Fetal growth: an endocrine perspective.

Fetal growth is generally considered in terms of birth weight and it is consequently often difficult to make comparisons with postnatal growth. Nevertheless, there are fundamental differences between the regulation of growth before and after birth, and the significance of endocrine regulators of growth differs greatly. Retardation of fetal growth is a major clinical concern: there is an exponential relationship between the degree of growth retardation and perinatal morbidity and mortality.