BACKGROUND Increases in pre-term births and improved survival rates have led to interest in the association between gestational age and health in adulthood. Associations between gestational age and risk factors for cardiovascular disease have not been fully investigated. METHODS Using data from the 1958 British birth cohort (7847 singletons), the associations between gestational age and blood...

BACKGROUND Existing fetal growth references all suffer from 1 or more major methodologic problems, including errors in reported gestational age, biologically implausible birth weight for gestational age, insufficient sample sizes at low gestational age, single-hospital or other non-population-based samples, and inadequate statistical modeling techniques. METHODS We used the newly developed Ca...

Introduction: The fetus needs a considerable amount of cholesterol for the development of tissues and organs.  Studies have suggested that genetic and environmental factors influence the composition of cord blood lipoproteins.  In this study, we aim to assess the effect of gestational age, sex and birth weight on the cord blood lipoproteins. Methods: We collected umbilical cord blood samples fr...

In children who are born small for gestational age (SGA), an adverse intrauterine environment has led to underdevelopment of both the body and the brain. The delay in body growth is (partially) restored during the first two years in a majority of these children. In addition to a negative influence on these physical parameters, decreased levels of intelligence and cognitive impairments have been...

OBJECTIVES To study how antenatal growth affects cognitive outcome in very preterm infants and to determine whether there is an association between growth in any particular time period between birth and 5 years of age and cognitive outcome. Small for gestational age (SGA) and non-SGA infants were analyzed separately, because antenatal growth may affect postnatal growth. METHODS Very low birth...

AIM To investigate the relation between gestational age, birth weight, and antenatal corticosteroid administration and the time of ductus venosus closure. METHODS Ninety eight neonates of 30-41 weeks gestational age were studied by daily ultrasonography until ductus venosus closure. RESULTS In neonates of 30-33 weeks gestational age, the ductus venosus closed at 6.0 (2.4)days (mean (SD)); i...

Preterm Birth: Introduction Low birthweight defines neonates who are born too small, and preterm or premature birth are the terms used to define neonates who are born too early. With respect to gestational age, a newborn may be preterm, term, or postterm. With respect to size, a newborn may be normally grown or appropriate for gestational age, small in size or small-for-gestational age, or over...