placental insufficiency

[aabarnett]

I am 25 weeks pregnant (Due Oct 21).This pregnancy has been troublesome from the start and I have been on bed rest for several weeks now because I have had a slew of problems including spotting, clotting, a small abruption (scary but as of yesterday it isn't getting any worse), I'm RH-, and I've started randomly contracting.  So anyway, I just found out yesterday that I have placental dysfunction.  I know what this is technically but I need to know what it means for me and my baby. It seems like as long as I'm in bed the bleeding is kept at a minimum and the abruption or tearing isn't getting any worse so that isn't my major concern at this time.  What I am worried about it that my last ultrasound appt was four weeks ago and she was normal size but now she is 2 1/2 weeks behind in her growth.  Is this something that is going to continue to get worse?  Will she be okay?  What are my chances of having a healthy baby?  What are her chances of having a long healthy life?  What kind of challenges am I looking at in the future both during the pregnancy and after she is born and I'm raising her?  What can I do?  What causes this?  Can anyone answer any of this?  I go back to the specialist next Thurs but when I asked her all these questions yesterday all she could say was she didn't know and that all they can do is monitor the progress and let the baby tell them when it's time to deliver.  So my next question would be WHAT????  What does that mean?  Why can't she give me a better answer or a "this is what to expect" kind of answer?  What is going on?  

But mostly what are my baby's chances?  What's going to happen?  Is this going to be okay?

In advance, thank you for any answers you can give me.  Also thank you for any concerns and comments

[Yao Sun, MD, PhD]

Sometimes the growth of a baby will slow if there are problems with the placenta.  There is not a good way to predict how fast a baby will grow during the pregnancy even if an ultrasound already shows some slowing of the growth.  Repeat ultrasounds can help determine how much the growth is slowing down.

A baby that is born Small for Gestation Age (SGA) may be completely normal and lead a normal life.  It depends to some extent upon the cause of the slow growth.  Placental insufficiency, for example, is less likely to result in long-term problems than if the slow growth is due to an underlying genetic problem.

The reason your doctor cannot give you a specific reason for the slow growth is because most of the time we don't know the reason.  It will be easier to evaluate your baby for possible underlying causes of slow growth after she is born.

[coastiefam]

A related discussion, Placental Insufficiency 16 weeks was started.