 37th week ordered an ultra sound and about 4 days later I got a call saying that I needed to get to the hospital to induce because the baby was not "thriving" due to IUGR, I was so upset and scared because all along I knew something was not right, I had Madison at about 2 weeks early and she weighed 5lbs 9oz they took her imediately from me and did test on her I saw her about 3 hours later and they said she was completely healthy. When she was 9 months old I became pregnant again (not planned) and this time they tested me from day 1 because my histroy of IUGR, I had to go in for an ultrasound every 3-4 weeks for my entire pregnancy with Ethan and at 35 weeks they decided to do a c-section because he was not "thriving" I remember from my 32 week ultrasound to my 35th they said he had not grown at all!! they also told me that he was probably 3-5 pounds give or take. So once again I was very scared and worried, but he weighed 5lbs 5oz and they did the same testing on him and said that he was completely healthy, and that he was actually right on target for a 35 week old, the nurse also told me that she didn't believe that I actually had IUGR that I just have small babies. So I was so relieved because I thought that it was something I had done. Needless to say both of my kids are very healthy and have rarely been sick I think partly due to the fact that I breastfed both of them for 18 months. I guess I am just trying to let you know that you and your baby should be fine, You will probably just have a tiny little bundle of joy. Good luck. Tawnya

Congratulations! I have twins and one was concered to be IUGR. They were born 35 weeks by emergency c-section, doc said he would be better off if they got them out. he was 2lbs 3oz he did have 3 holes in his heart and chronic lung desease he also had a blocked intestine he did have to have surgery to remove the blockage and and illiastomy for a few months. The holes in his heart did close 2 with medication and the third just last summer on its own, his brother was 5lbs 5oz.
They are 3 now and we are still working with him, we have had a lot of test done and to this day they have not found any syndroms to be the cause. He is still small but very intelagent. He started walking just months before he turned 2. His speech is a work in progress, compared to his brother who is bilingual at 3 he is way behind. But for him he is doing great. You can tell he is a thinker, he looks and examines things closly.
Just give your new baby all the love you have and that child will be just fine, things may come slower for them but just to see the look of their face when you praise them for something they go good is well worth it.
I hope i did not scare you but that is my experience, and if you have the love then you will do just fine.
Good luck

Congratulations on your soon to be adoption! How old is the baby? I don't have any firsthand knowledge about this specific illness, but both of my boys were "low birth weight" and born prematurely due to me having Pre-Eclampsia. They are both very bright, active, healthy, normal boys (they are now 10 and 7).

I did a quick Google search and it brought up lots of articles/information on IUGR. This is a quote from one of the articles "Some infants born with IUGR have cognitive and medical problems, although for most infants the long-term prognosis is good."

Best wishes! and happy parenting.