New Years Day 2010 began with a positive pregnancy test - we were so excited to be expecting a third baby! However we had concerning news at our 19 week morphology scan where it was found he was measuring 2 weeks behind. A follow up growth scan was ordered for a months time though doctors weren't overly concerned due to my complication free pregnancies with our two boys Jai and Taj. I noticed our baby moving less and less in the week leading up to the scan and we were devestated to find at the scan that he had passed. I was induced that night and after a relatively short labour gave birth to our son Anil in the early hours of the 20th of May 2010 at 23weeks gestation. An autopsy was done and at 6 weeks post-partum we were told that he had been perfectly healthy and they didn't know why he hadn't survived...it was just "one of those things" and unlikely to happen again.
February 2011 we found we were expecting again and so began a worrisome and nerve racking rollercoaster ride. I had constant cramping throughout the first trimester and unexplained bleeds at 16 and 25 weeks. My asthma was out of control even on a preventative and we held off telling most about our pregnancy till after the 19 week morphology scan where it was found our little boy was measuring spot on for dates. This was a relief but we still found ourselves holding our breath till we hit 23 weeks. That was one of the longest weeks of our lives. As soon as I hit 24 weeks it was like a weight was lifted and we began to believe everything would be ok. I finally got excited and began to look forward to the rest of our pregnancy and having a baby. It was a wonderful stress-free week. Then we hit 25 weeks and had a call from the GP I'd been under shared care with when pregnant with Anil. To cut a very long story short over a very stressful week we found we had only had the initial report till now and there was now a final report. It turned out that the placenta had failed Anil and that's why he wasn't able to grow properly and also that there was a high chance of this recurring in future pregnancies. After meetings at the hospital and finding my fundul height hadn't changed in 2 weeks a growth scan was ordered and he was found to be measuring 2 weeks behind and they suspected a clot in the placenta. We were transferred to Liverpool Fetal Maternal Unit for more intensive monitoring.
Scans at Liverpool FMU confirmed that our son was IUGR (Intra Uterine Growth Restricted) and while blood flow was within normal range it wasn't optimal. We had repeat dopplers (scans to check blood flow) every 3 days to begin with and when there were no changes over 3 appointments we had a 2 week gap between growth scans. When we went back after those 2 weeks we found he had had only minimal growth and there was evidence that blood flow was becoming restricted in the cord. We were preparing for the worst when we went back 2 days later to find blood flow was back to what it had been!
I was now having CTG monitoring (heart rate trace) with every visit too, and while on Monday at 31 weeks blood flow was still not too bad, on Thursday they measured growth again and found evidence of redistribution (meaning our babies body is sending more oxygen to his brain to preserve it so it had grown more than his body, this happens when the baby is not getting enough through the cord) and also increasing resistance in the cord again. It was decided it's time for me to be given steroids to help his lungs. I went back for a further shot today (Friday) and had more monitoring as he had been quiet this morning. I had a mild reaction to the steroids but after some initial uncertainty on their behalf and pleading on mine they still let me have the 2nd dose. We will have monitoring again on Sunday, then Tuesday another CTG, doppler scans and a tour of the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). They will then do the c-section (our little man is stubbornly breech!) by the end of the week. Our babies estimated weight is 1160gms and he will be born at 32 weeks gestation (though measuring 3-4 weeks behind).
Sorry for the long post, and that was the short version!
