Differences in anthropometric status in late preterm babies fed with breastmilk, infant milk, and a combination of both

Breast milk is recommended to provide to every baby, including late preterm babies. However, some parents or caregivers choose alternative nutrition over breast milk for various reasons. This study aimed to analyze the differences in body weight, body length, and head circumference of late preterm babies at the ages of 1, 3, and 6 months fed with breast milk, infant milk, and a combination of both. It is a retrospective study. The subjects were children aged 6-12 months born at a gestational age of 34 - <37 weeks, who came to the pediatric outpatient and inpatient clinic at Dr. Soetomo General Hospital between March and June 2023. We used a questionnaire to interview the parents or primary caregivers. One-way ANOVA test was used for normally distributed data and Kruskal-Wallis for not normally distributed data. The sample of this study consisted of 70 respondents out of 106. There was no significant difference in the gender. Most subjects were born at 36 –<37 weeks of gestation (41%). The majority of subjects were raised by mothers (94.3%). The statistical analysis showed that late preterm babies who were fed breast milk, infant milk, and a combination of both did not differ significantly in body weight, body length, and head circumference at the ages of 1, 3, and 6 months. No difference was found in the anthropometric status of late preterm babies at Dr. Soetomo General Hospital who were fed with breast milk, infant milk formula, and a combination of both.