Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsMedical Problems From IUGRCausesTypesDiagnosisTreatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Medical Problems From IUGR
Causes
Types
Diagnosis
Treatment
IUGR can cause difficulties with breathing and feeding after birth or other long-term neurological issues. It also increases the risk ofstillbirth(death of the infant soon after birth) and is the second leading cause of such deaths.
IUGR is about 6 times as common in developing countries compared to countries with greater resources.However, it can affect pregnant people and infants across the world.
Katrina Wittkamp/Photodisc / Getty Images
Infants with IUGR are likely to have certain medical problems after birth. Some of these are:
These babies are also at risk of having longer-term issues, including significant neurological problems (likecerebral palsy). Others are more subtle neurological and developmental problems, like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or anintellectual disability.
Infants born with IUGR may also have an increased chance of having certain illnesses when they are adults. For example, they may be more likely to develop heart disease and diabetes.
Additional Symptoms From Underlying CausesSome, but not all, infants have additional symptoms from the underlying problem causing their IUGR. For example, an infant born with a severe genetic abnormality causing IUGR may have problems in multiple parts of the body, like their heart or lungs, as well as severe developmental delay.
Additional Symptoms From Underlying Causes
Some, but not all, infants have additional symptoms from the underlying problem causing their IUGR. For example, an infant born with a severe genetic abnormality causing IUGR may have problems in multiple parts of the body, like their heart or lungs, as well as severe developmental delay.
Increased Risk of Birth Interventions
Risk of Stillbirth
Fetuses who are small for their age because of IUGR have an increased risk of being stillborn. Compared to fetuses who are average in size, they have a fourfold increased risk.This risk is even greater if IUGR is only recognized as a problem after delivery.
Parental Issues
Pregnant people who have IUGR don’t experience symptoms directly from it. However, a pregnant person might notice that this fetus isn’t moving as much as fetuses in previous pregnancies. They also might notice that they aren’t gaining as much weight as they did in past pregnancies.
Some pregnant people also have underlying medical issues that might be contributing to IUGR, likepreeclampsia.This complication of pregnancy causes very high blood pressure and swelling.
Causes of IUGR
The causes of IUGR are complex and not fully understood. The causes involved vary based on the specific situation.
Some other problems that can lead to IUGR or increase its risk are:
Types of IUGR
Babies with IUGR are sometimes distinguished as having either “symmetrical” IUGR or “asymmetrical” IUGR, as follows:
What Causes Each Type?
Infants born with symmetrical IUGR are likely to be on the small side for the rest of their lives. They may be at an increased risk of having long-term issues from being born with IUGR, like neurological problems.
On the other hand, infants born with asymmetrical IUGR are less likely to have ongoing issues. They are also more likely to achieve a height and weight in line with their mother’s and father’s sizes.
IUGR is sometimes diagnosed from a fetal weight, which is lower than 90% of other fetuses of that same age. This weight can be estimated on a normal pregnancy screening test orultrasound. Another closely related term is “small for gestational age” (SGA). That’s an infant that is in those same percentiles for weight.
However, it’s important to note that some of these infants are perfectly healthy—they are just on the small side because they have inherited genes for small size from their parents. So, even though they are small compared to other fetuses of the same age, they are actually growing completely normally.
However, some infants might not be gaining weight normally (perhaps due to placental insufficiency), but their weight might be just a little too high to meet the 90% criterion.They might have been getting enough nutrients early in the pregnancy, but not near the end of it. These fetuses may also be at higher risk for medical problems, like stillbirth.
Artery Analysis
Doppler ultrasound of certain blood vessels can give some clues about IUGR. This test uses sound waves to get information about how blood is flowing through certain vessels.
In a fetus with IUGR, the umbilical artery (which carries waste products from the fetus to the pregnant parent) may show abnormalities in terms of its blood flow, as may the uterine artery. These can also be diagnostic clues.
Through analyzing the relationships among these arteries, your healthcare provider may get some clues about whether intrauterine growth restriction might be a problem.
Other Tests for Underlying Causes
In some cases, you might also need tests to determine underlying causes. For example, you might need tests to check for certain kinds of infection.
What It Means to Have Leaking Amniotic Fluid
Physical Exam
Babies with IUGR may have additional physical characteristics at birth in addition to small size, including:
Unfortunately, there is no cure for IUGR and it can’t be treated directly in most cases. But there is a lot that can be done to manage the problem and increase the chance of a healthy pregnancy.
Key monitoring tests include:
What’s a Normal Fetal Heart Rate During Pregnancy?
Parental Health
It’s important that the pregnant person is monitored to stay as healthy as possible. If you have a medical condition that might be contributing to IUGR (likehigh blood pressure), you’ll get treatment for that.
Planning for Delivery
If you have IUGR, you may find it helpful to work with a specialist trained inhigher-risk pregnancies. If the problem is severe, you might need monitoring in the hospital prior to birth.
Summary
A Word From Verywell
What You Need to Know About Pregnancy
9 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Shrivastava D, Master A.Fetal growth restriction.J Obstet Gynaecol India. 2020;70(2):103-110. doi:10.1007/s13224-019-01278-4Nardozza LM, Caetano AC, Zamarian AC, et al.Fetal growth restriction: Current knowledge.Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2017;295(5):1061-1077. doi:10.1007/s00404-017-4341-9Sharma D, Shastri S, Sharma P.Intrauterine growth restriction: Antenatal and postnatal aspects.Clin Med Insights Pediatr. 2016;10:67-83. doi:10.4137/CMPed.S40070Bardien N, Whitehead CL, Tong S, Ugoni A, McDonald S, Walker SP.Placental insufficiency in fetuses that slow in growth but are born appropriate for gestational age: A prospective longitudinal study.PLoS One. 2016;11(1):e0142788. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0142788Roberts JM, Escudero C.The placenta in preeclampsia.Pregnancy Hypertens. 2012;2(2):72-83. doi:10.1016/j.preghy.2012.01.001Kennedy LM, Tong S, Robinson AJ, et al.Reduced growth velocity from the mid-trimester is associated with placental insufficiency in fetuses born at a normal birthweight.BMC Med. 2020;18(1):395. doi:10.1186/s12916-020-01869-3Zhang C, Ding J, Li H, Wang T.Identification of key genes in pathogenesis of placental insufficiency intrauterine growth restriction.BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2022;22(1):77. doi:10.1186/s12884-022-04399-3Cohen E, Baerts W, van Bel F.Brain-sparing in intrauterine growth restriction: Considerations for the neonatologist.Neonatology. 2015;108(4):269-76. doi:10.1159/000438451Nemours Kids Health.Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).
9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Shrivastava D, Master A.Fetal growth restriction.J Obstet Gynaecol India. 2020;70(2):103-110. doi:10.1007/s13224-019-01278-4Nardozza LM, Caetano AC, Zamarian AC, et al.Fetal growth restriction: Current knowledge.Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2017;295(5):1061-1077. doi:10.1007/s00404-017-4341-9Sharma D, Shastri S, Sharma P.Intrauterine growth restriction: Antenatal and postnatal aspects.Clin Med Insights Pediatr. 2016;10:67-83. doi:10.4137/CMPed.S40070Bardien N, Whitehead CL, Tong S, Ugoni A, McDonald S, Walker SP.Placental insufficiency in fetuses that slow in growth but are born appropriate for gestational age: A prospective longitudinal study.PLoS One. 2016;11(1):e0142788. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0142788Roberts JM, Escudero C.The placenta in preeclampsia.Pregnancy Hypertens. 2012;2(2):72-83. doi:10.1016/j.preghy.2012.01.001Kennedy LM, Tong S, Robinson AJ, et al.Reduced growth velocity from the mid-trimester is associated with placental insufficiency in fetuses born at a normal birthweight.BMC Med. 2020;18(1):395. doi:10.1186/s12916-020-01869-3Zhang C, Ding J, Li H, Wang T.Identification of key genes in pathogenesis of placental insufficiency intrauterine growth restriction.BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2022;22(1):77. doi:10.1186/s12884-022-04399-3Cohen E, Baerts W, van Bel F.Brain-sparing in intrauterine growth restriction: Considerations for the neonatologist.Neonatology. 2015;108(4):269-76. doi:10.1159/000438451Nemours Kids Health.Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Shrivastava D, Master A.Fetal growth restriction.J Obstet Gynaecol India. 2020;70(2):103-110. doi:10.1007/s13224-019-01278-4Nardozza LM, Caetano AC, Zamarian AC, et al.Fetal growth restriction: Current knowledge.Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2017;295(5):1061-1077. doi:10.1007/s00404-017-4341-9Sharma D, Shastri S, Sharma P.Intrauterine growth restriction: Antenatal and postnatal aspects.Clin Med Insights Pediatr. 2016;10:67-83. doi:10.4137/CMPed.S40070Bardien N, Whitehead CL, Tong S, Ugoni A, McDonald S, Walker SP.Placental insufficiency in fetuses that slow in growth but are born appropriate for gestational age: A prospective longitudinal study.PLoS One. 2016;11(1):e0142788. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0142788Roberts JM, Escudero C.The placenta in preeclampsia.Pregnancy Hypertens. 2012;2(2):72-83. doi:10.1016/j.preghy.2012.01.001Kennedy LM, Tong S, Robinson AJ, et al.Reduced growth velocity from the mid-trimester is associated with placental insufficiency in fetuses born at a normal birthweight.BMC Med. 2020;18(1):395. doi:10.1186/s12916-020-01869-3Zhang C, Ding J, Li H, Wang T.Identification of key genes in pathogenesis of placental insufficiency intrauterine growth restriction.BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2022;22(1):77. doi:10.1186/s12884-022-04399-3Cohen E, Baerts W, van Bel F.Brain-sparing in intrauterine growth restriction: Considerations for the neonatologist.Neonatology. 2015;108(4):269-76. doi:10.1159/000438451Nemours Kids Health.Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).
Shrivastava D, Master A.Fetal growth restriction.J Obstet Gynaecol India. 2020;70(2):103-110. doi:10.1007/s13224-019-01278-4
Nardozza LM, Caetano AC, Zamarian AC, et al.Fetal growth restriction: Current knowledge.Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2017;295(5):1061-1077. doi:10.1007/s00404-017-4341-9
Sharma D, Shastri S, Sharma P.Intrauterine growth restriction: Antenatal and postnatal aspects.Clin Med Insights Pediatr. 2016;10:67-83. doi:10.4137/CMPed.S40070
Bardien N, Whitehead CL, Tong S, Ugoni A, McDonald S, Walker SP.Placental insufficiency in fetuses that slow in growth but are born appropriate for gestational age: A prospective longitudinal study.PLoS One. 2016;11(1):e0142788. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0142788
Roberts JM, Escudero C.The placenta in preeclampsia.Pregnancy Hypertens. 2012;2(2):72-83. doi:10.1016/j.preghy.2012.01.001
Kennedy LM, Tong S, Robinson AJ, et al.Reduced growth velocity from the mid-trimester is associated with placental insufficiency in fetuses born at a normal birthweight.BMC Med. 2020;18(1):395. doi:10.1186/s12916-020-01869-3
Zhang C, Ding J, Li H, Wang T.Identification of key genes in pathogenesis of placental insufficiency intrauterine growth restriction.BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2022;22(1):77. doi:10.1186/s12884-022-04399-3
Cohen E, Baerts W, van Bel F.Brain-sparing in intrauterine growth restriction: Considerations for the neonatologist.Neonatology. 2015;108(4):269-76. doi:10.1159/000438451
Nemours Kids Health.Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).
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