PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Newborns with a congenital heart defect who have surgery within the first month of their lives, and then show poor growth and require device-assisted feeding, are at increased risk for neurodevelopmental delays at six and 12 months of life, according to new research.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found in a large study of newborns with congenital heart defects (CHD) that the inability to feed may indicate immature feeding skills, making the need for device-assisted feeding a possible indicator for abnormal brain development.
The study was published in the Journal of Pediatrics Friday.
"Newborns with complex CHD face many challenges in their early life," Dr. Barbara Medoff-Cooper, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said in a press release Friday. "Infants requiring device-assisted feeding are unable to ingest the optimal calories needed for proper growth and development. The need for device-assisted supplemental feeding may serve as a predictor for the infant's overall health status."
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Researchers observed 72 newborns with complex CHD, who had neonatal cardiac surgery during their first month of life. Fifty three percent of those infants were fed orally when discharged from the hospital, while 47 percent required device-assisted feeding in combination with oral feeding.
The infants were evaluated at six, nine and 12 months for growth, development and feeding method, researchers said.
Scientists said they saw association between growth and early feeding mode on neurodevelopmental development during the first year of life, noting that growth at three months was indicative of cognitive and motor develop at 6 and 12 months.
Researchers said infants who required device-assisted feeding at the time of hospital discharge, and continued to need it at three months, also were at greatest risk of cognitive developmental delays.
Strong associations between feeding method and growth should be closely monitored, they said, to help identify infants at risk for delays.
