Girls born with a low birth weight are two times more likely to have fertility problems in adulthood than those born with normal weight. This is the conclusion of Swedish scientists.

With fast development of medicine, survival of infants with low birth weight increases, which eventually leads to the prevalence of infertility. After studying 1293 women, scientists found, that about 4% of them were born prematurely, and about 4% were underweight at birth. About 6% of women had less weight than expected doctors before delivery.

The results of the research show, that infertility in women born with low birth weight occurred 2.5 times more often than in women whose infertility is caused by male factor or by unknown cause. The researchers also noted that excess weight of a woman in adulthood is also a possible factor of infertility. The results of the study were published in the journal BMJ Open, reports Fox News.

Fetal growth restriction in the womb can affect the development of the reproductive organs of the child. Previous research has already linked the decrease of regular ovulation with fetal growth delay in the future. Though the research was carried out in Sweden, the experts are sure, that the data obtained are applicable to other regions, too.