[Intra-uterine growth retardation and prenatal nutrition. I. Review of the literature].

: The authors have carried out a review of the literature about the consequences of alimentary deficiency in the mother on the growth of the fetus. The effects of under nutrition in the animal kingdom are well known. In the human species studies have been made in developing countries and also in countries that are developed in times of food rationing. These show that when the ration is deficient in calories there is a drop in the birthweight of the newborn. All the same, the effects of moderate malnutrition are not well established. A discussion therefore is started on the methods by which the diet is examined and the patients have been selected. Whenever there is suspicion of failure of intra-uterine growth during pregnancy, the place of enquiring into the mother's diet is emphasized, together with the other methods of investigation of the causes.