A study on catch up growth among low birth weight infants in an urban slum of Kolkata.

OBJECTIVES: To study the catch up growth among low birth weight infants in relation to the normal birth weight counterparts in first six months of age. METHODS: A longitudinal community based study was done in 2004 -05 in an urban slum of Chetla, Kolkata among 126 singleton live born babies. Growth pattern of these babies was followed up at 15+/-5 days interval by house visit till six months of age. RESULTS: The incidence of low birth weight babies was 28.6%. 86.1% LBW infants caught up in length at 3rd month, 63.9% in chest circumference at 4th month, 66.7% in head circumference at 5th month, while 72.2% in weight at 6th month. Regular growth monitoring is essential for LBW babies to detect signs of growth faltering at the earliest.