Long-term effects of intrauterine growth retardation

Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) was studied both after experimental induction in rats and spontaneously occurring in man. The growth-retarded rat pups were compared to appropriately grown litter mates with developmental and behavioural tests at 50 and 90 days of age. Female rats exhibited no differences between growth-retarded and control rats but growth-retarded male rats had poor performance at 50 but not at 90 days compared to male controls. In the patient study 25 growth-retarded babies were compared with 21 appropriately grown controls. The growth-retarded babies had delayed latency periods of the visual evoked potentials at term and 6 weeks later, and at follow-up (18 months) demonstrated significantly more developmental and behavioural problems than the control group.