Body weight changes of preterms in the postnatal period

Abstract

Aim: Survival and complications are very sensitive in preterm infants. Any negative situation in the preterms can lead to unintended consequences. In this study, it was aimed to analyze the data on demographic characteristics, complications, morbidity, mortality, and weight monitoring information of a high number of preterm neonates. Material and Methods: A total of 1091 preterm newborns born before the 37th gestational week in our tertiary care hospital were included in the study. All data were analyzed from hospital records. The weights of the newborns at birth, on the 7th, 15th, and 30th days were recorded.. Results: Of the newborns, 39 (3.6%) died within 30 days after delivery. The cesarean section rate was 91.7%. While 7.9% of the preterms had birth weight below 1000 grams, the preterm rate in normal birth weight (>2500 g) was 15.6%. The mean birth weight was 1909.76 g, the first day mean weight loss was 0.6%, the first 3-day mean weight loss was 3.8% and the first 7-day mean weight loss was 2.5%. The mean birth weight in late preterm infants was significantly lower than in those who were born in the following weeks, while the mean birth weight in late preterm births was significantly higher than in those born before (p<0.001). Discussion: We found that preterm infants and those with lower birth weight had a worse prognosis, and that weight gain after birth was associated with prognosis. We believe that data obtained from our study may be a guide for clinicians and researchers.