Pregnancy complications: Here s how high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, and nutrition impact fetal growth. It is important to maintain a balanced diet and avoid harmful habits for the baby s healthy growth.
Malfunctioning of the placenta deprives the foetus of essential life-sustaining processes. As a result, a condition known as Foetal Growth Restriction (FGR) results. What this means is that the baby cannot thrive with restricted oxygen and nutrient supply. This causes significant deficits on foetal organ development, less body and skeleton mass compared to counterpart with optimally functioning placenta. Unfortunately skeleton mass does not “catch up” after birth, leaving the foetus with lifelong challenges and increased vulnerability to metabolic, cardiovascular and neurological disorders in adulthood. The European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology puts FGR as the second cause of perinatal death after prematurity; complicating almost 6 per cent of all pregnancies.