Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 May;28(5):1347-1352.
doi: 10.1007/s43032-020-00351-y. Epub 2020 Oct 14.

Relation of Birthweight and Ovarian and Uterine Size Prior to Menarche

Nadia Parisi #  1 , Alice Tassi #  1 , Valentina Capodicasa  1 , Anjeza Xholli  2 , Angelo Cagnacci  3   4
Affiliations

Relation of Birthweight and Ovarian and Uterine Size Prior to Menarche

Nadia Parisi et al. Reprod Sci. 2021 May.

Abstract

During pregnancy, supply of nutrients and exposure of the mother to environmental factors can influence fetus phenotype, possibly modifying growth of fetal tissues and organs. Few studies inconsistently reported that fetuses exposed to an insufficient energy supply, as those born small for gestational age, may have a reduced volume of uterus and ovaries. A retrospective analysis was performed on ultrasound data performed between 2012 and 2018 in 69 young premenarchal girls, 5 to 9 years of age, attending our endocrine-gynecologic clinic for a suspect of early puberty. Length of pregnancy and birthweight was also retrieved. When corrected for age, and presence of ovarian follicles, ovarian volume was positively (R2 = 0.210; p = 0.001) related to percentiles of birthweight (beta coefficient 0.012; 95% CI, 0.002-0.021). Similarly, uterine volume was positively (R2 = 0.237; p = 0.005) related to percentiles of birthweight (beta coefficient 0.067; 95% CI, 0.021-0.114). Ovarian (p = 0.034) and uterine (p = 0.014) volume was higher in the upper 3rd distribution of birthweight percentiles. In conclusion, development of ovarian and uterine volume increases progressively with the increase of birthweight percentiles. The data indicate an association between birthweight and the volume of uterus and ovary at 5-9 years of age.

Keywords: Birthweight; Fetal growth; Ovary; Reproduction; Small for gestational age; Uterus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Scatterplot of log-transformed ovarian (top) and uterus (bottom) volume stratified by birthweight percentiles
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Barker DJ. The origins of the developmental origins theory. J Intern Med. 2007;261:412–417. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2796.2007.01809.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ibáñez L, Potau N, Enriquez G, Marcos MV, de Zegher F. Hypergonadotrophinaemia with reduced uterine and ovarian size in women born small-for-gestational-age. Hum Reprod. 2003;18:1565–1569. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deg351. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ghirri P, Bernardini M, Vuerich M, Cuttano AM, Coccoli L, Merusi I, Ciulli C, D’Accavio L, Bottone U, Boldrini A. Adrenarche, pubertal development, age at menarche and final height of full-term, born small for gestational age (SGA) girls. Gynecol Endocrinol. 2001;15:91–97. - PubMed
    1. Ekholm K, Carstensen J, Finnström O, Sydsjö G. The probability of giving birth among women who were born preterm or with impaired fetal growth: a Swedish population-based registry study. Am J Epidemiol. 2005;161:725–733. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwi096. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ibáñez L, de Zegher F. Puberty after prenatal growth restraint. Horm Res. 2006;65(Suppl 3):112–115. - PubMed

Publication types