Can extrauterine growth approximate intrauterine growth? Should it

Most studies evaluating the growth of preterm infants use the so-called intrauterine growth curve and reference fetus as standards. These curves might not be the optimal standards, however, for several reasons. The curves were constructed from small numbers of infants with uncertainty about gestatio...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of clinical nutrition 2007-02, Vol.85 (2), p.608S-613S
Main Author: Sauer, Pieter JJ
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Birth Weight
Feeding. Feeding behavior
Fetal Development - physiology
fetus
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
growth retardation
human nutrition
human reproduction
Humans
infant growth
Infant Nutrition Disorders
Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Premature - growth & development
literature reviews
postnatal development
pregnancy outcome
premature birth
prenatal development
Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Most studies evaluating the growth of preterm infants use the so-called intrauterine growth curve and reference fetus as standards. These curves might not be the optimal standards, however, for several reasons. The curves were constructed from small numbers of infants with uncertainty about gestational age, reasons for preterm birth, and, for body-composition data, the reasons for the death of the infant. Second, preterm infants after birth are not comparable with fetuses, being in a completely different environment and receiving a completely different nutrition. For instance, a higher percentage of body fat in preterm infants might well be an adequate adaptation to their environment. To get preterm infants to adhere to their supposed growth curve percentile, catch-up growth is needed. Recent studies indicate that catch-up growth might be advantageous for brain development. It might at the same time increase the incidence of cardiovascular disease in later life. The use of intrauterine growth curves to evaluate postnatal growth needs a critical reevaluation.
ISSN:0002-9165
1938-3207
DOI:10.1093/ajcn/85.2.608S