Hi Dr Thornburg. I'm hoping you can assist me in assessing my risk of having a preterm birth following the birth of my micropreemie 2 years ago.
I had my first child 5 years ago following an uneventful pregnancy. She was born at 38 weeks nvd at a good length and weight. I was moderately overweight and gained about 25lbs over the course of the pregnancy. I subsequently lost about 20lbs.
My second child was conceived in the first month we started trying 2 years later. The first 16 weeks were unremarkable until test results revealed that the indicators for spina bifida were too high for the gestational age, but the doctor was not too concerned as the level was just outside the range.
When we went for the foetal anomaly scan at 20 weeks, the doctor confirmed that the neural tube was closed but that one of the uterine arteries was pumping harder than the other and advised us to keep an eye on the baby's growth. Additionally, the baby's femurs were shorter than would be expected, but still in the acceptable range.
At my 26 week check-up, everything fell apart. My blood pressure was dangerously high and protein was present in my urine. I was hospitalised with preeclampsia and then subsequently discharged once my blood pressure was under control from the medication. It was established that the baby was not growing despite my blood pressure being under control, and I had an emergency c- section at 28 weeks. My son was uniformly small for gestational age, 780g and 34cm in length. He ultimately spent 7 months in NICU, having had NEC and respiratory issues. He is still very small for his age due to further GI complications and behind developmentally. Through subsequent research on my part, I assume that the issue was IUGR, but this was not mentioned by the doctors. I did not require any medication following his birth.