According to the concept of "fetal programming," intrauterine conditions that impair fetal growth can program the fetus to express hypertension, as well as other chronic diseases, in later life. A model for the development of hypertension that includes the effect of the intrauterine environment on fetal growth as a mechanistic pathway contributes a new dimension in causality and is of great int...

Early - intrauterine - environmental factors are linked to the development of cardiovascular disease in later life. Traditionally, these factors are considered to be maternal factors such as maternal under and overnutrition, exposure to toxins, lack of micronutrients, and stress during pregnancy. However, in the recent years, it became obvious that also paternal environmental factors before con...

NEW FINDINGS What is the topic of this review? This review discusses the role of the glucocorticoids as regulatory signals during intrauterine development. It examines the functional significance of these hormones as maturational, environmental and programming signals in determining offspring phenotype. What advances does it highlight? It focuses on the extensive nature of the regulatory action...

background : iud is one of the safest and most widely used reversible methods of contraception. the purpose of this study was to determine iud survival and reasons for early discontinuation in bandar abbas, south of iran. methods: probability of iud continuation rate and factors associated with discontinuation were assessed in a historical cohort study of 400 women records from march 2002 to fe...

rohrer's ponderal index in newborns (birth weight * 100/height3) has been used as an indicator of fetal growth status, especially to assess asymmetrical intrauterine growth retardation. low ponderal index or disproportionate intrauterine growth retardation has higher neonatal morbidity and there are some specific guidelines in intrauterine growth retarded infants to control some of their p...

Preterm Birth The majority of epidemiological studies in developmental programming have explored the influence of low birth weight (irrespective of gestational age) on long-term chronic disease in individuals born during the first half of the 20th century. Low birth weight neonates may represent infants born at term with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) or born preterm with or without IUG...

Nutrition is the major intrauterine environmental factor that alters expression of the fetal genome and may have lifelong consequences. This phenomenon, termed “fetal programming,” has led to the recent theory of “fetal origins of adult disease.” Namely, alterations in fetal nutrition and endocrine status may result in developmental adaptations that permanently change the structure, physiology,...