# Fetal growth restriction (fetus) Condition · id `maternal:fetal-growth-restriction` · Maternal & Newborn Atlas · release `c7fb95f1d15a7d13` (public) > General information from published sources, not medical advice, and not reviewed by clinicians. Check the cited source before relying on anything here. The atlas's own text and curation may be reused under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/): credit the atlas, and do not use it commercially. See the atlas About page. Text quoted from a source stays under that source's own terms, given as the source's reuse\_basis. The atlas's reuse terms do not cover it. The downloads list each quotation with its source in third\_party\_quotations. Browse, life stage: Pregnancy Browse, care area: The baby before birth ## In plain language A baby who is not growing as well as expected inside the womb. The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine says it can come from many mother, baby and placenta conditions, happens in up to 10% of pregnancies and is a leading cause of illness and death in infants. It is found by ultrasound. The Society defines it as an estimated fetal weight, or an abdominal circumference, below the 10th percentile for the gestational age, so a growth chart sets the line, and the available charts do not agree on who is small. ## Technical summary Condition of the fetus (recipient fetal). Source: Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Consult Series #52 (abstract on PubMed). The consult says published diagnostic criteria are disparate, detection rates relatively low and prevention and treatment options limited. It recommends serial umbilical artery Doppler once growth restriction is diagnosed. Trials of delivery timing are filed as the TRUFFLE and DIGITAT study records. Growth restriction is one route to low birth weight; the two are not the same thing. ## Claims, with the population each applies to ## Context: Fetuses with diagnosed fetal growth restriction, as addressed by SMFM Consult Series #52 Recipient: Fetal; Population: Fetuses of pregnancies in which fetal growth restriction has been diagnosed (an ultrasonographic estimated fetal weight or abdominal circumference below the 10th percentile for gestational age, per the guideline).; Care setting: Prenatal care; setting not stated in the abstract; Geography: Not stated in the abstract (SMFM is a US society); Life stage: Pregnancy; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not stated in the parts of the source that were read. ### The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (Consult Series #52) recommends defining fetal growth restriction as an ultrasonographic estimated fetal weight or abdominal circumference below the 10th percentile for gestational age (the guideline's own rating is GRADE 1B). It also recommends population-based fetal growth references (such as Hadlock) for determining fetal weight percentiles (GRADE 1B). - Category: Recommendation - Evidence stage: Guidance - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Fetal; Population: Fetuses of pregnancies in which fetal growth restriction has been diagnosed (an ultrasonographic estimated fetal weight or abdominal circumference below the 10th percentile for gestational age, per the guideline).; Care setting: Prenatal care; setting not stated in the abstract; Geography: Not stated in the abstract (SMFM is a US society); Life stage: Pregnancy; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not stated in the parts of the source that were read. - Limitations: The definition depends on which growth chart sets the 10th percentile, and charts disagree (see the growth standard disagreement page). The consult itself says published diagnostic criteria are disparate. Ratings are the guideline authors' and are shown as they state them. Only the abstract was read. - Last checked: 2026-10-14 - Sources: 1. Supports: Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Consult Series #52: Diagnosis and management of fetal growth restriction: (Replaces Clinical Guideline Number 3, April 2012) (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, sentence 3. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:29Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 46146a6010bb229ca5fd35bacf5da7650a106f68c1ffe3d41d8515bb71aa00c4. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 2. Supports: Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Consult Series #52: Diagnosis and management of fetal growth restriction: (Replaces Clinical Guideline Number 3, April 2012) (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, sentence 5, fragment 2 of 32. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:29Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 46146a6010bb229ca5fd35bacf5da7650a106f68c1ffe3d41d8515bb71aa00c4. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 3. Supports: Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Consult Series #52: Diagnosis and management of fetal growth restriction: (Replaces Clinical Guideline Number 3, April 2012) (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, sentence 5, fragment 3 of 32. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:29Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 46146a6010bb229ca5fd35bacf5da7650a106f68c1ffe3d41d8515bb71aa00c4. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 4. Supports: Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Consult Series #52: Diagnosis and management of fetal growth restriction: (Replaces Clinical Guideline Number 3, April 2012) (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: ArticleTitle. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:29Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 46146a6010bb229ca5fd35bacf5da7650a106f68c1ffe3d41d8515bb71aa00c4. How it applies: PubMed abstract. ## Context: Pregnancies in general, as described by the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine on fetal growth restriction Recipient: Fetal; Population: Fetuses in pregnancies in general. The SMFM statement is about how often fetal growth restriction occurs; it does not describe a study population.; Care setting: Not stated in the abstract; Geography: Not stated in the abstract (SMFM is a US society); Life stage: Pregnancy; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not stated in the parts of the source that were read. ### The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine says fetal growth restriction can result from a variety of maternal, fetal and placental conditions, occurs in up to 10% of pregnancies and is a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality. - Category: Burden - Evidence stage: Guidance - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Fetal; Population: Fetuses in pregnancies in general. The SMFM statement is about how often fetal growth restriction occurs; it does not describe a study population.; Care setting: Not stated in the abstract; Geography: Not stated in the abstract (SMFM is a US society); Life stage: Pregnancy; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not stated in the parts of the source that were read. - Limitations: A general statement in the abstract of a guideline, without a stated source population, country or year. The figure up to 10% depends on the diagnostic criteria used. Only the abstract was read. - Last checked: 2026-10-14 - Sources: 1. Supports: Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Consult Series #52: Diagnosis and management of fetal growth restriction: (Replaces Clinical Guideline Number 3, April 2012) (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, sentence 1. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:29Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 46146a6010bb229ca5fd35bacf5da7650a106f68c1ffe3d41d8515bb71aa00c4. How it applies: PubMed abstract. 2. Supports: Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Consult Series #52: Diagnosis and management of fetal growth restriction: (Replaces Clinical Guideline Number 3, April 2012) (Publication, edition PubMed record (abstract and bibliographic data) from NCBI E-utilities, retrieved 2026-10-14. The full text and the version of record were not read.) Locator: Abstract, sentence 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:18:29Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 46146a6010bb229ca5fd35bacf5da7650a106f68c1ffe3d41d8515bb71aa00c4. How it applies: PubMed abstract. ## Connected pages - Growth below the expected pattern: Fetal development (`maternal:fetal-development`) - Growth restriction is one route to low birth weight: Low birth weight (`maternal:low-birth-weight`) - Filed under this front: Imaging and monitoring (`maternal:front-imaging-and-monitoring`) - Related to: Three fetal growth standards disagree on which fetuses are small (`maternal:bottleneck-fetal-growth-standard-choice`) - Related to: Late growth restriction is often missed before birth (`maternal:bottleneck-late-fgr-detection`) - Investigated in: DIGITAT trial (induction or monitoring for growth restriction at term) (`maternal:digitat-trial`) - Investigated in: TRUFFLE trial (timing of birth in early fetal growth restriction) (`maternal:truffle-trial`) - Evaluated for this: Umbilical artery Doppler ultrasound (`maternal:umbilical-artery-doppler`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `maternal:claim-cochrane-doppler-perinatal-death` and its context] - Recommended for this: Umbilical artery Doppler ultrasound (`maternal:umbilical-artery-doppler`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `maternal:claim-smfm-serial-uad` and its context] ## Provenance Content hash: 87bd81dd8574b344fdbafb857436e1b3d4783edfe57bd9bc1b933a04087960cb Last substantive edit: 2026-10-14 Evidence last checked: 2026-10-14