Comparison of human milk bottle with infant/toddler test weights in the community setting
Anita L Esquerra-Zwiers1, Madeline Heter2, Anastasia Perecki3
1Hope College Nursing Department, Holland, MI, USA. esquerrazwiers@hope.edu.
Insights
Parental test weights (TWs) accurately measure infant milk intake at home. This method is within clinically acceptable ranges for infants and toddlers under two years old.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Infant Nutrition
- Measurement Science
Background:
- Test weights (TWs) measure infant intake but are validated only in hospitalized premature infants.
- Accuracy of TWs for home use by parents of healthy infants/toddlers is not well-established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the accuracy of parent-administered test weights (TWs) for measuring infant and toddler intake (< 2 years old).
Main Methods:
- 101 paired bottle and infant/toddler TWs were collected from 31 participants.
- Parents completed infant/toddler TWs while blinded to researcher measurements.
- Research assistants measured human milk intake using bottle TWs.
Main Results:
- Tanita and OHAUS scales showed no significant difference for bottle TWs.
- Infant/toddler TWs showed a significant difference compared to bottle TWs (-3.45 to -0.915 g).
- Agreement between infant/toddler and bottle TWs was within 2.25 mL.
Conclusions:
- The Tanita infant digital scale accurately measures bottle test weights.
- Parental infant/toddler TW measurements are within clinically acceptable accuracy ranges.
Background:
The accuracy of infant intake using test weights (TWs), the change in weight before and after an infant feeds, has only been validated in hospitalized premature infants. This study's primary aim was to identify how accurate parent infants/toddler (< 2 years old) TWs are at measuring infant intake.
Methods:
Data were collected from 101 paired bottle and infant/toddler TWs with 31 participants. Parents participated in the feeding sessions by completing infant/toddler TWs blinded to the researcher. Research assistants completed human milk bottle TWs. Infants were fed previously expressed human milk, initially 30 g, but volumes were increased to not exceed the scale's capacity.
Results:
The mean difference between the bottle TWs measured using the Tanita and OHAUS scales was not significantly different from zero (95% CI (Tanita - OHAUS): (-0.251, 0.108) g). The mean difference between infant/toddler and bottle TWs was significantly different from 0 (95% CI (infant-bottle): (-3.45, -0.915 g or -3.57, -0.95 mL). Infant/toddler and bottle TWs were in agreement with a difference of 2.18 g (SD = 6.63) or 2.25 mL within the scale stated accuracy.
Conclusions:
The Tanita infant digital scale accurately measures bottle TWs. The differences in parent infant/toddler TWs are within a clinically acceptable range.
