Growth Faltering Among Discharged Babies from Inpatient Newborn Care Facilities: Learnings from Two Districts of Himachal Pradesh

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-forage z-score (?WAZ) 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.

Study Design: Observational Studies

Observational study designs are those where the investigator/researcher just observes and does not carry out any intervention(s)/actions to alter the outcome. The three most common types of observational studies are cross-sectional, case control and cohort (or longitudinal). In cross-sectional studies, both the exposure/risk factor(s) and the outcome(s) are determined at a single time point. They can provide information on prevalence of a condition and snapshot of probable associations that can be used to generate hypothesis. Case-control studies are where subjects are selected based on presence/absence of outcome and the risk factors are determined during the study after enrolment of study subjects. The association between exposure and outcome is reported as odds ratio. These studies; however, have high risk of bias, which must be taken care of during study design. Cohort studies are prospective in nature, where subjects are selected based on presence/absence of exposure, and the outcome(s) is determined at the end of study. These studies can provide incidence of disease/outcome and the association between exposure and outcome is reported as relative risk. They are useful to ascertain causality. High dropouts of study participants and confounding can be problems encountered in these studies. Keywords: Case-control, Cohort, Cross-sectional, Odds ratio, Relative risk, Survey

Fetal growth in low-risk Indian population at a tertiary centre and its comparison with INTERGROWTH-21 standards: a prospective cohort study

Background: The objective of this study was to compare the fetal growth pattern in low risk Indian population with the INTERGROWTH-21 standards.Methods: Low risk women were enrolled at 10 to 20 weeks of gestation and followed up until delivery. An experienced operator performed abdominal ultrasound every 5±1 week and measured biparietal diameter (BPD), head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC) and femur length (FL) of the fetus. Newborn anthropometric measurements were taken within 12 hours of childbirth.Results: A total of 126 healthy women, enrolled at mean gestation of 16.8±1.6 weeks, completed the follow up until delivery. None of the participants developed any major obstetric or medical morbidity. The study subjects showed lower mean z scores for BPD (-0.7±1.3), HC (-0.4±1.3) and AC (-0.4±1.3) but a higher mean z-score for FL (0.3±1.7) as compared to INTERGROWTH-21 standards. From 1st through 5th visit, the z scores for BPD and HC improved whereas declined for AC and FL.Conclusions: The fetal growth in non-affluent healthy Indian women had a lower fetal growth compared to INTERGROWTH-21 standards.

Growth Patterns in Small for Gestational Age Babies and Correlation with Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 Levels

Objective: Correlation of catch-up growth and Insulin-like Growth Factor -1 levels (IGF-I) inSGA babies. Methods: 50 Full-term Small for Gestational Age children aged 12-18 monthswere analyzed for Catch-up growth (gain in weight and/or length, Standard Deviation Score/SDS >0.67). IGF-1 was measured after post-glucose load using ELISA method andcorrelated with catch-up growth. Results: Mean (SD) birthweight and length were 2.1 (0.3)Kg and 44.4 (3.1) cm, respectively. At enrollment, mean (SD) age, weight and length were15.0 (2.1) months, 7.7 (1.3) Kg, and 72.9 (5.6) cm, respectively. Catch-up growth was notedin 60% children. IGF-1 levels were significantly higher in children showing catch-up growth(56.6 (63.2) ng/mL) compared to those not having catch up growth (8.7 (8.3) ng/mL). IGF-1was positively correlated with both weight and length catch-up. Conclusion: Majority ofSmall for Gestational Age showed catch-up growth by 18 months, which had good correlationwith IGF-1 levels

50 Years of Neonatology in India: Progress and Future.

India has made impressive gains in its child survival indices during the past half a century with infant mortality rates declining from 159.3 in 1960 to 44 in 2011 and neonatal mortality rate declining from 47 (1990) to 32 (2010). Neonatal health is now an integral part of the country’s flagship program – National Rural Health Mission. Facility based newborn care is not only available in large public and private sectors hospitals, but also in about 300 of India’s district hospitals. Complementing these efforts is home based newborn care being delivered by community health volunteers. The last two decades has also witnessed an increase in newborn research and its incorporation into medical and paramedical education as a major course component. Neonatology now is an independent superspecialty in India. The National Neonatology Forum has had a major role in spearheading reforms in neonatal care in India.

Ages and Stages Questionnaire as a Screening Tool for Developmental Delay in Indian Children.

Objective: To evaluate the ability of ‘Ages and Stages Questionnaire’, a parent completed developmental screening questionnaire to detect developmental delay in Indian children. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Child Development Clinic of a tertiary care center located in Northern India Participants and Methods: 200 children, 50 each in the age groups of 4±1, 10±1, 18±1 and 24±1 months were recruited (20 high risks and 30 low risks in each age group). The Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) was translated into Hindi and administered to the parents, followed by standardized development assessment using Developmental Assessment Scale for Indian Infants (DASII). Results: 102 (51%) children failed on ASQ and 90 (45%) children failed on DASII. The overall sensitivity of ASQ for detecting developmental delay was 83.3% and specificity was 75.4%. The sensitivity was best for the 24-months questionnaire (94.7%) and specificity was best for the 4-month questionnaire (86.4%). The sensitivity of ASQ was much higher in the high risk group (92.3%) as compared to the low risk group (60%). Conclusion: ASQ has strong test characteristics for detecting developmental delay in Indian children, especially in high risk cases. It may be easily converted into other Indian languages and used widely for developmental screening.

Community Based Newborn Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Evidence: UNICEF-PHFI Series on Newborn and Child Health, India.

Background: The neonatal mortality rate (NMR) in India has remained virtually unchanged in the last 5 years. To achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 on child mortality (two thirds reduction from 1990 to 2015), it is essential to reduce NMR. A systematic review of the evidence on community-based intervention packages to reduce NMR is essential for advocacy and action to reach MDG-4. Objective: To assess the effect of community based neonatal care by community health workers (CHWs) on NMR in resource-limited settings. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials. Data sources: Electronic databases and hand search of reviews, and abstracts and proceedings of conferences. Results: A total of 13 controlled trials involving about 192000 births were included in this systematic review. Community based neonatal care by CHWs was associated with reduced neonatal mortality in resource-limited settings [RR=0.73 (0.65 to 0.83); P<0.0001]. The identified studies were a heterogeneous mix with respect to the extent and quality of community based neonatal care provided and the characteristics of the CHWs delivering the intervention. There was no consistent effect of training duration of the health workers, type of intervention (home visitation versus community participatory action and learning), number of home visits done by CHWs, and provision of only preventive versus both preventive and therapeutic care. Limited data suggests that the ideal time for the first postnatal visit is the first two days of life. The interventions are highly effective when baseline NMR is above 50/1000 live births [RR=0.64(0.54 to 0.77)]. The interventions show a significant decrease in efficacy as the NMR drops below 50/1000 live births [RR=0.85 (0.73 to 0.99)], however is still substantial. NMR gains from home visitation approach are going to materialize only in the presence of high program coverage of 50% or more. Conclusion: A significant decrease in NMR is possible by providing community based neonatal care in areas with high NMR by community health workers with a modest training duration and ensuring high program coverage with home visitation on the first two days of life.

Enteral feeding of low birth weight infants.

There is sufficient evidence at present to support early enteral feeding of low birth weight (LBW) neonates, including those who are sick or very preterm (< 30 weeks). Trophic feeding with human milk initiated within 48 hours of birth at 10-15 ml/kg/day improves later tolerance to graded increment of enteral feeding volumes without increased risk of necrotizing enterocolitis. Trophic feeding supports increments of feeding volumes by 30 ml/kg/day by intermittent gavage feeding. Non-nutritive sucking and spoon-feeding aid earlier transition to exclusive breast-feeding. Human milk promotes adequate growth of most preterm neonates, though many need multivitamin and mineral supplementation. The role of human milk fortifiers to promote growth appears controversial.