A cross-sectional study on the frequency and risk factors for neonatal hypoglycemia in babies born in rural Kerala

Abstract

A BSTRACT Introduction: Glucose is the main source of energy for the developing brain. Hypoglycemia is a commonly encountered and treatable problem in the neonatal period. The newborn baby should be breastfed soon after delivery and continued on demand breastfeeding. As families become nuclear, mothers may not have the necessary skills and knowledge about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding. Health care workers play an important role in preparing the mothers for exclusive breastfeeding and ensuring that the newborn remains euglycemic. Problems encountered during breastfeeding should be corrected on an individual basis, and uninterrupted feeding should be ensured as per BFHI guidelines. Aim: To find out the frequency and risk factors of hypoglycemia and its relation to feeding in babies of GDM mothers, large for gestational age, and small for gestational age babies in a baby-friendly hospital adhering to the BFHI guidelines. Materials and Methods: A single-center, observational study was carried out among 160 consecutively born babies born to mothers with gestational diabetes, large for gestational age and small for gestational age for a period of one year from October 2018 to September 2019. Data was collected using an interviewer administered proforma and from antenatal and postnatal records. Glucose monitoring was done and values were recorded. Data was analysed using SPSS software. Qualitative data was expressed as percentage. and quantitative data was expressed as mean and standard deviation. Association with risk factors was studied using the Chi-squared test. Results: The overall incidence of hypoglycemia was 15.3% in our study. The main risk factors identified were prematurity and small for gestational age. Maximum incidence of hypoglycemia was noted in the first 24 hours after birth. Incidence of hypoglycemia in exclusively breastfed babies was only 10.5% compared to those on formula feeds where breastfeeding was contraindicated due to medical reasons and where the incidence was found to be 33.3%. Incidence of hypoglycemia was 50%. The most common symptoms of hypoglycemia were jitteriness and poor feeding. Eleven per cent of babies had asymptomatic hypoglycemia. In babies detected to have hypoglycemia, prompt treatment with oral feeds or intravenous (IV) dextrose was started. There was no mortality in the study population. Conclusion: Incidence of hypoglycemia was maximum in the first hour of life, highlighting the need to start early feeds and to do meticulous monitoring in high-risk babies like pre-term babies, small for gestational age, large for gestational age and babies of diabetic mothers. The incidence of hypoglycemia in exclusively the breastfed group was 10.5%. This showed that confident and successful breastfeeding with the support of health care staff should be the norm to prevent hypoglycemia, and preparation for breastfeeding shou...

Hipoglicemia neonatal en recién nacidos a término en un hospital del norte de Perú, 2023

“…Se identificó que del total del recién nacidos a término durante el periodo de enero-setiembre del 2023, solo el 2 % presentó hipoglicemia como complicación neonatal. Lo encontrado difiere con los resultados de la investigación de Pillai, donde la hipoglicemia neonatal se presentó en el 15,3 % de su población de estudio (2) . Koolen encontró en su investigación una frecuencia de hipoglicemia neonatal del 19 % de los casos, los cuales se presentaron en las primeras 24 horas de vida (18) .…”

“…En el año 2022, en la India, se realizó un estudio donde se pudo identificar que en recién nacidos (RN) el bajo peso al nacer fue alrededor de 12,3 %; de ellos, solo el 9,8 % tuvieron hipoglicemia. Además, se observó que el 33,3 % de RN que fueron alimentados con fórmula presentaron hipoglicemia (2) . Por otro lado, en España se logró identificar como factores de riesgo para hipoglicemia neonatal a la diabetes gestacional, cesárea electiva, el bajo peso al nacer y la alimentación con fórmula (3) .…”