My first baby was less than 5 pounds at 39 weeks and he now has many health problems. Can I prevent this from happening again in my next pregnancy?

The prevailing wisdom among perinatal specialists is that there is no known intervention that might prevent recurrence of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Instead, the only beneficial treatment is to deliver the baby (remove the baby from the hostile intrauterine environment) when the condition is diagnosed. This unfortunately is not true. At Kofinas Perinatal we have been fortunate to realize that planning the next pregnancy and providing appropriate care can help us prevent such adverse outcomes. We believe that a healthy placenta is the most important organ for healthy fetal development. Buy identifying the cause of placental damage early in the pregnancy and with proper treatment, we have been able to almost eliminate IUGR. Patients with history of IUGR in a previous pregnancy must be seen prior to conception in order to achieve the best results. Most cases of IUGR are the result of placenta failure due to placental thrombosis (clotting).