Breastmilk feeding status and weight gain of low birth weight infants in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

A prospective observational study of feeding in low birth weight (LBW) infants with birth weight (BW) of at least 1.8 kg admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) showed that nearly 80% of mothers provided expressed breastmilk (EBM) and a further 14% breastfed their infants before discharge. Weight gain was overall poor at a mean of 9.48 +/- 7.82 grams per kg per day with those on predominant EBM feeding (EBM > 70%) doing worse than those on predominant preterm formula (PTF) feeding (EBM < 31%), weight gain being 5.40 +/- 6.88 and 11.10 +/- 8.15 grams per kg per day respectively (p < 0.01). Weight gain was also poorer (7.72 +/- 5.55 grams per kg per day) in patients with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) compared to those who did not have RDS (12.02 +/- 9.58 grams per kg per day). p < 0.05. Incidence of infants < 10th centile body weight at birth was 16.8% and at discharge was 69.1%.