In utero growth and development are a complex process leading to additional developmental milestones during postnatal life. Adverse stimuli or insults during this critical period of intrauterine growth and development are now understood to alter the genetically dictated growth trajectory of the fetus and reprogram the newborn's long-term development and physiological path. Basic experimental and clinical human studies demonstrate that fetal growth restriction may result from in utero insults such as uteroplacental sufficiency and/or hypoxia, and may be associated with the development of metabolic syndrome in postnatal life. The “thrifty phenotype hypothesis” has been proposed to explain how in utero responsive adaptations set in motion the series of developmental and physiological adaptations to maximize in utero survival chances. While low birth weight is recognized as a risk factor for metabolic syndrome, it is now apparent that a U-shaped relationship exists between excessive birth weight and increasing risks of metabolic syndrome as well, further highlighting the critically important role, fetal growth, and development play in setting the stage for postnatal life disease risk and health.

We invite investigators to contribute both review and original research articles concerning fetal development in the extremes of birth weights, especially those articles dealing with potential reprogramming of postnatal outcomes associated with an increase of metabolic syndrome. In this edition we wish to specifically collect important contributions related to, but are not limited to:

• Detection and predictive value of ultrasound and other imaging modalities in abnormal pregnancies
• Studies concerning placental function in both low birth weight (e.g., IUGR, preeclampsia, etc.) as well as high birth weight (e.g., LGA and macrocosmic infants)
• Reports detailing detection of markers of altered fetal development and reprogramming
• Molecular mechanisms behind altered fetal organ development and function in utero
• The plasticity of organ systems following an in utero insult and their interrelationships with postnatal whole-body physiology
• Long-term follow-up experimental and human studies following an abnormal pregnancy

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jp/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: