Significant research has been conducted to examine the growth of the very low birth weight (VLBW) and the extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infant during hospitalization2-5,7.23. Less is understood, however, about the growth of the ELBW infant following discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This area of research is critical (a) because ELBW infants are discharged with a growth deficit resulting in a need for catch- up growth4,9and (b) if interventions are to be developed that are appropriate for developmental age. Thus the aims of this prospective follow-up comparison group study are to: (a) compare the growth patterns of the appropriate for gestational age ELBW and VLBW infant within the context of a specific weight criterion 750- 1000 grams and 1001-1500 grams respectively, and (b) describe the relationships among feeding practices, feeding problems, and parental perceptions, and their relationship to the growth of the ELBW and VLBW infant following discharge from the NICU. Linear regression, profile analysis, chi-square statistics, and canonical correlations will be used to model growth patterns, to identify prototypical feeding practices and prototypical feeding problems, and to test the strength of and direction among the feeding profiles. Multivariate analysis of variance and repeated measures analysis of variance will be used to test the differences among feeding practices, feeding problems and parents' perceptions on growth outcomes at 2, 4, 6, and 12 months. Findings from this study will be used to refine the weaning guidelines and develop a home-based intervention focused feeding plan for the ELBW and VLBW infant. Infant birth prior to 37 weeks gestation is the second leading cause of neonatal mortality in the United States. These early births, usually described as very low birth weight or extremely low birth weight infants, account for 8 percent of all live births. While much is understood about the growth of these infants prior to hospital discharge, less is understood about their growth following discharge. Therefore, this project will allow us to examine their growth patterns and the relationship these growth patterns have to the infants' food intake, problems encountered during feeding, and how parents perceive their infants' feeding, growth and feeding behavior. ? ? ? ?
