OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a difference in perinatal outcome by gender among growth-restricted fetuses. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) singleton pregnancies over a 5-year period. Clinical outcomes compared by gender included preterm delivery, perinatal ...

Low birth weight and prematurity are associated with short inter-pregnancy intervals, low pre-pregnancy weights, insufficient maternal weight gains during pregnancy, multifetal pregnancies and a young maternal age. Improvements in maternal nutritional status are arguably imperative for ensuring an appropriate pregnancy outcome in these vulnerable groups, but ethical boundaries limit these ...

Embryonic and fetal growth depend on genetic and environmental factors, and the process is the result of the interaction between these factors. About 7-9% of live-born infants have a birth weight below normal (below the 10th percentile). The rate and extent of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) varies by ethnicity and ...

Fetal growth is a complex process involving multiple environmental and genetic factors. Fetal growth restriction is associated with morbidity among small for gestational age (SGA) neonates as well as in children and adults who are former SGA infants. Over the last decade it has been recognized that the insulin-like growth ...

The dynamics of microtubules (MT's) growing from a nucleation center is simulated with a kinetic Monte Carlo model that includes tubulin diffusion. In the limit of fast diffusion (homogeneous tubulin concentration), MT growth is synchronous and bounded. The microtubules form an aster with a monotonously decreasing long-time distribution of lengths. ...

As water flows from treatment plants to the tap, chlorine, used to disinfect surface water meant for residential use, reacts with residual organic and inorganic matter, creating chlorine disinfection by-products. In recent years, these by-products have been scrutinized as a potential reproductive and developmental hazard. This study examined whether exposure ...

BACKGROUND: Small, intramural leiomyomas are not generally considered a risk factor for poor reproductive outcomes. CASE: A patient with a 6-mm intramural leiomyoma and a normal uterine cavity by hysteroscopic evaluation who conceived after in vitro fertilization developed severe early-onset intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), leading to pregnancy termination at 23.4 ...

OBJECTIVE: The goals were to introduce fractional arm volume (AVol) as a new soft tissue parameter of fetal growth assessment and to develop individualized growth standards, based on Rossavik models, for AVol, midarm circumference (ArmC), and humeral diaphysis length (HDL). METHODS: A prospective longitudinal study of 22 fetuses was conducted ...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Intrauterine growth restriction remains one of the major problems in obstetrics. Recent published literature on this problem is summarized in this review. RECENT FINDINGS: Intrauterine growth restriction contributes disproportionately to neonatal mortality and morbidity in both preterm and term babies, and is a predisposing factor to major ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess maternal and fetal morbidity and death in cases of severe preterm preeclampsia that were managed expectantly. STUDY DESIGN: It is a retrospective study that included 155 singleton pregnancies with severe preeclampsia at <34 weeks of gestation that were managed expectantly over ...

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) still accounts for a large incidence of infant mortality and morbidity worldwide. Many of the circulatory and transport properties of the sheep placenta are similar to those of the human placenta and as such, the pregnant sheep offers an excellent model in which to study the ...

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether growth velocity parameters derived from routine prenatal ultrasound measurements at first, second and third trimester can identify normal growth at term as well as late-onset growth abnormalities. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Longitudinal study of fetal growth in normal singleton pregnancies with three normal ultrasound examinations and delivered ...

Growth of twins and higher-order multiples is an exceptional metabolic challenge for the expecting mother. She is doing much more than a mother of a singleton in terms of nurturing, however. Metabolic requirements need adequate dietary intervention in the form of increased weight gain during early pregnancy. It is normal ...

Fetal growth retardation is associated with postnatal growth retardation and cardio-vascular and metabolic problems later on in life. Less well described are the consequences of neurodevelopmental outcome. The term SGA is associated with mild to moderate school problems, still present in late puberty and with lower psychological and intellectual performance ...

Maternal smoking during pregnancy has been associated with a number of negative sequelae among offspring, including elevated postnatal blood pressure. While animal studies have described organ level alterations with smoke exposure, human data have been more limited. Thirty-four healthy maternal/fetal pairs (24 nonsmokers, 10 smokers) participated in a longitudinal growth ...

Increased growth of meningiomas during pregnancy as well as postpartum clinical regression of symptoms have been reported but remain poorly understood. A better understanding of the factors that contribute to these observations, including potential factors associated with pregnancy, could enable design of more effective adjuvant therapies. We describe the presentation ...

Galloway-Mowat syndrome (GMS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder and is characterized by marked intrauterine growth retardation, central nervous system anomalies, and early onset nephrotic syndrome. Of the reported cases in the literature, all were diagnosed postnatally. We describe a case of GMS in which only late-onset intrauterine growth restriction ...

Placental insufficiency resulting in restriction of fetal substrate supply and fetal hypoxaemia is a major cause of restricted fetal growth and increased neonatal morbidity. Fetal adaptations to placental restriction (PR) include increases in circulating catecholamines and cortisol and decreased fetal body growth, with relative sparing of brain growth. The mechanisms ...

OBJECTIVES: [corrected] To investigate the effects of L-Arginine in treating asymmetric fetal growth restriction (FGR). METHODS: A total of 66 pregnant women whose fetuses were diagnosed with asymmetric fetal growth restriction were divided into two groups. Group 1 consisted of 36 women who were given routine therapy alone; group 2 ...

BACKGROUND: Adequate maternal nutrition during gestation is requisite for fetal nutrition and development. While a large group of epidemiological studies indicate poor fetal nutrition increases heart disease risk and mortality in later life, little work has focused on the effects of impaired maternal nutrition on fetal heart development. We have ...

BACKGROUND: Cavernous lymphangioma is a form of benign congenital abnormality grouped under lymphatic malformations, which can clinically manifest as a cystic tumor. Common areas are the neck and axillary region. Most cases are diagnosed in children under the age of 2, and occasionally the diagnosis is made in utero. CASE: ...

We analyze the relationship between prenatal WIC participation and birth outcomes in New York City from 1988-2001. The analysis is unique for several reasons. First, we have over 800,000 births to women on Medicaid, the largest sample ever used to analyze prenatal participation in WIC. Second, we focus on measures ...

Few studies have investigated the velocities of fetal growth. The aim of the present study was to determine the pattern of 'fetal' growth velocities in a Chinese population. The gestation-specific measurements of the body weight, body length and head circumference in a representative sample of 5,045 male and 4,484 female ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Preterm infants with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) reveal an increased risk for the development of acute and chronic pulmonary disorders, i.e. bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). In order to investigate the effect of IUGR on pulmonary development, an easily reproducible animal model for fetal growth restriction has been established ...

Evidence that fetal nutrition triggers permanent adjustments in a wide range of systems and health outcomes is stimulating interest in the evolutionary significance of these responses. This review evaluates the postnatal adaptive significance of fetal developmental plasticity from the perspective of life history theory and evolutionary models of energy partitioning. ...

Physiologic interindividual differences in neonatal size are traditionally thought of as determined by differences in fetal growth occurring only in the second half of pregnancy. Whether possible differences in early intrauterine growth velocity are the effect of random growth fluctuations or may affect size at birth is still debated. This ...

Fetal growth retardation, a common end point for a variety of conditions affecting mother and fetus, is associated with reduced liver mass. We have performed studies to determine the mechanism for decreased liver mass in a maternal starvation model of fetal growth restriction in the rat. Pregnant dams were deprived ...

Previous studies have shown that placental growth and pregnancy outcome are severely compromised in adolescent ewes overnourished to promote rapid maternal growth. Using this paradigm, the aim of the present study was to investigate expression of the major angiogenic factors and their receptors in the placenta at the onset of ...

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and placenta growth factor (PlGF) cause vasodilation. We examined the vasomotor response of isolated placental vessels to VEGF and PlGF in normal (group I) and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR)-complicated pregnancy (group II). Rings of vessels were prepared in vitro and mounted on the vessel myograph ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to use visual image analysis to observe changes in the morphology and composition of placental villi in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia (PE) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). METHODS: Placental biopsies from nine normal pregnancies, five cases of PE, five cases of IUGR, and ...

Assessment of the growth status of the fetus and neonate is an essential component of perinatal care. It requires a distinction to be made between physiological and pathological factors, and the prediction of the optimal growth that a baby can achieve in a normal, uncomplicated pregnancy. Such an individually customised ...

Regulation of fetal growth is multifactorial and complex. Diverse factors, including intrinsic fetal conditions as well as maternal and environmental factors, can lead to intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). The interaction of these factors governs the partitioning of nutrients and rate of fetal cellular proliferation and maturation. Although IUGR is probably ...

The aim of this study was to compare morphometric measures of villous development, villous capillarization, fetoplacental angiogenesis and capillary lumen remodelling in normal pregnancies with those complicated by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) with and without preeclampsia (PE). To this end, term placentas from control pregnancies (n = 9) and cases ...

Size at birth and early postnatal growth rates are important determinants of human perinatal survival; they also predict the tempo of growth, adult height and long-term risks for obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Results from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ALSPAC) show that fetal growth ...

The aim of this paper is to review the mechanisms by which animal and human fetuses survive prolonged periods of substrate deprivation in utero. Two reasons why such information is important for those who care for growth-restricted fetuses and neonates are as follows. (1) Understanding the physiology is central to ...

Remarkable diversity of size and health of offspring exists after normal pregnancies. When pregnancies are complicated by an extrinsic variable such as inappropriate maternal nutrition, birth weight and health of the neonate are substantially affected. The placenta is the organ through which respiratory gases, nutrients, and wastes are exchanged between ...

A morphological study was performed on 27 human placentas from normal gestations (Group 1) and compared with those from eight cases of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) (Group 2). Semithin section light microscopy, transmission, and scanning electron microscopy were carried out on trophoblastic terminal villi, carefully identified under the stereomicroscope. In ...

Prenatal growth is very complex and a highly integrated process. Both maternal nutrition and the maternal somatotropic axis play a significant role in coordinating nutrient partitioning and utilization between maternal, placental and fetal tissues. Maternal nutrition may alter the nutrient concentrations and in turn the expression of growth regulating factors ...

A description of the clinical features of Majewski osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type II (MOPD II) is presented based on 58 affected individuals (27 from the literature and 31 previously unreported cases). The remarkable features of MOPD II are: severe intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), severe postnatal growth retardation; relatively proportionate head ...

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is associated with significantly increased perinatal morbidity and mortality as well as cardiovascular disease and glucose intolerance in adult life. A number of disorders from genetic to metabolic, vascular, coagulative, autoimmune, as well as infectious, can influence fetal growth by damaging the placenta, leading to IUGR ...

Nutrition is the major intrauterine environmental factor that alters expression of the fetal genome and may have lifelong consequences. This phenomenon, termed "fetal programming," has led to the recent theory of "fetal origins of adult disease." Namely, alterations in fetal nutrition and endocrine status may result in developmental adaptations that ...

It is apparent from epidemiological studies that the timing of maternal nutrient restriction has a major influence on outcome in terms of predisposing the resulting offspring to adult obesity. The present review will consider the extent to which maternal age, parity and nutritional restriction at defined stages of gestation can ...

This section discusses fetal growth in multiple pregnancy from various perspectives. Whereas the entire 'fetal mass' of a multiple pregnancy can exceed the 90th birth weight percentile of a singleton of the same gestational age, the individual fetuses might exhibit growth patterns compatible with adaptation to the limited uterine environment. ...

There are still many uncertainties regarding the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with exposure to drinking water disinfection by-products. In Montréal, Québec, Canada, we carried out a hospital-based case-control study including 493 cases of intrauterine growth restriction defined as birth weight below the 10th percentile for gestational age and ...

Fetal growth is the end product of a variety of genetic, maternal, fetal, and placental factors. Maternal size is a dominant determinant of birth weight. Specific nutrients and their availability modify the expression of genetically determined metabolic and transfer systems. Hormones and growth factors of maternal, fetal, and placental origin ...

Normal fetal growth depends on the genetically predetermined growth potential and is modulated by fetal, placental, maternal, and external factors. Fetuses with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) are at high risk for poor short- and long-term outcome. Although there are many underlying etiologies, IUGR resulting from placental insufficiency is most relevant ...

The maternal circulation to the human placenta is not fully established until 10-12 weeks of pregnancy. During the first trimester the intervillous space is filled by a clear fluid, in part derived from secretions from the endometrial glands via openings in the basal plate. The aim was to determine the ...

Notch (N) signal is activated at the dorsoventral (DV) border of the Drosophila eye disc and is important for growth of the eye disc. In this study, we showed that the Pax protein Eyg is a major effector mediating the growth promotion function of N. eyg transcription is induced by ...

We observed the in situ growth of a grain during recrystallization in the bulk of a deformed sample. We used the three-dimensional x-ray diffraction microscope located at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France. The results showed a very heterogeneous growth pattern, contradicting the classical assumption of smooth and ...

Human adolescent pregnancy is characterized by poor pregnancy outcome; the risks of spontaneous miscarriage, prematurity, and low birth weight are particularly acute in girls who are still growing at the time of conception. Studies using a highly controlled sheep paradigm demonstrate that, in growing adolescents who are overnourished throughout pregnancy, ...