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em her Cleasby et al. 2003). Despite this, as birth approaches it altered during growth retardation; the fetal adrenal glandis normal for fetal GC levels to increase. This naturalDOI: 10.1530/rep.1.01198increase in GC exposure is vital for promoting the organ q 2007 Society for Reproduction and Fertilityand maternally derived cortisol which diffuses across the placenta. The fetal adrenal gland, regulated by theIntroduction In humans and animals, inadequate fetal growth decreases postnatal survival, and is linked to increased risk of adult disease (Barker & Clark 1997). In the pig, birth weight is the major determinant of neonatal survival and is, therefore, of major economic importance (Winters & Stewart 1947). Inappropriate exposure to glucocorticoids (GCs) has been proposed as a common mechanism linking the varied causes of reduced fetal growth to common deleterious outcomes (Fowden & Forhead 2004). GC administration during late gestatio