Objective We aimed to examine the associations of maternal anthropometrics with fetal weight measured in different periods of pregnancy and with birth outcomes.Design Population-based birth cohort study.Setting Data of pregnant women and their children in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.Population In 8541 mothers, height, prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain were available.Methods Fetal growth was measured by ultrasound in mid-and late pregnancy. Regression analyses were used to assess the impact of maternal anthropometrics on fetal weight and birth outcomes.Main outcome measures Fetal weight and birth outcomes: weight (grams) and the risks of small (<5th percentile) and large (>95th percentile) size for gestational age at birth.Results Maternal BMI in pregnancy was positively associated with estimated fetal weight during pregnancy. The effect estimates increased with advancing gestational age. All maternal anthropometrics were positively associated with fetal size (P-values for trend <0.01). Mothers with both their prepregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain quartile in the lowest and highest quartiles showed the highest risks of having a small and large size for gestational age child at birth, respectively. The effect of prepregnancy BMI was strongly modified by gestational weight gain.Conclusions Fetal growth is positively affected by maternal BMI during pregnancy. Maternal height, prepregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain are all associated with increased risks of small and large size for gestational age at birth in the offspring, with an increased effect when combined.Keywords Birth weight, cohort studies, fetal development, obesity, pregnancy.Please cite this paper as: Ay L, Kruithof C, Bakker R, Steegers E, Witteman J, Moll H, Hofman A, Mackenbach J, Hokken-Koelega A, Jaddoe V. Maternal anthropometrics are associated with fetal size in different periods of pregnancy and at birth. The Generation R Study . BJOG 2009;116:953-963.

Abnormal coronary anatomy was not a determinant of outcome in our study. Surgical coronary obstruction is independent of original anatomy. It can be almost silent and is potentially fatal. Follow-up angiography must be considered in all patients after the arterial switch operation.

Catch-down in weight in the third trimester was strongly associated with postnatal catch-up within 6 wk after birth, and both were associated with an increase in fat mass at the age of 6 months. Our study shows that fetal as well as postnatal growth patterns are associated with body composition in early childhood.

Objectives: To examine the development and tracking of subcutaneous fat mass in the first 2 years of life and to examine which parental, fetal and postnatal characteristics are associated with subcutaneous fat mass. Design: This study was embedded in the Generation R Study, a prospective cohort study from early fetal life onward. Subcutaneous fat mass was measured by skinfold thickness (biceps, triceps, suprailiacal, subscapular) at the ages of 1.5, 6 and 24 months in 1012 children. Information about parental, fetal and postnatal growth characteristics was collected by physical and fetal ultrasound examinations and questionnaires. Results: Normal values of subcutaneous fat mass are presented. Total subcutaneous fat mass was higher in girls than in boys at the age of 24 months (P ¼ 0.01). Subjects in the lowest and highest quartiles at the age of 6 months tended to keep their position in the same quartile at the age of 24 months (odds ratios 1.86 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3, 2.7)) and 1.84 (95% CI: 1.3, 2.6), respectively). Maternal height and weight, paternal weight, fetal weight at 30 weeks, birth weight and weight at the age of 6 weeks were each inversely associated with subcutaneous fat mass at the age of 24 months after adjustment for current weight at 24 months. Conclusion: This study shows for the first time that subcutaneous fat mass tends to track in the first 2 years of life. Furthermore, the results suggest that an adverse fetal environment and growth are associated with increased subcutaneous fat mass at the age of 24 months. Further studies are needed to examine whether these associations persist in later life.

Maternal and paternal anthropometrics affect early growth in pre-school children differently. Gestational weight gain in mothers without overweight and obesity is related to the risk of overweight in early childhood.

Our findings suggest that growth patterns in foetal and postnatal life are associated with bone mass in infancy and may have consequences for bone mass in later life. Follow-up studies are needed to assess whether and to what extent maternal anthropometrics, foetal and postnatal growth patterns have an effect on bone status in adulthood.

Maternal smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of obesity in the offspring. Not much is known about the associations with other measures of body composition. We assessed the associations of maternal smoking during pregnancy with the development of subcutaneous fat mass measured as peripheral and central skinfold thickness measurements in early childhood, in a population-based prospective cohort study from early fetal life onward in the city of Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The study was performed in 907 mothers and their children at the ages of 1.5, 6 and 24 months. As compared to non-smoking mothers, mothers who continued smoking during pregnancy were more likely to have a younger age and a lower educational level. Their children had a lower birth weight, higher risk of small size for gestational age and were breastfed for a shorter duration (P-values <0.01). We did not observe differences in peripheral, central and total subcutaneous fat mass between the offspring of non-smoking mothers, mothers who smoked in first trimester only and mothers who continued smoking during pregnancy (P > 0.05). Also, the reported number of cigarettes smoked by mothers in both first and third trimester of pregnancy were not associated with peripheral, central and total subcutaneous fat mass in the offspring at the ages of 1.5, 6 and 24 months. Our findings suggest that fetal exposure to cigarette smoke during pregnancy does not influence subcutaneous fat mass in early childhood. Follow-up studies are needed in children at older ages and to identify associations of maternal smoking during pregnancy with other measures of body composition.

Background/Objectives: Breastfeeding has a protective effect on childhood obesity, but the influences on body composition in early childhood are not known. The objective of this study is to assess whether the duration and exclusiveness of breastfeeding, and the timing of introduction of solid foods are associated with the subcutaneous fat mass in early childhood. Subjects/Methods: This study was embedded in a population-based prospective cohort study among 779 children. Peripheral (biceps, triceps) and central (suprailiacal and subscapular) subcutaneous fat mass was measured as skinfold thickness at the ages of 1.5, 6 and 24 months. Results: Breastfeeding duration was not associated with subcutaneous fat mass at the age of 1.5 months. Shorter breastfeeding was associated with higher peripheral and total subcutaneous fat mass at the age of 6 months (P-value for trend o0.05), but not at the age of 24 months. As compared to children who were exclusively breast fed for 4 months, those who were non-exclusively breast fed had a higher central fat mass at the age of 24 months (P-value for trend o0.01). Timing of introduction of solid foods was not associated with subcutaneous fat mass. Conclusion: Our results suggest that a shorter duration and non-exclusive breastfeeding affect early body composition during the first 2 years of life. Follow-up studies at older ages are needed to explore the long-term consequences.