The Danger Posed By IUGR
As they always say, pregnancy is a very risky state. It is the time when both the mother and the fetus are unsafe. They need to go through 9 months surviving all other factors that could possibly hurt any or both of them. These factors includes outside forces such as the mother’s environment and her mental and emotional state. There are many diseases that could possibly be encountered along the way, and one of them is IUGR or the Intrauterine Growth Retardation.

IUGR can be fatal, thus, it is a hot topic to talk about. The worst part is it has already affected 1 in every 10,000 pregnant women in the USA. The trend is even increasing through the years. Now, what really is IUGR and what are the current updates in treating it?

Basically, IUGR is the state wherein the fetus does not get the genetically determined potential size. The fetus is deemed as abnormal due to its failure in uterine development. Unlike some other ‘similar’ cases, IUGR is life threatening and is very serious. There is a somehow related case where the size of the child is quite smaller than the normal range. However, this is not as serious as compared to how fatal IUGR can be.

Based on research, this disease is brought about by inadequate maternal- fetal circulation. This eventually leads to a gradual decline in the growth of the fetus. In order to avoid this, there must be a proper diagnosis and it has to be reversed as fast as possible. With a quick response to this condition, the fetus could possibly escape from further complications or some other health related problems. However, if not determine right away, there is a greater risk for further complications and other problems that could no longer be remedied.

Speaking of solution to the problem, new technology was already materialized. The use of ultrasonography can actually lead to the careful determination and monitoring of intrauterine growth. The only problem here is that only a few of these foetuses with IUGR can be potential candidates for human growth hormone treatment. This is a process by which the body is developed in order to have normal growth of bones and muscles. Thus, even if the unborn child is detected with IUGR, there is no guarantee that a treatment can be done to avert it. Yet, if this hormone treatment becomes successful, it will help the fetus achieve a stable weight. It will also have a greater chance of surviving until it would be born.

As of now, these are the only means by which IUGR can be detected and averted. Yet, since this has already growth into a much serious case, further studies and researches were conducted by those in the medical field. Rest assured the medical specialists working on this field have extensively done their researches in order to detect easily such cases like this. They also tried to do the best that they can in order to provide the best possible treatment even before the baby is born.