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Cardiorespiratory measures before and after feeding challenge in term infants are related to birth weight

M Cohen1, D R Brown, M M Myers

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark, NJ 07112, USA. mcohen@sbhcs.com

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|April 29, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Cardiorespiratory measures during feeding can identify vulnerable infants based on birth weight. Lower birth weight infants show distinct heart rate patterns and autonomic nervous system responses post-feeding.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal Physiology
  • Cardiorespiratory Monitoring
  • Autonomic Nervous System Function

Background:

  • Birth weight is a critical indicator of neonatal health and development.
  • Understanding cardiorespiratory responses during feeding can reveal underlying physiological differences.
  • Autonomic control plays a significant role in infant adaptation after birth.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if cardiorespiratory measures during feeding can serve as markers for birth weight-related group differences in term infants.
  • To investigate the relationship between high-frequency heart period variability and autonomic control in infants of varying birth weights.

Main Methods:

  • Enrolled 104 term infants across the lowest, middle, and highest birth weight quintiles.
  • Excluded infants with drug abuse history, congenital anomalies, low Apgar scores, or NICU admission.
  • Measured heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and heart period variability before, during, and after feeding within 96 hours of delivery.

Main Results:

  • Infants in the lowest birth weight quintile exhibited lower pre-feeding heart rates but greater post-feeding heart rate increases.
  • High-frequency heart period variability indicated greater parasympathetic tone in small term infants before feeding.
  • These infants also showed more sustained parasympathetic withdrawal following feeding.

Conclusions:

  • Cardiorespiratory function measurements before and after feeding are associated with birth weight.
  • These measurements may serve as valuable markers for identifying high-risk infants with small size at birth.
  • Feeding-related cardiorespiratory assessments offer insights into autonomic regulation differences linked to birth weight.
Abstract

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