Growth in Early Childhood of Newborns Affected by Disproportionate Intrauterine Growth Retardation

A group of term newborns affected by disproportionate intrauterine growth retardation as expressed by a small ponderal index (100 × W/L3), was followed‐up with appropriate normally grown controls matched for age, sex, birth rank and social class. Despite catch‐up growth during the first 6 months after birth the study group was still underweight‐for‐length with lower mean skinfold measures at the age of 3 years in comparison with the controls. This indicates that, despite its late onset in pregnancy, disproportionate intrauterine growth retardation continues to influence growth in early childhood.