Postnatal Weight Gain Patterns in Preterm Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infants Born in a Tertiary Care Center in South India.

BACKGROUND: Extrauterine growth retardation is a common problem in preterm, very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) babies, as well as paucity of growth charts that follow their postnatal growth.

AIM: To evaluate and plot postnatal weight gain patterns of preterm VLBW babies of <34 weeks' gestation born at a tertiary care neonatal unit in South India.

METHODS: Weight gain patterns of all preterm (27 to < 34 weeks' gestation) and VLBW (<1500 g) neonates were used for plotting the centile curves by retrospective review of electronic medical records. The growth velocity was calculated from birth and from the time baby regained their birth weight.

RESULTS: Mean growth rate (±SD) of these babies was 16.2 ± 2.4 g/kg/day and average time to regain birth weight was 14.2 days (range 12.0-17.6).

CONCLUSION: The recommended growth velocity of 10-15 g/kg/day can be achieved using unfortified expressed breast milk, though at higher feeding volumes of 200 ml/kg/day. These centile curves can be useful for monitoring postnatal growth.