Intrauterine growth restriction symptoms: what to know

Fetal growth restriction means a baby is not growing as expected in the womb. Many pregnant people feel well, and the condition cannot be confirmed by symptoms alone. A uterus measuring smaller than expected, reduced abdominal growth, or fewer fetal movements can prompt assessment, but these findings have other explanations too. Clinicians use growth scans to estimate size and follow growth, examine the placenta and fluid, and assess blood flow when needed. The pregnancy stage and the wider health picture guide interpretation.

Keep antenatal appointments and attend the scans or monitoring your maternity team recommends. Fetal heart monitoring checks the baby’s heart pattern at a particular time, while a growth scan follows size and wellbeing. Record your baby’s usual movement pattern and contact your maternity unit if movements are clearly reduced or changed. Your team may discuss extra monitoring, medicines for related conditions, or timing of birth. Induction of labour may be considered when continuing the pregnancy is less safe than birth, depending on the findings.

Contact your maternity unit immediately if your baby’s movements are reduced or absent compared with the usual pattern, or if you have vaginal bleeding, leaking fluid, regular painful contractions, severe headache, vision changes, or sudden swelling. Do not wait for the next appointment to report reduced movement. Urgent review can include fetal heart monitoring and an ultrasound assessment to decide what should happen next.

Ask how your baby’s size compares with earlier measurements, what the growth scan shows about the placenta and blood flow, and how often monitoring is needed. Ask which movement changes require immediate contact, what would lead to induction, and where to go outside clinic hours.