[Retarded fetal growth. Attempt at an etiological-pathogenetic and clinical classification]

The "small-for-dates" babies are not a single entity but a heterogenous group. The condition has been attributed to many possible causes and mechanisms that many induce "poor fetal growth" in utero. Poor intrauterine fetal growth (P.I.F.G.) has been recognized to occur in many circumstances, can begin at various stages of pregnancy and be caused by several different factors. It was assessed that a reduction in fetal growth support can produce irreversible quantitative and qualitative deficiencies in the organs of the fetus and these deficiencies can play a significant role in perinatal pathology. The recognition of these forms at the right time, the knowledge of the criteria for evaluating their severity and their evolution during intrauterine life would seem to be preferable. Therefore, it is essential to define the various forms of P.I.F.G. during pregnancy to give them names, to define the patterns of P.I.F.G., which are seen in various maternal and/or fetal diseases or conditions, so that they can easily be referred to and understood by everyone. That is the purpose of the proposed etiologic and clinical classification of P.I.F.G.