THURSDAY, Sept. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Test weighing should not be used to assess single feed milk intake in newborns because infant weighing scales lack sufficient sensitivity to detect such small changes, according to a study published in the September issue of the Archives of Disease in Childhood, Fetal and Neonatal Edition.
Paul Brand, M.D., of the Princess Amalia Children's Clinic in Zwolle, the Netherlands, and a colleague conducted a study of 94 infants who were fed by bottle, cup or nasogastric tube and then weighed immediately before and after feeding. The actual milk intake was determined by the milliliter scale of the milk container.
Test weighing was a poor indicator of actual milk intake, ranging from -12.4 ml to 15 ml, an inaccuracy representing 40 percent of the median milk intake. The maximum difference recorded was 30 ml. Monitor or oxygen saturation wires, intravenous lines or infant vomiting did not affect the imprecision of measurement. The insensitivity of weighing scales was the probable reason for the inaccurate results, the authors wrote.
"It appears therefore that there is no reliable, simple, clinically useful method for assessing milk intake in breast-fed infants. Our results suggest that test weighing of a single feed is too imprecise to be of clinical use and should be discouraged," the authors concluded.
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
