There are actually 3 reasons for small full-term babies

Small for full-term babies refers to newborns with a birth weight of less than 2.5kg. Although babies with this disease have a full gestational age, they have low abilities after birth and the mortality rate is as high as 8 times that of full-term babies. Therefore, it is particularly important to understand the causes of small for full-term babies and prevent them.

Reason 1 for small full-term babies: maternal factors

1. The mother is short in stature: This is a genetic factor, and both mother and child are normal.

2. The surrogate mother is too old or too young.

3. Poor nutritional status of the mother at the time of conception and malnutrition of the mother during pregnancy.

4. Maternal chronic diseases: essential hypertension, hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy, maternal diabetes (with microvascular disease), severe cyanotic congenital heart disease and sickle cell anemia, etc.

5. The pregnant mother smokes, takes drugs, is exposed to radiation, or uses drugs that are harmful to the fetus, such as amphetamines, antimetabolites (aminopterin, methotrexate), bromides, tobacco, cocaine, alcohol, heroin, methadone, phencyclidine, steroids, and warfarin.

Reason 2 for small full-term babies: placental factors

1. Poor placental implantation and abnormal vascular communication.

2. Choriositis, avascular chorion, and chorionic ischemic necrosis.

3. Multifocal placental infarction, placental abruption, single umbilical artery, contour placenta, etc.

Reason 3 for small full-term babies: Fetal factors

1. Chromosomal abnormalities: such as trisomy 21 syndrome.

2. Congenital metabolic abnormalities and syndromes: Hormones such as insulin-like growth factor, insulin-like growth factor binding protein, thyroxine, and insulin are also extremely important for fetal growth. Any congenital hormone defect can cause fetal growth retardation.

3. Congenital infection (such as rubella, cytomegalovirus inclusion disease, toxoplasmosis, Treponema pallidum and herpes virus, etc.).

4. Multiple pregnancy.