For some families, these concerns can linger well into childhood and can lead to worries of permanent stunting of growth. This article describes factors that are associated with small size or poor growth in premature children. Phases of growth beginning from birth will also be discussed. Lastly, new studies on catch-up growth are summerized. There are several factors besides prematurity which may affect size at birth and growth after birth.
Tall parents tend to ultimately have tall children and vice-versa.
Women weighing less than 100 pounds are at increased risk to have a premature infant, and those women might also be genetically endowed to have a small child. Intrauterine growth retardation is a condition in which infants grow slowly before birth. It also is very common in twins, triplets and higher order multiples. In the case of multiples, it may be due to unequal placental separation or from blood vessel connections between twins. We know that infants weighing more than 1500 grams at birth usually do not have a lot of problems with growth later.