The recognition that some low birthweight babies (<2500 g) were the victims of intrauterine growth retardation rather than premature birth was a milestone in perinatal medicine.'3 Up to 10% of all liveborn babies and at least 30% of those of low birth weight suffer from intrauterine growth retardation; their perinatal mortality is four to 10 times higher than that of normally grown babies-both ...

Genetic disorders of growth are numerous and include defects of the central nervous system, hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, skeleton and other glands, tissues or organs. These disorders are caused by genetic variations that interrupt different points of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis and other synthetic pathways that are required for growth. The resulting growth disorders can be classified b...

Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) refers to fetal growth that has been constrained in utero. It results in newborns that have not attained their full growth potential and are already malnourished at birth. Fetuses that suffer from growth retardation have higher perinatal morbidity and mortality and are more likely to experience poor cognitive development and neurologic impairment during ch...