Small For Gestational Age
It’s always concerning to any parent if their child is diagnosed with being small for their gestational age. You’ll want to start treatment as soon as possible, and HGH therapy is a great option.
What is Small for Gestational Age (SGA)?
Small for Gestational Age describes a child who is born smaller than average. While they may otherwise appear mature, newborns with birth weights less than the 10th percentile can be diagnosed with SGA. Around 2-3% of children are born small enough to get diagnosed with SGA, but most of them catch up by the time they reach two. If your child remains smaller than average for longer than two years, talk to your child’s doctor about treatment option using growth hormone therapy.
Symptoms
Symptoms of Small for Gestational Age include low blood sugar, difficulty breathing in utero, trouble maintaining body temperature, low levels of red blood cells and oxygen, and more.
Causes
Issues during pregnancy cause SGA, including intrauterine growth restriction. This means the baby didn’t get enough oxygen and nutrients to develop organs and other tissues properly. Problems with the placenta, disease in the mother, or a chromosomal abnormality could cause this growth restriction.
Other causes include:
- Infected tissue near the fetus
- Placenta previa, or low location of the placenta within the uterus
- Placental abruption, or complete detachment of the placenta and uterus
- Other causes of reduced blood flow to the uterus and placenta
- Conditions or habits of the mother
There are a lot of risk factors for SGA when it comes to behavior of the mother. Certain habits that can result in baby being born too small includes:
- Smoking cigarettes
- Alcohol or drug use
- Malnutrition
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Respiratory problems
- High blood pressure
- Low weight pre-pregnancy
- Chronic kidney disease
- Daily overly vigorous exercise
- Other causes come with fetal issues such as multiple gestation, congenital disabilities, or chromosomal abnormalities.
Diagnosis
Doctors can diagnose Small for Gestational Age before birth by estimating the baby’s size during check-ups. They expect certain measurements to be met during specific weeks of pregnancy after the 29th week. Specific diagnostic tests include the Doppler flow test, ultrasound, gestational assessment, and weight gain in the mother.
Treatment
Treatment depends on a doctor’s analysis of each specific case. HGH therapy has been approved by the FDA to treat SGA and can accelerate growth to normal levels as the child ages.
How Does HGH Therapy Work?
Human growth hormone is responsible for the normal growth of children and maintenance in to adulthood. Produced by the pituitary gland, normal levels of HGH result in healthy growth and maturation. If it’s not working properly or being produced enough by the body, then supplemental HGH therapy may be prescribed as treatment.
FDA Approved Usage
HGH (Human Growth Hormone) or Somatropin has been approved to treat this condition.
For more information visit the FDA official site