Vol. 8, Issue 5, Part D (2022)

The birth weight of an infant is the single most important determinant. Nearly 15-20% of babies are born with low birth weight globally. A baby who is very small at birth may have trouble in feeding, gaining weight and low immunity. The aim of the study is to assess weight gain pattern of Low Birth Infants exclusively fed on mothers’ milk during the first six months of life. A prospective observational cohort study was conducted between January 2016 to December 2016. Five hundred and eleven Low birth weight infants those born in tertiary care hospital of Raigad district were enrolled in the study. Based on their birth weight these infants were categorized into three subgroups-I (44 infants), subgroup-II (132 infants) and subgroup-III (335 infants). Follow up of these infants were done during regular visits to well-baby clinics and home visits over a period of six months at monthly interval. All Low birth weight babies born of singleton pregnancy without any gross congenital malformations during period of six months and their mothers were included in the study.

The mean birth weight in Subgroup-I was 1.3 kg, in subgroup-II was 1.8 kg and subgroup-III was 2.29kg. The mean weight of all LBW infants exclusively fed on mothers’ milk was observed to be constantly below 5th percentile at birth and during six months follow up as compared to WHO standard growth curve. However, infants in all subgroups gained weight within the trajectory of their own birth weight which was seen less than 5th percentile of WHO standard growth chart. Infants in Subgroup-I & II showed better weight gain during first month and there after consistent increase in weight during six months with an average daily weight gain of 10-20gms. Hence, it is important for Low birth weight infants to be fed on exclusive mothers’ milk either direct or Extracted Breast Milk