ALIMENTAÇÃO E CRESCIMENTO DE LACTENTES NASCIDOS PRÉ-TERMO DE MUITO BAIXO PESO EGRESSOS DE UTI NEONATAL: ANÁLISE DE INFERÊNCIA CAUSAL

Abstract

Breast milk (LM) is the best food for the child, especially in the first six months of life, because it contains fats, vitamins, minerals, immunoglobulins and other nutrients necessary for the maintenance, growth and development of the children. For preterm newborns (PTNBs), breastfeeding has also been the main food indication, both in the hospital setting and after discharge. Breastmilk supplementation has been highly recommended for the nutrition of PTNB and of very low birth weight, since it has been shown to be effective in providing calories and nutrients that may be below the needs of these children in their mothers' milk, for proper growth of the neonate. However, there is no consensus as to how best to feed these children after discharge. Given the conditions to which PTNBs are exposed and that breastmilk has components that can provide a better growth for the baby, this study intends to compare the growth among PTNBs and very low birth weight infants from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit exclusively breastfed up to 6 Months of age with those not exclusively breastfed during this same period. Cohort study, conducted at the University Hospital of the Federal University of Maranhão, Unidade Materno Infantil, using data from the children followed up at the Follow-up service of Neonatology. For data collection, a form was constructed with the variables of interest, socio-demographic variables and growth variables of the children. The sample consisted of 174 individuals compared to the type of feeding and anthropometric measures of growth at six months of corrected gestational age.