Although a number of writers have argued that birth weights have increased in different parts of the world over the last 150 years, others have disputed this. The absence of clear evidence of increasing birth weights contrasts with the picture provided by child and adult heights and raises profound questions about the measurement of changes in intrauterine health. This article uses newly discovered data from Barcelona's Provincial House to examine the extent to which placental weights, and the ratio of birth weight to placental weight, can help to fill this gap. We find some evidence to suggest that there was an inverse relationship between placental weights and male real wages in Barcelona between c. 1908 and 1920. We also show that both low placental weights and high placental weights were associated with adverse birth outcomes. However, after reviewing a large number of different studies, we do not find any clear evidence of an unequivocal trend in placental weights over time. Our results also have implications for our understanding of the impact of the First World War on the standard of living in non‐combatant countries and its long‐term effects on those who were born during the conflict.

中文翻译：

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出生前生长：20世纪初巴塞罗那胎盘重量与婴幼儿健康之间的关系†

尽管许多作家争辩说，在过去的150年中，世界各地的出生体重都在增加，但其他人对此提出了质疑。没有清楚的证据表明出生体重增加与儿童和成人身高提供的图像形成对照，并提出了有关子宫内健康变化测量的深刻问题。本文使用巴塞罗那省议院最新发现的数据来检查胎盘重量的大小以及出生体重与胎盘重量的比例，可以帮助弥补这一差距。我们发现一些证据表明，有胎盘之间的权重和男性实际工资在巴塞罗那之间的反比关系Ç。1908年和1920年。我们还表明，低胎盘重量和高胎盘重量均与不良的出生结局有关。但是，在回顾了大量不同的研究后，我们没有发现任何清晰的证据表明随着时间的推移胎盘重量有明确的趋势。我们的结果也对我们了解第一次世界大战对非战斗国家生活水平的影响及其对冲突期间出生的人的长期影响产生了影响。