Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) & Birth Injury
Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), also known as fetal growth restriction (FGR), is a condition in which compromised and abnormal intrauterine growth results in a smaller than average fetus. In cases of IUGR, fetal weight that is below the 10th percentile for gestational age. IUGR babies are at high risk for intrapartum hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and are delivered before 40 weeks gestation.
Transcript
IUGR is basically–it stands for intrauterine growth restriction. And what that simply means is that it’s a small baby. Babies can be small inside the mom for several reasons. One of them could be that the mom and dad are just small, and therefore the baby is small. Another reason the baby could be small is that the placenta and the umbilical cord, which feed and nourish the baby, are not working well. When the baby is small for dates or small or IUGR, a number of tests are done during the prenatal period. Doctors will do multiple ultrasound tests to see how the baby is growing. Also, doctors will perform tests such as a Doppler flow study. This is a type of study that tests how the flow is going through the placenta to the baby, and if that gets to be too low, they will deliver the baby right away.
There are various fetal well-being tests also done to see how the baby is doing. They will put the mother on a monitor to see how the baby’s heartbeat is, and they will also test the amniotic fluid which the baby floats in to make sure that’s at an adequate level.
Now the problem with this is when it’s an IUGR or a small baby, it’s a high-risk and they do not handle labor and delivery well. So all these tests are done during pregnancy to make sure the baby’s doing well. And if the baby starts to get into a situation which it’s not doing well or not getting adequate oxygen, the baby is delivered right away.
You can contact us at 888-419-2229. 888-419-BABY. We’re happy to talk to you and investigate the matter for you.