Compare the levels of vitamin A in cord and maternal blood of 356 mothers who had intrauterine growth retarded babies (IUGR) and 356 mothers who had adequate for gestational age (AGA) babies, identify a possible relationship between vitamin A and IUGR, and evaluate the correlation between maternal and blood levels of vitamin A.Mothers were recruited from 4 hospitals in Campinas, where an average of 1350 babies are born every month. Newborns were classified as being IUGR according to the Lubchenco classification. Gestational age of the newborns was evaluated by the Capurro method. Vitamin A was measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).More IUGR babies - 188/356 (33.1%) than AGA babies - 52/356 (14.6%) had low levels of vitamin A (