Definition

A child has a delay in growth inside the maternal womb when it is estimated that there is a much lower weight than what corresponds to the gestation’s stage.  In case of being born when there is a delay in growth, the weight would be much lower than that of children considered “healthy”, whose mothers did not suffer any known illness.

There are diverse factors that can modify normal growth in the womb; in fact, 60% of the cases can be identified.  Among the most frequent are:

a) risk factors present before conception, such as low socioeconomic level, first child, limit ages (adolescence, old age), illnesses such as high blood pressure and diabetes;

b) risk factors during pregnancy, such as multiple pregnancies, high blood pressure caused by the pregnancy, period between two pregnancies shorter than one year, lower weight gain than expected at the end of the pregnancy, bacterial, viral and parasite infections;

c) factors related to the maternal habits, such as nicotine addition, excessive intake of caffeine or alcohol and stress, among others.

Children considered small for their age have a death risk eight times higher than those who had a normal weight at birth.

The nitrates of cured, smoked and processed meats generate a production of nitrosamines, which produce cancer.