Impact of early growth delay on subsequent fetal growth and functional development: a study on diabetic pregnancy.

In the first trimester of type-1 diabetic pregnancy, the embryo and fetus are often smaller than normal (early growth delay). We examined the impact of early growth delay on subsequent growth (birth weight) and functional development near term (organizational level of fetal behavioral states) in 21 and 10 fetuses of diabetic women, respectively. There was no relationship between the degree of early growth delay and birth weight (centiles). Mean growth delay per fetus in early diabetic pregnancy was negatively correlated with the occurrence of no-coincidence between behavioral state parameters at 36 weeks (R = -0.59; P < 0.05). These results indicate that disorders occurring in early life may underlie abnormal functional development in later life, whereas (catch up) growth is mainly determined during the second half of pregnancy.