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