Understanding normal growth for the healthy breastfed infant is an important component of promoting and supporting child health in general and breastfeeding in particular. In this article, we summarize what is known regarding differences in growth between breastfed and formula-fed infants; we describe the development and use of infant growth ...

Diabetic pregnancies may result in fetal macrosomia when glycaemia is poorly controlled, and when associated with diabetic vasculopathy, with small for gestational age (SGA) neonates. Both groups of infants have high neonatal morbidity. As fetal growth depends on maternal genetic influences, ethnic group or parity, relying exclusively on population-based growth ...

BACKGROUND: Small for gestational age (SGA) can occur following a pathological process or may represent constitutionally small fetuses. However, distinguishing these processes is often difficult, especially in large studies, where the term SGA is often used as a proxy for restricted fetal growth. Since biologic variation in fetal size is ...

The role of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and ghrelin in intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) neonates in comparison to appropriate for gestational age (AGA) ones was investigated. Levels of IGF-1/insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP3), ghrelin, insulin, and cortisol were determined in 20 singleton, full-term IUGR and 20 respective ...

AIM: To investigate the relation between head growth at different periods and IQ at 8 years, and to identify factors associated with more rapid head growth. METHOD: Two parallel cohorts of term low birthweight (LBW) and appropriate birthweight (ABW) infants were enrolled at birth in northeast Brazil. Anthropometric measurements were ...

We hypothesized that parents of infants prefer growth at higher percentiles and are averse to growth at lower percentiles. Of 279 participating parents, only 10% desired their child's weight to be in the lowest quartile. For children weighing in the lowest quartile, 57% of parents thought their child's weight was ...

BACKGROUND: Increasing numbers of extremely low birth weight infants (ELBW, birth weight < 1,000 g) survive. We studied the impact of birth weight, gender, and catch-up growth on metabolic parameters in ELBW infants. CHILDREN: Sixty-three ELBW children were investigated at a mean age of 5.8 years. Forty-eight showed catch-up growth. ...

The objective of this study was to compare the growth of exclusively breastfed infants and formula fed infants in eastern Croatia. Additionally, we compared growth patterns and estimated overweight based on the World Health Organization (WHO) child growth standards and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) references. The growth ...

OBJECTIVES: To describe the outcome of growth-restricted fetuses with absent or reversed end-diastolic flow (ARED) in the umbilical artery delivered on fetal indication before 30 gestational weeks. METHODS: Between 1998 and 2004, 42 fetuses with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and ARED in the umbilical artery were delivered liveborn by Cesarean ...

At the population level international growth references have been widely used as useful tools to assess a number of situations, i.e.: to predict local and general emergencies related to food and nutrition; to assess the equity of distribution of economic resources within and between communities; to evaluate the suitability of ...

Previous growth studies of Peruvian children have featured high stunting rates and limited information about body composition. We aimed to characterize anthropometric measures of Peruvian infants 0 to 12 months of age in relation to the international growth references and biological, environmental, and socioeconomic factors. Infants (n = 232) were ...

Nutrition in early life, a critical period for human development, can have long-term effects on health in adulthood. Supporting evidence comes from epidemiological studies, animal models and experimental interventions in human subjects. The mechanism is proposed to operate through nutritional influences on growth. Substantial evidence now supports the hypothesis that ...

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that intrauterine growth restriction followed by rapid post-natal growth is associated with high blood pressure. We assessed the effect of early size and post-natal growth on blood pressure in a population from West Africa, where fetal growth retardation and childhood malnutrition are common. METHODS: A total of ...

IGF-II associates with feto-placental growth in rodent and human. We determined three tag-single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to investigate haplotype frequency of IGF2 relative to size at birth in 134 healthy Japanese infants. In addition, a total of 276 healthy infants were investigated to determine whether common genetic variation of IGF2 ...

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the distribution and success of programmed fetal growth phenotypes among obese women. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study using the Missouri maternally linked cohort files (years 1978-1997). Maternal body mass index was classified as Normal (18.5-24.9) (referent group), Obese (class 1, 30.0-34.9; class 2, 35.0-39.9; and ...

AIM: To assess the relationships between growth factors, inflammatory cytokines and postnatal bone development in preterm infants. METHODS: Fifty premature infants (24-32 weeks gestational age, mean birth weight: 1,024 +/- 50 g) participated in the study. Bone strength was determined weekly by quantitative ultrasound measurements of bone speed of sound ...

The goals of this study were to describe nutritional practices in the first month of life for a large cohort of extremely low gestational age newborns and to determine the impact of these nutritional practices on growth velocity (GV) over the same period. The sample included 1187 infants born at ...

Intrauterine or fetal growth restriction is best defined by using customised birth weight percentiles based upon the growth potential for an individual infant. Growth restriction in utero may be classified as asymmetric or symmetric depending upon the duration of the process. Asymmetric growth restriction is caused by placental insufficiency, maternal ...

Early growth monitoring may not identify infants at-risk for later growth faltering because it is difficult for the provider to recognize how large of a negative shift might be problematic. The aim of this study was to determine whether a slowing in early weight-for-age could be used to identify children ...

Manganese is an essential mineral nutrient needed for proper fetal development and other important aspects of metabolism. However, manganese excess can have a potent neurotoxicity effect, especially in infants. Little is known about the effects of manganese deficiency or excess on the developing human fetus. The findings of two recent ...

Epidemiologists have shown how birth outcomes are generally robust for immigrant Latina mothers, despite often situated in poor households, advanced by their strong prenatal and nutritional practices. But little is known about (1) how these protective factors may differ among Latino subgroups, (2) the extent to which birth outcomes, ongoing ...

Choroid plexus papilloma (CPP) is primarily found in children less than 2 years of age but can also be diagnosed prenatally. The presentation of a large CPP during infancy is not uncommon and surgical excision is usually recommended without delays. As a result, information about the growth rate of CPP ...

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is associated with an increased risk for short stature and diseases in adulthood thought to be inflicted by fetal programming. We hypothesized that placental endocrine systems involved in perinatal growth might also play a role in postnatal growth after IUGR. In a prospective controlled multicenter study, ...

Nutritional support to promote optimal postnatal growth for very low birth weight (VLBW) newborns less than 1500 g at birth during the initial prolonged hospitalization is a significant issue. This article reviews the concepts involved in the nutritional support of VLBW newborns, including definitions and discussions of growth, optimal postnatal ...

Previous studies have suggested that impaired fetal and childhood growth are associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia, but the association of pre-adult growth with non-clinical psychotic symptoms (psychosis-like symptoms) in children is not known. To explore the associations of body size at birth and age 7.5 years with childhood ...

Postnatal growth failure in preterm infants is due to interactions between genetic and environmental factors, which are not fully understood. We assessed dietary supply of nutrients in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW, < 1500 g) infants fed fortified human milk, and examined the association between nutrient intake, medical factors and growth during hospitalisation ...

OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the association between early protein and energy intake and neurodevelopment and growth of extremely low birth weight (<1000 g) infants. STUDY DESIGN: Daily protein and energy intakes were collected by chart review for the first 4 weeks of life on 148 extremely low birth weight ...

In preterm infants, low levels of insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) have been associated with impaired growth and retinopathy of prematurity. Our objective was to study safety and pharmacokinetics of i.v. administered rhIGF-I with its binding protein 3 (rhIGFBP-3) to preterm infants. At 3 d chronological age, an i.v. ...

Malnutrition compromises the growth of children in sub-Saharan Africa. In Nigeria, the prevalence of childhood malnutrition approaches 40%. There are few reports relating the growth characteristics of breast-fed Nigerian infants to the anthropometric properties of their mothers. A total of 100 urban and rural mother/baby pairs were recruited. The mean ...

OBJECTIVE: Given the high risk of cardiovascular disease in South Asians and the importance of inflammation in coronary heart disease we tested the hypothesis that circulating C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) would be higher in healthy British born infants of South Asian origin than in infants of European ...

This paper argues that indicators of anthropometric shortfall - especially low height and low weight-for-age - are uniquely suited for assessing absolute deprivation in developing countries. Anthropometric indicators are relatively precise, readily available for most countries, reflect the preferences and concerns of many poor people, consistent with reckoning the phenomenon ...

AIM: We have shown previously that the degree of prematurity affects cortical surface area growth. We now addressed the question whether cortical surface area growth after preterm birth is predicted by the severity of peri- and postnatal illness. METHODS: Cortical surface area was measured in 269 images from 111 infants ...

Women at risk of preterm labor are commonly treated with antenatal glucocorticoids to reduce neonatal complications, including respiratory distress syndrome. Despite the benefits of antenatal glucocorticoid for neonatal lung function, they are associated with negative cardiovascular outcomes. Among this population, there is a group of intrauterine growth-restricted fetuses in which ...

Most very low birth weight preterm infants experience postnatal growth failure in the neonatal ICU. In an attempt to minimize this phenomenon, the nutritional support of these infants has tended to become more aggressive in recent years and has become a focus of much study. Despite this attention, many questions ...

The widespread utilization of prenatal ultrasonography and the detection of antenatal hydronephrosis (AH) have raised the importance of postnatal follow-up of these infants. In this study, we aimed to determine the importance of an early diagnosis for the treatment of urinary tract malformations (UTM) as well as the postnatal evaluation ...

BACKGROUND: The perinatal-neonatal course of very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants might affect their childhood growth. We evaluated the effect of parental anthropometry and perinatal and neonatal morbidity of VLBW neonates on their childhood growth. METHODS: We obtained parental anthropometry, height and weight at age 6-10.5 years of 334 children born as VLBW ...

1. In a large, population representative,Chinese birth cohort, higher birth weight and rapid growth, particularly at 0-3 months, were associated with higher body mass index (BMI) at 7 years. 2. Boys born heavy who had grown fast had the highest BMI, but rapid growth had the largest impact in lighter-born ...

The definition of a newborn SGA changes depending on which parameter is taken as reference. For the neonatologists who are the first to take care of these newborns the most used parameter in the past has been the weight that should be below the 10 centile for the reference standards. ...

It's well known that VLBWI fail to thrive, however it's still unclear how gender, GA and morbidities affect growth pattern: aim of this study is to assess the influence of these factors on weight growth. 262 VLBWI were selected. Weight was recorded daily up to 28 days, weekly up to ...

Early growth is of interest because it is susceptible to maternal effects and linked to fitness components for a range of species. Here we present anthropometric measurements on 23 infant olive baboons born into a captive colony in order to describe growth over the first 2 years of life, to ...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: High protein intake has been associated with increased growth. This may be linked to increased concentrations of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), which seems to be influenced by the diet, especially its protein component. The short-term effects of high protein intake in late infancy are not known. The objective ...

Infants with chronic renal failure (CRF) are at high risk of experiencing severe growth retardation. We report a study of 12 infants with CRF who have been treated with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) since the age of 0.5 +/- 0.3 years. A control group comprised 15 infants with less ...

OBJECTIVE: Extremely preterm infants are at risk for poor growth and impaired neurodevelopment. The objective of this study was to determine whether intrauterine, early neonatal, or postdischarge growth is associated with neurocognitive and motor-developmental outcome in extremely preterm infants. METHODS: Surviving children who were born between July 1996 and June ...

Human development is thought to evolve from the dynamic interchange of biological dispositions and environmental provisions; yet the effects of specific biological and environmental birth conditions on the trajectories of cognitive and social-emotional growth have rarely been studied. We observed 126 children at six time-points from birth to 5 years. ...

BACKGROUND: Early detection of cranial growth defects in childhood is extremely important for subsequent growth, development of head and could be a screening aid for early detection of growth deviations. METHODS: Seven head dimensions and two indexes of 90 Gypsy and 99 non-Gypsy newborns from Slovakia were examined to asses ...

The Kylindra cemetery on Astypalaia in the Dodecanese, in use 750 BC to 1st century AD, contains a unique skeletal collection. Over 2,400 infant inhumations, each buried in its own clay pot, have been uncovered so far. The skeletal material from each burial is embedded within a ball of accreted ...

BACKGROUND: Growth factor-binding proteins influence the growth of infants starting in utero. Adaptation of the fetus to an adverse uterine environment is associated with changes in the growth hormone-growth factor-insulin axis. AIMS: To evaluate serum levels of IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in small and appropriate for gestational age newborn infants. METHODS: ...

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Anecdotal reports suggest that maternal steroids may arrest the growth of congenital pulmonary airway malformations (CPAMs), preventing or reversing hydrops. We reviewed our experience with CPAMs to determine the fetal response to steroid therapy. METHODS: This study is a retrospective review of all fetal CPAMs from 2004 to 2008. ...

BACKGROUND: IGF-I gene polymorphisms might alter IGF-I level resulting in decreased foetal and postnatal growth and increased risk for diabetes mellitus type 2 and cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. OBJECTIVES: We analyzed the association between Cytosine-Adenosine (CA)10-24 repeats polymorphism in promoter region of the IGF-I gene and early growth in infants ...

Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) represents the degree of body growth and development decided by genes and by placental function. Extrauterine growth retardation/restriction (EUGR) refers to severe nutritional deficits during the first weeks of life that result in growth that is less than expected based on intrauterine growth rates (growth values ...