Purpose
This study was performed to explore the weight variations in high-risk term newborns hospitalized during the early postnatal period.
Methods
A retrospective explorative study was performed with 64 term newborns who were hospitalized in the NICU after birth. Data on daily weight, birth information, and clinical features such as phototherapy, placements, nutritional status were reviewed through medical records for 14 days of life. General Linear Model, GLM was applied to analyze the weight variation by clinical features of these high–risk term newborns for 14 days of life.
Results
Newborns at 40 weeks of gestation showed little weight loss during the few days after birth then steadily gained weight to 7.6% at the 14th day. Infants born at 37-39 gestation showed little weight gain for 14 days though the weight loss itself was not apparent. As well, return to birthweight was not observed in newborns with phototherapy, infants placed on a warmer or infants having gastrointestinal dysfunction for 14 days of life.
Conclusion
Even for term newborns, physiologic weight loss may not be warranted even if newborn is born at less than 40 week of gestation, or with high-risk conditions that warrant admission to NICU.