Intrauterine hypotrophy, as a lag in fetal development

Intrauterine hypotrophy is a lag in the development of the fetus at any time of pregnancy. In the event that a pregnant woman is diagnosed as such, it is implied that the child's natural growth rate for the given period does not correspond to the average indicators.

This pathology can have another, more pronounced name - the syndrome of fetal development delay.

Types of intrauterine hypotrophy

Depending on the nature of the deviations,

1. is distinguished by a symmetrical shape, the main feature is the equally reduced size of all internal organs that does not correspond to the gestational age. Such deviations become noticeable in the first months. Identify them allows for a planned ultrasound study. Among the causes are several common:
   • chromosomal abnormalities,
   • developmental fetal malformation,
   • developing intrauterine infection,
   • lack of vitamins in the future mother's diet,
   • as well as bad habits( most often smoking);
   • is an asymmetric form that can develop later in pregnancy. The greatest probability of manifestation of this pathology is after 28 weeks.
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2. A distinctive feature of the asymmetric shape is the varying rate of growth of internal organs. And mainly pathological development or underdevelopment affects the internal organs, and the skeleton, head and limbs of the fetus can have quite healthy growth rates for their term. When examining ultrasound can show that the abdominal circumference does not correspond to the norm, deviating in greater or lesser side. It should be noted that this form is the most common. At birth, a child with this diagnosis looks a little different than healthy children, since his limbs do not have a sufficiently developed fat layer and a few thin, and the skin is much more wrinkled. Among the reasons for the development of asymmetric forms of hypotrophy, the pathology of the mother's uterus, its endocrine diseases and hormonal disorders, as well as the lack of vitamins and bad habits, are singled out.

Degree of severity of developmental lag

Depending on how pronounced the pathology development process, three degrees of severity are distinguished:

• intrauterine hypotrophy of the 1st degree. In this case, the fetus exhibits signs of delayed development up to two weeks, based on recognized standard values ​​corresponding to the gestational age at which the pathology was detected. However, for the most part, such a diagnosis will be preliminary, since it may be caused by a child's growth or constitutional constitution, which he received genetically from his parents, as well as the inconsistency of the actual period established. The solution here can be additional tests, namely, conducting dopplerometry for the study of the placenta and its blood flow, as well as cardiotocography, which is most often prescribed after 32 weeks of pregnancy.
• intrauterine fetal hypotrophy of grade II.It manifests itself as a development lag of two to four weeks. Such a diagnosis already clearly speaks about the problems and features of the child's own constitution are not taken into account here. A frequent companion of this diagnosis is hypoxia, because the cause in both cases is a violation of the function of the placental blood supply. No hospital treatment is indispensable here.
• intrauterine III grade hypotrophy is manifested by delayed development of the fetus for four or more weeks. This is the most severe case, characterized by significant exhaustion of the child. As a rule, such a diagnosis refers to the so-called "neglected" cases, when an earlier diagnosis did not reveal a less severe severity of the diagnosis.

Methods of treatment and possible consequences of

Preliminary determination of possible hypotrophy mainly occurs on examination with a doctor when measurements are made of the height of the bottom of the uterus. In the case, when the deviations of the values ​​at a given term of pregnancy are determined, it is required to conduct an additional ultrasound study, which will confirm or refute the diagnosis.

Intrauterine fetal hypotrophy is difficult to treat, since the main cause of it is premature aging of the placenta. At the same time, it is required to normalize nutrition, get rid of bad habits, and also the main forces are directed to treatment of fetoplacental insufficiency.

The consequences of mild severity of this pathology have almost no effect on the health of the child. However, the most neglected degree increases the risk of developing a child's oligophrenia.