Poor nutrition, the cause of health disparities in fetal growth and size of newborns worldwide

Poor nutrition, the cause of health disparities in fetal growth and size of newborns worldwide -

poor nutrition and health , not racial or ethnic origin, cause most of the large existing disparities in fetal growth and size of the newborn

the growth of babies in the womb and birth size, in particular their length, are strikingly similar worldwide -. when babies are born to the health, well-educated and well-nourished mothers

This is the conclusion of an international historical, intergrowth-21, conducted by researchers from the University of Oxford, who involved nearly 60,000 pregnancies in eight urban areas defined in Brazil, China, India, Italy, Kenya, Oman, the United Kingdom and the USA.

worldwide there are large differences in the average size of babies at birth. This has important implications for the future health, such as small for gestational age babies who are already undernourished at birth often face severe short- and consequences on long-term health.

There has already been suggested that the "race" and "ethnicity" are largely responsible for differences in the size of babies born in different populations and countries. These new results show that race and ethnicity are the main factors. What matters most is education, health and nutritional status of mothers and care during pregnancy.

The researchers performed ultrasound for early pregnancy to delivery to measure bone growth of babies in the womb, using identical methods in all countries and the same ultrasound machines provided by Philips Healthcare. They also measured the length and head circumference of all babies at birth.

They showed that if education, maternal health and nutritional status and treatment during pregnancy are also good, babies have equal chances of healthy growth and future healthy uterus .

researchers report their findings in The Lancet, diabetes and endocrinology. They were funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

"Currently, we are not all equal at birth. But we can be, says lead author Professor José Villar of the Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Oxford." We can create a similar start for all by ensuring that mothers are well educated and fed, by treating the infection and providing adequate prenatal care.

'do not say we can not do anything. do not that women in parts of the world have small children because they are predestined to do so. It is simply not true.

Highlights

• the study involved nearly 60,000 pregnancies in eight urban areas defined in Brazil, China, India, Italy, Kenya, Oman, the United Kingdom and the United States
• bone growth of babies in the womb and their length and head circumference at birth are strikingly similar worldwide -. when babies are born to educated mothers, healthy and well fed.
• overall, not more than 4% of the total difference in fetal growth and birth size could be attributed to differences between the eight populations studied.
• Improving education, health and nutrition of mothers will boost the health of their babies throughout life in the next generation.
• results are in agreement with the study of previous WHO, using the same methodology from birth to 5 years.

in 2010, an estimated 32.4 million children have been born already undernourished in countries with low and middle income, representing 27% of all live births worldwide . This is closely associated with illness and death in infancy and childhood. Small birth size has an impact on the health of adults too, with increased risk of diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Smaller babies also significant costs to health services and a significant economic burden on society as a whole.

Part of the problem to begin to improve outcomes of pregnancy is fetal growth and size of the newborn are currently being evaluated in clinical worldwide using at least 100 different growth curves . In other words, there are no international standards at present for the fetus and the newborn, while such standards exist for infants and children.

"It's very confusing for doctors and mothers and has no biological meaning. How a fetus or a newborn may be considered low in a clinic or hospital and treated accordingly, only for the mother to go to another city or country, and being told that her baby is developing normally, "said Professor Stephen Kennedy, University of Oxford, one of the main authors of the paper

the ultimate goal of the intergrowth-21 study is to build international standards describing optimal growth of a baby in uterus and as a newborn -. standards to reflect how a baby should develop when mothers have adequate health, nutrition and socioeconomic status.

researchers have adopted the same approach adopted by the multicenter study on the WHO growth reference for infants and children healthy, which established international growth standards from birth to 5 age years that are now used in over 140 countries worldwide.

The intergrowth-21 results are fully consistent with the existing WHO standard infant. The average length at birth of newborns in the intergrowth-21 study was 49.4 -. 1.9 cm, 1.9 cm against 49.5 in the study of infant WHO

From now on international standards can be used worldwide to make judgments on growth and the size of the design for 5 years. "Just think, if your cholesterol or your blood pressure is high, they are high, no matter where you live. Why should not the same to growth? Villar said the professor

Professor Pang Ruyan, from Peking University, China, one of the lead investigators of the study, said :. "The 21st-intergrowth results are fully consistent with the WHO child growth standards for infants and for existing. Having international standards of optimum growth from conception to 5 years that everyone in the world can use means it will now possible to assess the improvement of health and nutrition using the same criteria.

Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta of Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan and the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada who is the chairman of the board of this global research team, said "the fact that when mothers are healthy, babies grow in the womb in a very similar the world over is an extremely positive message hope for all women and their families, but there is a challenge as well There are implications for how we think about public health:.. This is about the chances of health and life of future citizens around the world. All those responsible for health care should consider offering the best maternal and child health.