title: Birth weight in offspring of mothers with polycystic ovarian syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A relationship between reduced fetal growth and the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been proposed in girls with PCOS. However, the birth weight in the offspring of PCOS mothers has not been systematically investigated. The aim of this study was to establish the birth weight of newborns of mothers with PCOS and to compare it with a control group of newborns of normal women matched by age and weight at the beginning of pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  The birth weight of 47 infants born from singleton pregnancies in women with well-documented PCOS was compared with 180 infants born from singleton pregnancies in healthy controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of small for gestational age (SGA) infants was significantly higher in the PCOS group compared to the control group (12. 8% versus 2.8%, respectively, P<0.02). Moreover, SGA infants born to PCOS mothers were smaller than those born to control mothers (P<0.05). The prevalence of large for gestational age infants (LGA) was similar in both groups, but birth length of LGA newborns was greater in PCOS women than controls (P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PCOS mothers showed a significantly higher prevalence of SGA newborns which cannot be completely attributed to pregnancy complications, and seems to be more related to the PCOS condition of the mother.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Maternal and Child Research, School of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile. tsir@med.uchile.cl
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sir-Petermann
authors.forename: Catalina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hitchsfeld
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maliqueo
authors.forename: Ethel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Codner
authors.forename: Bárbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Echiburú
authors.forename: Raimundo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gazitúa
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Recabarren
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cassorla
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence