European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

FEEDING OF LOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANT - A REVIEW

Dr. Shubhangi Kapil Thakur*

ABSTRACT

22 million infants are born with a birth weight of les than 2500gm every year, with India having the third highest incidence of low birth weight infants in the world.[1] Though these lbw infants constitute only about 14% of the live births, they account for 60-80%of the total Neonatal death.[2] Lbw infants are increased risk for morbidity and mortality, developmental delays, long term neurological sequale, and chronic medical problems. To decrease morbidity and mortality of lbw infants, care and support of their feeding needs must be provided with high quality.[3] Nutritional management influences immediate survival as well as subsequent growth and development of lbw infants. Simple interventions such as early initiation of breastfeeding and avoidance of pre lacteal feedings have been shown to improve their survival in resource restricted settings.[4] Early nutrition could also influence the long term neurodevelopmental outcomes; malnutrition at a vulnerable period of brain development has been shown to have deleterious effects in experimental animals.[5]

Keywords: Feeding, LBW infants, Nutrition.