Biomaterial Database

Maternal undernutrition influences placental-fetal development. 2010

Louiza Belkacemi, and D Michael Nelson, and Mina Desai, and Michael G Ross

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA, and David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Torrance, California 90502, USA. lbelkacemi@obgyn.humc.edu

Maternal nutrition during pregnancy has a pivotal role in the regulation of placental-fetal development and thereby affects the lifelong health and productivity of offspring. Suboptimal maternal nutrition yields low birth weight, with substantial effect on the short-term morbidity of the newborn. The placenta is the organ through which gases, nutrients, and wastes are exchanged between the maternal-fetal circulations. The size, morphology, and nutrient transfer capacity of the placenta determine the prenatal growth trajectory of the fetus to influence birth weight. Transplacental exchange depends on uterine, placental, and umbilical blood flow. Most important, maternal nutrition influences factors associated not only with placental homeostasis but also with optimal fetal development. This review associates fetal growth with maternal nutrition during pregnancy, placental growth and vascular development, and placental nutrient transport.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010929	Placentation	The development of the PLACENTA, a highly vascularized mammalian fetal-maternal organ and major site of transport of oxygen, nutrients, and fetal waste products between mother and FETUS. The process begins at FERTILIZATION, through the development of CYTOTROPHOBLASTS and SYNCYTIOTROPHOBLASTS, the formation of CHORIONIC VILLI, to the progressive increase in BLOOD VESSELS to support the growing fetus.	Hemochorial Placental Development,Hemochorial Placentation,Placental Development,Placental Development, Hemochorial,Placentation, Hemochorial
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D005260	Female		Females
D005317	Fetal Growth Retardation	Failure of a FETUS to attain expected GROWTH.	Growth Retardation, Intrauterine,Intrauterine Growth Retardation,Fetal Growth Restriction,Intrauterine Growth Restriction
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D044342	Malnutrition	An imbalanced nutritional status resulting from insufficient intake of nutrients to meet normal physiological requirement.	Malnourishment,Nutritional Deficiency,Undernutrition,Malnourishments,Nutritional Deficiencies
D047109	Fetal Development	Morphological and physiological development of FETUSES.	Fetal Programming,Fetal Growth,Development, Fetal,Fetal Programmings,Growth, Fetal
D039382	Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena	Nutrition of a mother which affects the health of the FETUS and INFANT as well as herself.	Maternal Nutrition Physiology,Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomenon,Maternal Nutritional Physiology,Nutrition Physiology, Maternal,Nutritional Physiology, Maternal,Physiology, Maternal Nutrition,Physiology, Maternal Nutritional