What do you know about developmental delay syndrome?

Intrauterine developmental delay syndrome is a condition in which the fetus is malnourished while still in the uterus, so the fetus is smaller than normal.

To learn more about this disease, pregnant mother, please refer to the following article!

What is developmental delay syndrome?

If the fetus is growing longer than expected and the ultrasound shows 10% lower than normal weight, the doctor will diagnose the fetus with developmental delay syndrome (IUGR).

There are many reasons for slow growth of pregnancy. In many cases, the fetus with developmental delay syndrome is caused by parents being young. There are also cases where the fetus appears small on an ultrasound but is of normal size at birth.

How do doctors diagnose growth retardation?

The doctor will evaluate the size of the uterus as well as measure the abdomen to check the development of the pregnancy during the first trimester antenatal check-up. If your abdomen is smaller than normal, your doctor will perform an ultrasound to determine the size and weight of your baby .

If you are in the first half of your pregnancy and this is your first ultrasound, a smaller pregnancy than usual could be due to a mismatch. This will happen if you miss the first date of the last cycle incorrectly or ovulate later than usual during the last cycle.

After the first ultrasound, you will have another ultrasound scan for a few more weeks to check the fetal growth. If a second scan shows a smaller than normal result, your doctor will diagnose the baby with slow growth syndrome.

The causes of fetal growth retardation syndrome

The fetus will not develop normally without receiving the oxygen and nutrients needed to develop. Certain genetic defects can also interfere with fetal development. Here are the most common causes of developmental delay syndrome:

Abnormalities in the placenta and the organ that supplies the fetus with oxygen and nutrients in the womb. The placenta may not work properly if it is too small or begins to separate from the uterus (the placenta is detachable). If the position of the placenta is too low in the uterus, this may slightly increase the risk of developing delayed fetal syndrome;

Pregnant mothers have conditions such as chronic blood pressure or pre-eclampsia (especially if pre-eclampsia is severe and diagnosed in the 2nd trimester or patient has chronic high blood pressure), kidney or heart disease , certain allergic conditions such as sickle cell disease, type 2 diabetes, blood clotting disorders, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome or severe lung disease;

Chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome or structural birth defects, such as a missing part of the brain or defects in the kidney or abdominal wall;

Pregnant mother with twins  or multiple pregnancies;

Pregnant mothers smoke, drink alcohol or use drugs;

Some infections that the mother elected to infect the fetus such as toxoplasmosis, CMV, syphilis or rubella;

Pregnant mothers take some drugs such as some anticonvulsants.

In addition, women who suffered from pre-pregnancy malnutrition, did not gain weight during pregnancy, and busy women often had a smaller baby than usual.

If you have any of the causes listed above, an ultrasound is needed to check your baby's development. In addition, if the pregnancy before the pregnant mother is stillbirth or the fetus is slow to develop, it is also necessary to re-ultrasound in the second or third trimester to check the growth of the fetus.

If the multi-point test shows high levels of AFP in the blood for no apparent reason, your doctor will continue to give you an ultrasound to find out if the pregnancy is delayed or not.

Hopefully the above information will help pregnant mothers have more knowledge about pregnancy for safe and healthy pregnancy!