Intrauterine growth retardation. An unmet challenge
H. C. Miller
Most standards of fetal growth are grossly inadequate. Standards of fetal
growth should be revised so that they represent normally grown fetuses and
newborn infants; their data should be displayed in a uniform manner, and
proper allowances should be made for intrinsic factors that affect fetal
size significantly, namely gestational age, ethnic group, sex of infant,
and maternal parity, height, and weight. The pathogenesis, consequences,
and incidence of intrauterine growth retardation (IGR) will not be clearly
understood until the different types of IGR are more widely recognized than
at present. The incidence of IGR was observed to be significantly higher
when the specific types of IGR were diagnosed rather than relying on low
birth weight for gestational age, which does not distinguish between the
different types of IGR.
