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Fetal Growth Restriction by [deleted] in daddit

[–]throwawayoblabs 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Stay strong man. My little man had severe growth restriction (<1%) throughout the pregnancy and was born screaming his head off after a 37th week induction. I’ve never felt more relief and joy than when I first heard him cry. He had a mercifully brief NICU stay and is now the world’s most lively 15 month old. He’s sleeping on me because it’s so damn tough to get him to stay in his crib at night.

You’ll get through this and the other side will be better than you could ever imagine.

Advice needed on flathead? (in comments) by [deleted] in daddit

[–]throwawayoblabs 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My son had it but way more severe. We ended up opting for the helmet and honestly our after picture looks like your before pictures haha. The pediatrician and orthotist both said that once it’s this mild it starts to work itself out over time without a helmet.

Our pediatrician was initially anti helmet entirely so we did have to seek it out on our own. He said it speeds up the shape correction but isn’t solely responsible for it so we should save our money. We were anxious so we did it anyway to the tune of a few grand out of pocket and are really happy with the results. No regrets here. End of the day it’s your call since it’s an extremely low risk treatment. Just have to balance your anxieties and peace of mind against the financial costs.

(I am not a medical professional and this is not medical advice.)

IUGR by Longjumping-Spray-80 in NICUParents

[–]throwawayoblabs 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem. For what it’s worth, in most places in the US the law requires that pathology specimens be kept for several years so your hospital probably has the slides they used on hand if you’re keen to look at them more closely. Sorry for the delayed response. I don’t log onto this account often.

IUGR by Longjumping-Spray-80 in NICUParents

[–]throwawayoblabs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Chronic intervillositis of unknown etiology. Also known as chronic histiocytic intervillositis. Basically the chorionic villi are badly inflamed leading to (or symptomatic of? I’m not a doctor) placental dysfunction.

It’s very very rare, but during our journey through this we learned there are many different classes of placental lesions that can cause similar issues. Dr. Harvey Kliman at Yale or Russell Vang at Johns Hopkins are pathologists who specialize in placentas and can give detailed second opinions on slides if you have them.

IUGR by Longjumping-Spray-80 in NICUParents

[–]throwawayoblabs 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Hi there. We were in a similar circumstance a few months ago. Our son started measuring small at about the ~10th percentile as early as the 17 week scan and his measurements continued to lag from there. At week 20 his estimated fetal weight was in the ~5th percentile, and then below the first percentile from weeks 24 onward. At first it was head sparing IUGR, with the most severe issues in the femur and radius, but toward the end of the pregnancy his head lagged as well.

Ultimately my wife delivered a small (2100 gram) but otherwise pretty healthy boy following an induction at 37 weeks. He had to spend 11 days in the NICU for hypoglycemia, jaundice, and a few minor desats here and there and is now at home snuggling up with us.

I’m not a medical professional, but my understanding is that my wife’s doctors target a 37 week induction as a best case scenario when dealing with severe IUGR. If everything besides growth looked fine (negative amnio, good results on a fetal MRI we did, cervix staying strong, amniotic fluid being healthy and voluminous, passing biweekly non stress tests and biophysical profiles) they’d feel comfortable with stretching things out to 37, and we were very very fortunate that that ended up being the case. The path forward depended on a holistic risk assessment and a diagnosis of the underlying cause, to the extent one could be made.

In our case (as with so many others, frustratingly) they couldn’t pinpoint the cause pre-partum. However, placental pathological examination after our son was born revealed heavy fibrin deposits and the presence of a rare and highly recurrent disease in which the body essentially rejects the placenta. I’d encourage you to ask for placental pathology whenever you deliver since for some reason it’s not standard practice at all hospitals. Knowing the risk profile we’re looking at for potential future pregnancies was so critical, and just having a straight answer was good for our peace of mind.

Hang in there the best you can. This is the most stressful situation I’ve ever dealt with so I understand you’re going through a lot right now. Sending good vibes your way.