ArticleArchives of disease in childhood. Fetal and neonatal edition2014
Birth weight and longitudinal growth in infants born below 32 weeks' gestation: a UK population study.
Article in Archives of disease in childhood. Fetal and neonatal edition, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Fenton Third-Generation Growth Charts of Preterm Infants Without Abnormal Fetal Growth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology · 2025Pooled it
- Human Milk-Derived Fortifiers Compared with Bovine Milk-Derived Fortifiers in Preterm Infants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2020Pooled it
- Growth patterns and body composition in former extremely low birth weight (ELBW) neonates until adulthood: a systematic review.European journal of pediatrics · 2020Pooled it
- Monitoring postnatal growth of preterm infants: present and future.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2016Pooled it
- Glucose-regulatory hormones and growth in very preterm infants fed fortified human milk.Pediatric research · 2024Trial
- Preterm Formula, Fortified or Unfortified Human Milk for Very Preterm Infants, the PREMFOOD Study: A Parallel Randomised Feasibility Trial.Neonatology · 2024Trial
- Postnatal maximal weight loss, fluid administration, and outcomes in extremely preterm newborns.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2022Trial
- The "Fortilat" Randomized Clinical Trial Follow-Up: Auxological Outcome at 18 Months of Age.Nutrients · 2020Trial
- Nutritional Evaluation and Optimisation in Neonates: a randomized, double-blind controlled trial of amino acid regimen and intravenous lipid composition in preterm parenteral nutrition.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2016Trial
- The ProVIDe study: the impact of protein intravenous nutrition on development in extremely low birthweight babies.BMC pediatrics · 2015Trial
- Longitudinal post-discharge growth according to bronchopulmonary dysplasia severity in very preterm infants: a cohort study.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
- Growth faltering in Indian preterm infants: a prospective cohort study highlighting modifiable post-discharge feeding practices.BMJ paediatrics open · 2026Article
- Plasma amino acids after human milk fortification and associations with growth in preterm infants.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Impact of birth weight on long-term growth and development in children: evidence from a nationwide cohort study.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Gut development following insulin-like growth factor-1 supplementation to preterm pigs.Pediatric research · 2024Article
- Data Resource Profile: A national linked mother-baby cohort of health, education and social care data in England (ECHILD-MB).International journal of epidemiology · 2024Article
- Inadequate weight gain and factors influencing it among preterm neonates in neonatal intensive care units in the Amhara region, Ethiopia, in 2022.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2024Article
- Are the current feeding volumes adequate for the growth of very preterm neonates?The British journal of nutrition · 2023Review
- Birth anthropometry among three Asian racial groups in Singapore: proposed new growth charts.Archives of disease in childhood · 2023Observational
- Gestational age at birth, chronic conditions and school outcomes: a population-based data linkage study of children born in England.International journal of epidemiology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo describe birth weight and postnatal weight gain in a contemporaneous population of babies born <32 weeks' gestation, using routinely captured electronic clinical data.
designAnonymised longitudinal weight data from 2006 to 2011.
settingNational Health Service neonatal units in England.
methodsBirth weight centiles were constructed using the LMS method, and longitudinal weight gain was summarised as mean growth curves for each week of gestation until discharge, using SITAR (Superimposition by Translation and Rotation) growth curve analysis.
resultsData on 103 194 weights of 5009 babies born from 22-31 weeks' gestation were received from 40 neonatal units. At birth, girls weighed 6.6% (SE 0.4%) less than boys (p<0.0001). For babies born at 31 weeks' gestation, weight fell after birth by an average of 258 g, with the nadir on the 8th postnatal day. The rate of weight gain then increased to a maximum of 28.4 g/d or 16.0 g/kg/d after 3 weeks. Conversely for babies of 22 to 28 weeks' gestation, there was on average no weight loss after birth. At all gestations, babies tended to cross weight centiles downwards for at least 2 weeks.
conclusionsIn very preterm infants, mean weight crosses centiles downwards by at least two centile channel widths. Postnatal weight loss is generally absent in those born before 29 weeks, but marked in those born later. Assigning an infant's target centile at birth is potentially harmful as it requires rapid weight gain and should only be done once weight gain has stabilised. The use of electronic data reflects contemporary medical management.
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Registered trials
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