Fetal growth and maternal nutrition.

Abstract

Very few studies have been done on the chemical development of fetuses in utero; such knowledge may prove useful in determining nutritional requirements of pregnant women. Apte and Iyengar studied the composition of a series of fetuses from mothers belonging to low socoioeconomic groups in Hydrabad, India, and compared the results with those obtained from other studies. Of 41 infants analyzed, 29 were stillborn while the other 12 died within 12 hours of birth. Livers from dead fetuses were removed and the remainder dried in an air oven, after which the fetuses were grounded for chemical analysis of total nitrogen, fat, calcium and phosphorus, magnesium and iron contents (results of the chemical analysis were presented in a separate paper by the authors). Comparison of fetal body weights with data used by Hytten and Leitch, assuming that gestational ages of fetuses were correct, suggested that most of the infants were "small for date". Comparison with British data showed that up until about 26 to 28 weeks of gestation, the fetuses had a similar composition; after that age, the Indian series exhibited fetal growth retardation, and a considerably lower protein and fat content. The findings suggested that the fetuses of the poorly nourished mothers (mean gain weight during pregnancy was only 6 kg.; almost half of them did not gain weight at all after the 32nd week of pregnancy) had suffered fetal growth retardation; not only were the fetuses smaller, their chemical composition had also been altered. The need for prenatial nutrition of mothers of low socioeconomic background was emphasized.