BACKGROUND Neonatal deaths, especially among the Low Birth Weight (LBW) babies, are of major concern in the Newborn Unit (NBU) of Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). Several instruments have been developed to predict initial mortality risk among the LBW babies. Among them is the scoring system Clinical Risk Index for Babies also known as CRIB II score. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the use of CRIB II s...

BACKGROUND Preterm birth is the leading cause of death among children <5 years of age. Accurate determination of prematurity is necessary to provide appropriate neonatal care and guide preventive measures. To estimate the most accurate method to identify infants at risk for adverse outcomes, we assessed the validity of two widely available methods-last menstrual period (LMP) and the New Ballard...

A number of previous studies have found that prenatal participation in the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) improves birth outcomes, but only a few studies have provided cost-benefit analyses. The present study linked Medicaid and WIC data files to birth certificates for live births in North Carolina in 1988. Women who received Medicaid benefits and prena...

In a prospective study of 3,857 pregnancies ending in singleton live births at Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut, in 1980-1982, 9.5% of mothers reported using marijuana (4.1% occasionally and 5.4% at least 2-3 times monthly). Among white women, regular use was associated with an increased risk of delivering a low birth weight (less than 2,500 gm) infant (odds ratio (OR) = 2.6, 95%...

BACKGROUND To determine whether the complementary approach of visceral manipulative osteopathic treatment accelerates complete meconium excretion and improves feeding tolerance in very low birth weight infants. METHODS This study was a prospective, randomized, controlled trial in premature infants with a birth weight <1500 g and a gestational age <32 weeks who received a visceral osteopathic ...

Objective About 1 % of infants are of very low birth weight. However, they comprise about 50% of infant mortality. We compare the effects of continuous versus intermittent feeding on physical growth, gastrointestinal tolerance and macronutrient retention in low birth weight infants (Methods A prospective randomized trial clinical trial was performed from 2004-2005. Very low birth weight neonate...

13 VOLUME 45__JANUARY 17, 2008 A newborn infant weighing less than 2500g at birth is termed as low birth weight (LBW) neonate. Low birth weight in a newborn infant results due to intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) or prematurity. According to UNICEF, the incidence of LBW neonates is 30% in India(1). Low birth weight neonates are further classified as very low birth weight (VLBW <1500 g) and...

OBJECTIVE To know the distribution of births of very low birth weight infants by day of the week, and whether this distribution affects the morbidity and mortality in this group of patients. METHODS This was a retrospective analysis of data collected prospectively in the Spanish SEN1500 network (2002-2011). Outborn infants, patients with major congenital anomalies, and those who died in the d...

BACKGROUND Micronutrient deficiencies may be related to poor fetal growth and short gestation. Few studies have investigated the contribution of maternal vitamin A deficiency to these outcomes. OBJECTIVE In rural northwestern Bangladesh, we examined the effects of weekly antenatal vitamin A and β-carotene supplementation on birth weight, length, circumferential body measures, and length of ge...

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of infants with very low birth weight (VLBW, i.e., weight less than 1,500 g) in Japan. However, the effect of VLBW on subsequent behavioral development and mental health remains unknown. Subjects enrolled were 57 individuals (13.4 ± 1.9 years old) with VLBW (VLBW group), including 23 small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants (i.e., the SGA...