title: Feeding of Low Birth Weight Newborns in Tertiary Care Hospitals in Pakistan: Do They Follow the World Health Organization Latest Guidelines?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the extent the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on the care of Low Birth Weight (LBW) newborns are followed in Pakistani hospitals and analyze any difference in policy compliance between different hospitals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive analytical study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data was collected from five tertiary care hospitals, one each from Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta, Karachi and Islamabad, from January to June 2012.
  
  
  METHODS
  LBW newborns data derived from medical records was used. It was collected using a questionnaire, which encompassed the recent WHO recommendations for feeding of LBW. Twenty questionnaires were collected from each hospital. STATA11.0 was used to analyze the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty seven LBW newborns (57%) were fed with mother's own milk, and 9 (9%) were fed on donor human milk. Forty four newborns (44%) were initiated breastfeeding within the first hour after birth. Most of the babies not able to be breastfed were fed with intra gastric tube. Feeding practices varied markedly across hospitals, ranging from one hospital where all newborns were fed formula milk to one where all were fed breast milk.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The WHO guidelines were only partially implemented, with significant differences between hospitals in level of implementation of recommended practices. Given the benefits expected from the application of the guidelines, efforts should be made for the establishment and promotion of a single national policy for LBW feeding that follows the WHO new guidelines and streamlines the LBW feeding practices across the country.
authors: Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Jan Waldenströms Gata, Malmo SE-205 02, Sweden.
authors: Jehangir
authors: J
authors: Khan
authors: Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Jan Waldenströms Gata, Malmo SE-205 02, Sweden.
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Stafstrom
authors: Centre for Intervention Science in Maternal and Child Health, Centre for International Health, University of Bergen, Norway.
authors: Jose Carlos
authors: JC
authors: Martines
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001903:Bottle Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010154:Pakistan; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D063128:Tertiary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D014944:World Health Organization