Impact of breastfeeding on weight gain and incidence of diarrhea among low birth weight infants of an urban slum of Calcutta.

In India low-birth-weight (LBW) babies are considered to be at risk for poor child survival. It is noted that LBW babies have higher risk of diarrhea and longer duration of suffering than normal birth weight (NBW) babies. It is well documented that exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first 4-6 months of life is vital in gaining weight and protects infants from diarrhea. This paper presents a community-based observational study on the breastfeeding pattern and its impact of weight gain and diarrhea in LBW infants in an urban slum of Calcutta. Between April 1998 and March 1999 this study was conducted on a birth cohort of 50 LBW babies. 50 NBW newborn babies served as controls. Both the groups were prospectively followed up to the age of 4 months and were compared according to socioeconomic status availability of safe water supply disposal of childs feces and handwashing habits. Overall this study illustrates that LBW babies under EBF showed remarkable catch-up growth and had significantly better weight gain than NBW babies. It is noted that EBF has a protective role in preventing diarrhea and was sufficient for LBW babies to gain normal weight and no supplementary feeding was necessary. Thus the promotion of EBF should give emphasis on LBW babies as they are more vulnerable to malnutrition and risk of infections such as diarrhea.