Detection of growth‐restricted fetuses during pregnancy is associated with fewer intrauterine deaths but increased adverse childhood outcomes: an observational study

Objective Exploring associations between antenatal detection of fetal growth restriction (FGR) and adverse outcome. Design Retrospective, observational, register‐based study. Setting Zealand, Denmark. Population or sample Children born from 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2015. Methods Diagnoses from birth until 1 January 2018 were retrieved from The National Patient Registry. Detection was defined as estimated fetal weight less than the 2.3rd centile. Cox regression was used to associate detection status with the hazard rate of adverse outcome, adjusted for fetal weight deviation, maternal age, ethnicity, body mass index and smoking. Main outcome measures Adverse neonatal outcome, adverse neuropsychiatric outcome, respiratory disorders, endocrine disorders, gastrointestinal/urogenital disorders. Results A total of 2425 FGR children were included. An association was found for gastrointestinal/urogenital disorders (hazard ratio [HR] 1.68, 95% CI 1.26–2.23, P