POSTNATAL BONE GROWTH OF INFANTS WITH FETAL GROWTH RETARDATION

Infants with fetal growth retardation, diagnosed by a birth weight less than the 10th percentile for gestational age, had shorter fibulas and retarded development of epiphyses at the knee, measured from radiographs, when compared to infants with normal weight for gestational age. The neonatal fibula growth rates of the infants with fetal retardation and normal infants were similar, indicating that most infants with fetal growth retardation grow postnatally at a normal rate. Of the 30 infants with fetal growth retardation, 3 showed profound failure of neonatal fibular growth. These infants had severe physiological disturbances in postnatal life resulting from congenital anomalies. In one of these infants, the failure of neonatal growth was evident 3 to 4 weeks before any other signs of her illness appeared. It appears, therefore, that a small proportion—10% in this study—of infants with fetal growth retardation have significant congenital malformations that interfere with postnatal growth. The majority of infants who are small at birth for gestational age grow adequately at a normal rate during their neonatal life.