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Fetal Echocardiography and Pulsed-wave Doppler Ultrasound in a Rabbit Model of Intrauterine Growth Restriction
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Fetal Echocardiography and Pulsed-wave Doppler Ultrasound in a Rabbit Model of Intrauterine Growth Restriction

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Consequences of intrauterine growth and early neonatal catch-up growth

Olivier Claris1, Jacques Beltrand, Claire Levy-Marchal

  • 1Department of Neonatology, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France. olivier.claris@chu-lyon.fr

Seminars in Perinatology
|May 25, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Small size at birth and rapid early weight gain are linked to long-term health risks, including cardiovascular disease. Understanding fetal growth velocity is crucial for assessing infant health and preventing future complications.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Developmental Biology
  • Cardiovascular Epidemiology

Background:

  • Long-term consequences of small size at birth are increasingly recognized.
  • Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) indicates decreased fetal growth velocity due to pathophysiologic processes.
  • Normal birth weight does not exclude fetal growth restriction.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the importance of assessing fetal growth velocity.
  • To identify risk factors associated with early life growth patterns and long-term health.
  • To understand the implications of catch-up growth following fetal growth restriction.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal follow-up of adult cohorts.
  • Assessment of fetal growth velocity and birth size.
  • Analysis of early life weight gain, feeding practices, and in utero exposures.

Main Results:

  • Greater weight gain and increased fat mass in early life following thinness at birth are risk factors for overweight and cardiovascular diseases.
  • Prematurity, bottle feeding, and in utero tobacco exposure are identified as additional risk factors.
  • Early catch-up growth can help normalize weight and height trajectories.

Conclusions:

  • Fetal growth velocity assessment is vital, even with normal birth weight.
  • Early life growth patterns significantly influence long-term cardiovascular health.
  • Interventions addressing early growth may mitigate future health risks.

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