[Fetal and infantile development of weight, height and constitution and the influence exercised by the placenta and the duration of pregnancy (author's transl)].

Fetal and infantile development of weight and height are studied in relation to period of gestation and weight of placenta. The body weight at birth was selected as a measure of fetal development, whereas the development attained at the age of 6 years served as a measure of intantile growth. Weight and height at birth increase only slightly with increasing duration of pregnancy, whereas there is no cchange in the weight at birth/placental weight ratio. The weight at birth increases with increasing weight of placenta. The quotient weight at birth/weight of placenta increases with a deviation of the weight from the average constitution (represented in this study by the relation between height and weight). Deviations from the mean weight, the mean body height and the mean constitution at birth are still noticeable even when the child has reached the age of six, although on the whole there is evidence of a tendency towards levelling-out. The weight at birth correlates more closely with the placental weight than with the body weight at the age of 6 years. The shorter the period of gestation, the higher the body weight at the age of six. This connection is explained by the action of the feeding centre which participates in both inducing parturition and in developing the body weight. There is no connection between placental weight and body weight at the age of six.