[Risk factors of fetal malnutrition in a group of Guatemalan mothers and neonates].

In order to determine the relationship between nutritional, sociodemographic, and obstetrical variables and fetal malnutrition, a study was done on a group of mothers of nonpremature neonates born in a hospital in the central mountainous region of Guatemala. Of the 306 neonates, 105 (34%) presented fetal malnutrition (intrauterine growth retardation, IUGR), which in 77% of the cases was chronic (fetal atrophy, or IUGR type I) and in 23% of the cases was acute (fetal emaciation, or IUGR type II). The maternal factors related to fetal atrophy were puerperal nutritional indicators (weight, height, skinfold thickness, and arm circumference) and sociodemographic indicators (schooling, literacy, and socioeconomic level). Fetal emaciation was found to be related to obstetrical characteristics such as number of previous deliveries and birth interval. The results suggest that poverty, malnutrition, and precarious living conditions over prolonged periods of time are related to chronic fetal malnutrition (fetal atrophy), which is very frequent in this population.