Nutrition, growth and development of very-low-birth-weight infants after discharge

Abstract

Objective To explore the effect of breast feeding plus human milk fortifier and formula on growth and development of very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants after discharge through monitoring post-discharge nutritional status, growth, and development of VLBW infants. Methods A total of 143 preterm VLBW infants were divided into two groups according to feeding mode after discharge: breastfeeding+ human milk fortifier group, and formula feeding group. Body length, weight, and head circumference of each group were recorded and analyzed at corrected age of 40 weeks and 52 weeks. Results The extrauterine growth retardation rates of weight, length, and head circumference of the 143 infants were 35.25%, 32.43%, and 14.41%, respectively at corrected age of 40 weeks; 9.52%, 10.81%, and 2.7%, respectively at corrected age of 52 weeks. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in growth and development. At the corrected age of 40, 52, and 56 weeks, 18.67%, 56.0%, and 68.75% of the cases were shifted from human milk fortifier to formula feeding or exclusive breastfeeding. Conclusions Post-discharge intensive nutritional management may accelerate grow of VLBW infants. There are little difference in growth and development between formula-feeding VLBW infants and those fed with mother's milk plus human milk fortifier. Key words: Infant; very-low-birth-weight; Human milk fortifier; Post-discharge formula; Growth restriction