Height and weight development of low-birth-weight infants at 9 months

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) is defined as a birth weight <2500 g at birth, regardless of the term of pregnancy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the height and weight development of LBW infants from 0 to 9 months of corrected age (CA) in Senegal.

Method: This was a prospective, descriptive, and analytical cohort follow-up of up to 9 months of CA including all live newborns of LBW hospitalized and followed up from 1 August 2019 to 31 May 2020. World Health Organization growth charts were used to assess height and weight growth.

Results: During the study, 136 LBW newborns were included. The mean gestational age was 32 weeks of amenorrhea. At discharge, 46 children (33.82%) were exclusively breastfed. At birth, the mean weight was 1487 g (3rd-10th percentile) and the mean height was 41.52 cm (10th-25th percentile). At 9 months of CA, the mean weight was 8119 g (median) and the mean height was 74 cm (median). The children had achieved satisfactory growth in weight (84%) and height (89%). At 9 months of CA, 27% of the children were behind in one of the four areas of psychomotor development.

Conclusion: At the end of 9 months of CA, height and weight were normal.