Small-for-menstrual-age infants: different subgroups detected using individualized fetal growth assessment

Our purpose was to study the individual fetal growth patterns of infants who were born small-for-menstrual-age. Growth in the second and third trimester was assessed in 98 small-for-menstrual-age infants, using individual fetal growth curves generated by the growth model: P = c(t)k+s(t). Growth indices were compared with those previously reported for that method in infants with normal growth. The small-for-menstrual-age infants were distributed into four growth patterns, ie, infants with either normal or decreased second-trimester growth indices, who, by the time of birth, succeed or fail in fulfilling their individual growth potential. These four growth patterns appear to be associated with different pathophysiological mechanisms and incidences of perinatal complications. Individual fetal growth assessment identifies differences in genetically determined growth and differentiates between fetuses who achieve their growth potential and those with growth failure who are at greater risk for fetal compromise.