INTRA-UTERINE GROWTH RETARDATION IN RENAL-INSUFFICIENCY - EXPERIMENTAL-MODEL IN THE RAT

Pregnant rats were partially nephrectomized and compared with pair-fed controls and controls fed at will. Decreased maternal food intake apparently is a major factor in the intrauterine growth retardation associated with moderate renal insufficiency during the last trimester of gestation. Although renal disease in human pregnancy is often associated with vascular insufficiency, the possibility that maternal undernutrition may also play a contributory role in the fetal growth failure associated with certain cases of human renal compromise merits further study.