premature baby

My sister in law just had a premie baby a week ago and she was born with only one kidney, how is that going to effect her growth and milestones?

[Yao Sun, MD, PhD]

If the single kidney is the only abnormality found, it is likely that the baby will live a pretty normal life (barring problems of prematurity).  Most of the the time the single kidney functions well enough that no growth or developmental problems result from just kidney problems.  Depending upon how premature she is, the baby may be at some risk for developmental or growth problems just from prematurity.

People born with single kidneys can have problems later in life with high blood pressure, and some kidney functional problems such as loss of protein in the urine.  The baby's doctors will follow her closely through life to monitor for these problems.  In general, it is also recommended that people with single kidneys avoid sports or activities where the single kidney might have an impact injury.