Abstract
The objective of the study was to examine whether infant neuromotor development is determined by fetal size and body symmetry in the general population. This study was embedded within the Generation R Study, a population-based cohort in Rotterdam. In 2965 fetuses, growth parameters were measured in mid-pregnancy and late pregnancy. After birth, at age 9 to 15 wks, neuromotor development was assessed with an adapted version of Touwen's Neurodevelopmental Examination. Less optimal neuromotor development was defined as a score in the highest tertile. We found that higher fetal weight was beneficial to infant neurodevelopment. A fetus with a 1-SD score higher weight in mid-pregnancy had an 11% lower risk of less optimal neuromotor development (OR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.82–0.97). Similarly, a fetus with a 1-SD score larger abdominal-to-head circumference (AC/HC) ratio had a 13% lower risk of less optimal neuromotor development (OR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.79–0.96). These associations were also present in late pregnancy. Our findings show that fetal size and body symmetry in pregnancy are associated with infant neuromotor development. These results suggest that differences in infant neuromotor development, a marker of behavioral and cognitive problems, are at least partly caused by processes occurring early in fetal life.
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Abbreviations
- AC/HC:
-
abdominal-to-head circumference
- ICC:
-
Intraclass correlation coefficient
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Acknowledgements
The Generation R Study is conducted by the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam in close collaboration with the School of Law and Faculty of Social Sciences of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Municipal Health Service Rotterdam area, the Rotterdam Homecare Foundation, and the Stichting Trombosedienst and Artsenlaboratorium Rijnmond (STAR), Rotterdam. We acknowledge the contribution of participating mothers and their children, general practitioners, hospitals, midwives, and pharmacies in Rotterdam.
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The first phase of the Generation R Study is made possible by financial support from the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Erasmus University Rotterdam, and the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (Zon Mw). The present study was supported by a grant from the Sophia Children's Hospital Foundation (project number 443).
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van Batenburg-Eddes, T., de Groot, L., Steegers, E. et al. Fetal Programming of Infant Neuromotor Development: The Generation R Study. Pediatr Res 67, 132–137 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1203/PDR.0b013e3181c2dc76
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/PDR.0b013e3181c2dc76
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