The Impact of Birth Weight on Baby's Growth

What It Means to Be Small

Being small for gestational age has several names. Each of these names has a slightly different implication, but generally means the same thing: the infant is smaller than was expected.

Some of these other names are:

• Intrauterine growth retardation
• Small for dates
• Dysmature
• Light for dates

There are many causes of being SGA, and your baby's doctor should make at least a cursory search for an explanation. This is important because some problems cause reduced growth in childhood.

A partial list of factors contributing to being SGA includes:

Maternal environment and condition:

• High blood pressure
• Cigarette smoking
• Maternal drug use
• Maternal malnutrition
• Low maternal weight gain (less than 20 pounds)
• Mother was also SGA
• Maternal chronic disease (advanced diabetes, anemia, etc.)
• Living at high elevations (for example, Denver, Colorado)
• Frequent, heavy physical work during pregnancy
• Maternal age (less than 20 years)
• Racial and ethnic background

• Multiple fetuses
• Rubella, cytomegalovirus, and other infections
• Placental abruption (separation of the placenta from the uterine wall)

• Chromosome disorders
• Metabolic problems
• Fetal infections

SGA Babies' Outcome
These infants have more problems in the newborn period such as low blood sugar and too many red blood cells. SGA babies also have a higher risk than AGA infants for being small throughout life and for having delayed development.

Catch-up growth usually occurs in the first six months of age. The later in pregnancy that the fetus' growth slowed down, the more likely that catch-up growth will be complete.