Role of intrauterine growth retardation on physical growth of Pakistani squatter children from birth to 2 years of age

A birth cohort of 727 squatter children from Karachi was followed to study growth patterns by measuring anthropometric parameters at specific ages during the first 2 years of life. The mean weight and length of the intrauterine growth retarded and appropriate for gestational age children fell below the 10th percentile of the NCHS standards after 9 months and further deteriorated in the subsequent study period. However, the intrauterine growth retarded children showed slightly higher growth velocities compared to appropriate for gestational age children in the first few months for all four measurements, but subsequently these differences in growth velocities diminished. Our results suggest that nutrition intervention strategies should begin in early pregnancy.