CHILDHOOD NUTRITIONAL EXPERIENCE AND SUBSEQUENT REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE

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Girls born during the Dutch famine of 1944-45 are known to have been growth retarded as a direct result of maternal starvation, although final adult height was not reduced. Girls age 12-14 during the famine were permanently stunted. The subsequent reproductive experience of several cohorts of women who were of different ages during the famine was determined. These cohorts include women who were conceived and born before the famine, conceived before and during the famine (subdivided into exposed third trimester only and exposed second and third trimester), conceived before and born after, conceived during and born after, and conceived and born after the famine. Of all singleton deliveries in 1960-1983 at the Wilhelmina Gasthuis in Amsterdam, there were 1808 to primiparous women born between January 1, 1944, and June 30, 1946. Adult height and prepregnant weight did not differ by birth cohort. In spite of this, the infant birth weight varied by birth cohort of the mother. Mean infant birth weight was highest among mothers conceived and born before the famine. It progressively decreased to over 180 grams less among women exposed to famine during their own first and second trimesters. Women conceived and born after the famine had infants whose birth weights were not significantly different from those conceived and born before the famine.