The long-term consequences of small size at birth are well khnown.It is important to assess the fetal growth velocity and to recognize that newborns may have growth restriction even with a normal birth weight.Intrauterine growthretardation suggests decreased growth velocity in the fetus as the result ofa certainpathophysiologic process.An infant born after a short period of intrauterine growth retardation may not necessarily be small for gestation at birth.