Impairment of fetal growth potential and neonatal encephalopathy

Neurodevelopmental delay in small babies at term: a systematic review

“…This finding of lower scores in small fetuses born at term fits well with the already‐known increased risk of stillbirth, asphyxia and perinatal death2, 6, 82. The 95% CIs for the effect size in the FGR group crossed unity.…”

“…Small fetal size is known to be a risk factor for perinatal morbidity and mortality1–4. Birth weight lower than the 5 th or 10 th centile of the population‐adjusted standard is often called small for gestational age (SGA)5, 6.…”

Patterns of brain injury in term neonatal encephalopathy

“…However, lower birthweight may be a marker for multiple risk factors of neonatal encephalopathy. 23 We were also unable to attribute more severe brain injury to a maternal inflammatory condition. The failure to identify the specific antenatal risk factors associated with the pattern and severity of brain injury suggests that either we did not measure the relevant antenatal risk factors or that better antenatal markers need to be identified.…”

Prenatal Application of the Individualized Fetal Growth Reference

“…Thus, fetal growth restriction itself does not necessarily cause adverse perinatal outcomes but is associated with a wide variety of perinatal mortality and morbidity. We selected a number of perinatal outcomes that are clinically important and priority concerns of both obstetricians and neonatologists (24, 25). Consequently, these outcomes should be the “gold standard” in assessing the prenatal utility of these references, even though they may not be good indicators for long-term effects.…”