Hospital policies and their influence on newborn body weight

On the basis of data collected in a survey of the practices in maternity wa rds in Poland, we analysed newborn body weight differences between two grou ps of hospitals: one with the highest percentage of exclusive breastfeeding and other supportive practices, the other with the lowest. The aim of the study was to investigate whether hospital procedures can influence the newb orn weight profile in the first days after birth. Healthy infants-normal bi rth, birthweight greater than or equal to 2500g, discharged within 2-7 days , no missing data-were chosen for the analyses. The difference between disc harge and birthweight, percentage of birthweight loss or gain on the day of discharge and percentage of the infants who st least regain birthweight on the day of discharge were compared between the two groups of hospitals. Al l analyses indicated the positive influence of exclusive breastfeeding and practices supporting it on infant body weight profile while in hospital.