Growth and development of abandoned babies in institutional care in Nairobi

Objective: To determine the pattern of growth and development of institutio nalised infants and to compare the outcome with that of infants living with their biological mothers. Design: A cross-sectional survey. Setting: Seven children's homes; Kenyatta National Hospital's New Born Unit and Well Baby Clinics in Nairobi, Kenya. Participants: Eighty two abandoned babies who fullfilled the selection crit eria were recruited and for each abandoned baby two mothered babies matched for age and sex were selected from the well baby clinics. Main outcome measures: Anthropometric measures of weight, length, head circ umference and left mid arm circumference (LUMAC) were taken and the mean va lues and Z scores determined to demonstrate growth pattern and nutritional status of the babies. The Revised Denver Development Screening Test OU)DST) was used to assess tbe development pattern of infants. Results: Seventy per cent of infants were below six months old and 73% were abandoned within the first week of life, Abandoned babies were significant ly thinner with the mean LUMAC of 10.8 cm versos 12.3 cm (p=0.02) Instituti onalised babies were significantly wasted (p=0.00001) and stunted (p=0.0000 1). Abandoned babies were significantly delayed in development (p<0.0001). In all the four sectors tested for, institutionalised babies showed signifi cant delay, p<0.0001 in each sector. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that infants under institutional care h ave poorer growth and development compared to mothered infants.