147 Abdominal Organ Growth in Intrauterine Growth Retardation: Fetal “Programming” of Diseases Later in Life

Background: Fetal growth retardation has been associated with diseases and disorders later in life. It has been suggested that this is caused by the impaired development of abdominal organs. Besides general malnutrition of the fetus, preferential bloodflow to the heart and brain may further deprive organs, such as liver, spleen, and kidney, of nutrients. As a result these organs may not develop properly, thus predisposing to higher morbidity and mortality rates, as well as a possible contribution towards late sequelae, such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, schizophrenia, depression, breast cancer, and the polycystic ovary syndrome in adulthood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of maternal undernutrition on abdominal organs growth, comparing kidney, spleen and liver sizes in adequate for gestational age (AGA) and small for gestational age (SGA) infants.