Fetal growth defect is classified into intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) fetus based on the estimated fetal weight percentile and Doppler hemodynamic parameters. IUGR pathophysiology and etiology are complex and diverse, highlighting placental insufficiency as a paradigm, which explains its association with other entities of great clinical importance such as preeclampsia. The poor long- and short-term perinatal and postnatal results associated with this context make it necessary to establish an early diagnosis and a therapeutic strategy, which can be challenging due to the compromise between the threat of intrauterine permanence and the prematurity problem. Consequently, a systematic and protocolized diagnostic-therapeutic management, based on scientific evidence, is necessary to determine whether obstetric intervention through a preterm delivery is advisable to improve the perinatal outcomes of these patients.
Part of the book: Growth Disorders and Acromegaly