Clinical significance of intrauterine growth retardation

: The authors have examined the measure of the influence of the proportional and disproportional retardation on the results of the pre- and subnatal observation of the fetus and on the frequency of perinatal mortality and newborns' morbidity, premature birth and newborns born with low birth weight. The authors have stated the two types of retardation leads to a higher global perinatal mortality mainly by causing a more frequent intrauterine mortality. Comparing the results of the retarded newborns to those of the somatically normally developed neonates they prove it from several aspects that the proportional retardation means a much higher risk for the newborn than the disproportional retardation which is also a risk factor. The new NDN classification system elaborated and used by the authors is suitable for differing the two types of retarded newborns.