Objective: To determine the burden of early growth faltering and understand the care practices for small and sick babies discharged from newborn units in the district.
Study Design: Observational and follow-up study.
Participants: 512 babies discharged from two Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs) and four Newborn Stabilization Units (NBSUs) in two districts of Himachal Pradesh.
Methods: Anthropometric assessments, interview of mothers and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) conducted between August, 2018 and March, 2019. Change in weight-for-age z-score (DWAZ) of <-0.67SD between birth and assessment was used to define growth faltering.
Outcomes: Proportion of growth faltering (or catch-down growth) in small and sick babies discharged from SNCUs and NBSUs, and infant care practices.
Results: Growth faltering was observed in a significant proportion of both term (30%) and preterm (52.6%) babies between 1 to 4 months of age. Among babies with growth faltering (n=180), 73.9% received a home visit by ASHA, and only 36.7% received a follow-up visit at a facility. There were 71.3% mothers counselled at discharge (mostly informed about breast feeding). Most (96.7%) mothers did not perceive inadequate weight gain in their babies post-discharge. During home visits, ASHAs weighed 61.6% of the infants with growth faltering. Amongst infants who had growth faltering, only 49.6% of mothers had been provided information about their infant's growth and 57.1% mothers had received breastfeeding counselling.
Conclusion: Small and sick newborn infants (both term and preterm babies) discharged from special care newborn units are at increased risk of early growth faltering. Follow-up care provided to these infants is inadequate. There is a need to strengthen both facility-based and home-based follow up of small and sick newborn infants discharged from newborn care facilities.
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Nutrients
December 2024
Department of Social Medicine, School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China.
Background: There are few studies examining the physical developmental phenotypes of nutritional deficiency diseases (NDDs) among Chinese children aged 1-7 years by anthropometrics and clarifying the specific NDD categories that caused growth faltering.
Methods: A total of 3054 cases of NDDs in children aged 1-7 years were investigated. The age, height, and weight of children with NDDs were adjusted by using the skewness coefficient-median-coefficient of variation method, and the results were compared with the WHO standardized level.
The recent economic recession has reportedly worsened food insecurity in Sri Lanka. We assessed food insecurity and its impact on the growth of children aged 6-59 months through a community-based, descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted in 2022. Food insecurity was measured using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, and anthropometric measurements (weight, length/height) were taken using standard techniques.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Trop Med Hyg
December 2024
Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Increasing attention has focused on health outcomes of Campylobacter infections among children younger than 5 years in low-resource settings. Recent evidence suggests that colonization by Campylobacter species contributes to environmental enteric dysfunction, malnutrition, and growth faltering in young children. Campylobacter species are zoonotic, and factors from humans, animals, and the environment are involved in transmission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLOS Glob Public Health
December 2024
Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Child anthropometric deficits remain a major public health problem in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and are a key target of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs recommend disaggregation of health indicators by ethnic group. However, few studies have assessed how ethnicity is associated with anthropometric deficits across SSA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr
December 2024
Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Children use nasogastric tubes (NGTs) to ensure optimum nutrition and medication delivery when oral feeding fails or when they experience faltering growth. Although this method is less invasive, children may experience complications associated with NGTs. There is a gap in the literature regarding the types and prevention of complications of NGTs in the pediatric population at home.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!