Postnatal longitudinal reference growth of very preterm infants on exclusive human milk feeding till discharge

Abstract Background and objectives Growth measurements help to confirm an infant's healthy development and also help to identify early, potential health or nutritional problems. Appropriate Growth is also a criteria for early discharge of very preterm infants from NICU. To identify the infants who have growth faltering, we need to monitor the anthropometry regularly and compare with a local standard. Currently there is no best strategy of monitoring growth in VLBW infants. Objective of this study is to assess postnatal longitudinal growth for very preterm infants on Exclusive human milk feeding till discharge. Materials and methods All newborns with gestation Results During the study period a total of 398 eligible infants were admitted to the neonatal units. After excluding 76 infants (36 died in hospital, 40 infants got shifted to another hospital before complete care), 322 infants were eligible for growth assessment. The average time to reach full feeds was 7.7 ± 5.2 days and time to regain birth weight was 12.2 ± 4.8 days. The average weight gain from time to regain birth weight till hospital discharge and till last PMA was 17.6 ± 16 gm/kg/day and 19.8 ± 8 gm/kg/day respectively. The rate of growth for length and head circumference in hospital and till last PMA was 0.8 ± 1 cm/week, 0.7 ± 0.4 cm/week and 0.38 ± 0.8 cm/week, 0.55 ± 0.7 cm/week respectively. The rate of growth in weight, length and head circumference differed significantly among the gestational age groups as shown in Charts. Conclusion Infants with exclusive fortified human milk feeding had growth rate very similar to in-utero growth from time to regain birth weight till hospital discharge or till last PMA at follow up.