by Patricia Hughes
Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is defined as a fetus that is smaller in size than would be expected for the conception age. The threshold generally used for classifying a baby as having intrauterine growth restriction is being smaller than the tenth percentile. This means that over ninety percent of fetuses at the same stage of development are larger than babies classified as having IUGR.Possbile Causes of IUGR
The exact cause of intrauterine growth restriction is not known, but there are several factors thought to contribute to growth restriction in the fetus. Some of these factors are related to the baby or the pregnancy and others are maternal factors. Pregnancy related factors include multiple pregnancies, problems with the placenta and birth defects. Maternal factors include health factors such as heart or kidney disease, substance abuse, malnutrition and smoking cigarettes.
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Filed under Pregnancy by More4kids Inc.
During your first prenatal visit, your health care provider will take blood samples. Several things will be tested, including your blood type. The reason this is done is to check for the presence or lack of Rh factor in the blood. This is important because if your baby has Rh factor in his blood and you do not, this could cause problems in later pregnancies.What is Rh factor and why does it matter? When you are told your blood type, the letter A, B, AB or O will be followed by a positive or negative. Rh is basically a protein that is present on the blood cells. Most people do have Rh factor, but about 15 percent of people do not. The positive, such as B+, means that Rh factor is present in the blood. If the blood type were O-, there would be no Rh factor in the blood. This is generally never a problem, unless you are an Rh negative mother with an Rh positive partner.
More on Rh Factor in Pregnancy
Filed under Health, Pregnancy Tests by More4kids Inc.
