FETAL GROWTH-RETARDATION AS A CAUSE OF IMPAIRED OVARIAN DEVELOPMENT

Low birthweight has been associated with diseases and disorders later in life. It has been suggested that this is caused by the impaired dev elopment of abdominal organs, especially in cases of growth retardatio n. Besides general malnutrition of the fetus, preferential bloodflow t o the heart and brain may further deprive organs, such as liver, pancr eas and kidney, of nutrients. As a result these organs may not develop properly. Anatomically, the ovary is situated close to the kidney and it is very likely that, similar to the kidney, ovarian development ca n be negatively affected by intra-uterine growth retardation. Placenta l insufficiency, which is an important cause of severe intra-uterine g rowth retardation, was used as a model to investigate this hypothesis. In the present study, the volume percentages of primordial follicles in the ovaries of four severely growth-retarded fetuses of different g estational ages are compared to those of four age-matched controls. It is found that these volume percentages in growth-retarded fetuses wer e significantly lower than those observed in the age-matched controls. It can be concluded that ovarian development is impaired in intra-ute rine growth-retarded fetuses. These findings further suggest that, as a result of the premature loss of follicles, females with low birthwei ghts may encounter fertility problems later in life. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.