Predictors of Weight Gain among Very Low Birth Weight Infants Born at the Maternity and Children Hospitals in Jeddah during 2012-2013

Background: Growth failure and restricted weight gain in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants remains extremely common despite advances in neonatal care. A majority of VLBW infants leave the hospital with weights below the 10th percentile for age. A variety of measures including nutritional interventions have been considered to achieve adequate weight gain in these infants for preventing short- and long-term lifetime complications.
Objective: This study aims to profile factors that impact weight gain among VLBW infants in three Maternity and Children Hospitals in Jeddah City, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [KSA].
Methods: A prospective study with short follow-up selected a nonrandom sample of infants for collecting data related to parents and admitted VLBW infants in three hospitals. The medical files of actively admitted VLBW infants [n=61] to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) were daily examined for a period of four months through 1st January, 2013 to 30th April, 2013 until their discharge.
Results: Within a variety of categorical and continuous parental and infants’ variables, joint family income and total formula milk fed to VLBW infants significantly correlated with weight gain in VLBW infants. However, the most powerful predictor of weight gain in VLBW infants was total formula milk fed to them.
Conclusion: This study calls for further studies for identifying other predictors of weight gain in VLBW infants in Saudi Arabia.