title: Continued weight loss in the newborn during the third day of life as an indicator of early weaning.
abstract: Little information is available about continued weight loss (CWL) of the newborn during the third day of life as an additional factor in early weaning. The purpose of the present study was to establish the value of CWL as an indicator of early weaning. The study group comprised 54 normal newborns of non-smoking healthy mothers. Newborns with CWL were compared with those whose weight remained stable or increased (controls). Follow-up was conducted by telephone interview at 10 days, 6 weeks, and 3 months after birth. It was found that mothers in the control group breastfed for a much longer period than those in the study group (P = 0.014); at age 3 months 66.7% of the controls vs. 46.3% of the study group continued to breastfeed. CWL and/or absence of or inadequate breastfeeding guidance for the mother places infants at high risk of early weaning. These mothers require very early and strong support in order to avoid early weaning of their infants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah, Tikva.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Merlob
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aloni
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Prager
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jelin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Idel
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kotona
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D013997:Time Factors; D014886:Weaning; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000502:physiology*