The growth rates and influencing factors of preterm and full-Term infants: A birth cohort study

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the growth rates and influencing factors of the length and weight of preterm and full-Term infants in the urban areas of Hubei province to provide a reference for child health and related clinical fields. A birth cohort study was used to analyze the growth rates and influencing factors of the length and weight of preterm and full-Term infants using a multivariate regression analysis. The growth rates of the length and weight of preterm infants were significantly lower than those of full-Term infants from birth to 3 months of age (P.05). Meanwhile, there were some influencing factors that had significant differences by their contribution to the growth rates of the length and weight of preterm and full-Term infants. This study proposed that perinatal factors were attached more importance to the growth rates of preterm infants in the urban areas of Hubei province.