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Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), is a condition signifying the slow growth of a baby during pregnancy.

❕ In this condition, the size of the baby is smaller than the average size at that pregnancy age .

Reasons For Restricted Growth Of Fetus During Pregnancy

𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒚-𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒚𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

❗ An increased blood pressure during pregnancy may indicate hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (gestational hypertension, chronic hypertension preeclampsia).

👉🏻 The flow of blood to the placenta is reduced, cutting down on the supply of sufficient oxygen and supplements to the fetus, thereby leading to slow fetal growth.

𝑴𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔

❗ In some cases of multiple pregnancies, the slow fetal development is because of the inefficiency of the placenta to meet the nutritional demands of the multiple babies.

𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔

❗ Any infections transferred from the mother during pregnancy can lead to slow fetal growth.

𝑳𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒎𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒔

❗ It is necessary to have sufficient amniotic fluid in the sac for normal fetal development to happen.

𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚

❗ In this condition, the placenta does not work properly. This leads to insufficient supply of oxygen and nutrients to the baby from its mother, resulting in slow growth

❗ Other maternal and fetal reasons include:

👉🏻 Small size of the mother, leading to constitutionally small baby

👉🏻 The mother’s nutritional intake during pregnancy

👉🏻 Abnormal shape or size of the womb

👉🏻 Chronic illness in the mother such as sickle cell disease, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease

👉🏻 Chromosomal abnormalities such as Turner Syndrome and Down Syndrome in the fetus

👉🏻 Genetic and skeletal abnormalities in the fetus

Slow fetal growth can also occur due to the lifestyle of the mother, such as if she:

‼ smokes

‼ is underweight

‼ drinks alcohol

‼ takes drugs

‼ follows poor diet

‼ is exposed to high doses of radiation or chemicals

During your antenatal checkup, your baby’s size will be monitored and the measurements will be put on a growth chart. If the doctor finds any abnormality, she does an ultrasound scan to measure the baby’s growth accurately.

Fetal growth measurement is important because slow growth could lead to certain health problems for the baby.