• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.472-483
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• 2020

Purpose: Sodium is an essential nutritional electrolyte that affects growth. A low serum sodium concentration in healthy premature infants beyond 2 weeks of life is called late-onset hyponatremia (LOH). Here, we investigated the association between LOH severity and growth outcomes in premature infants. Methods: Medical records of premature infants born at ≤32 weeks of gestation were reviewed. LOH was defined as a serum sodium level <135 mEq/L regardless of sodium replacement after 14 days of life. Cases were divided into two groups, <130 mEq/L (severe) and ≥130 mEq/L (mild). Characteristics and growth parameters were compared between the two groups. Results: A total of 102 premature infants with LOH were included. Gestational age ([GA] 27.7 vs. 29.5 weeks, p<0.001) and birth weight (1.04 vs. 1.34 kg, p<0.001) were significantly lower in the severe group. GA was a risk factor of severe LOH (odds ratio [OR], 1.328, p=0.022), and severe LOH affected the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (OR, 2.950, p=0.039) and led to a poor developmental outcome (OR, 9.339, p=0.049). Growth parameters at birth were lower in the severe group, and a lower GA and sepsis negatively affected changes in growth for 3 years after adjustment for time. However, severe LOH was not related to growth changes in premature infants. Conclusion: Severe LOH influenced the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and developmental outcomes. However, LOH severity did not affect the growth of premature infants beyond the neonatal period.

• Perspectives in Nursing Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2012

Purpose: This study was conducted to determine the impacts of maternal depression on the temperament, health problems, and development of 4-month-old infants. Methods: For this longitudinal comparative study, data collected at one month postpartum and at the 4th month of follow-up were evaluated from sixty five pairs. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to assess the symptoms of depression. Results: Eighteen point 5 percent and15.4% of mothers were diagnosed with postpartum depression at one month post-partum and at the 4th month of follow-up, respectively. The temperament of the infants between the two groups was not different. However, the infants of the depressed mothers had more health problems after 4 months. Depressed mothers had a lower score for the acceptance of Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME), and the development score of their infants was lower than that of the non-depressed mothers. Conclusion: Maternal depression affects the health and development of infants. Women should be screened for potential risk factors and for symptoms of depression during postpartum periods so that appropriate interventions including emotional support can be initiated in a timely manner.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.5-13
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• 2004

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the correlation of gestational age and birth weight with weight gain of very low birth weight infants(VLBWI) during their hospital stay. Method: This is a 5 year retrospective study of which data were collected through review of medical records. Subjects were 124 VLBW infants with a birth weight more than 1000g and less than 1500g who received neonatal intensive care at the university hospital between January 1, 1997 to December 31, 2001. Result: After calculating the z scores of birth weights and discharge weights, z scores of discharge weight and birth weight were compared with the median weight of a fetus of comparable gestational age based on an intrauterine growth reference. There was a significant difference between z scores of birth weight and discharge weight(t=11.60, df=122, p=0.000). Regardless of intensive care during the prolonged hospital stay, VLBW infants showed slow growth rate compared with the median weight of a fetus of comparable gestational age. Conclusion: VLBW infants developed a poor velocity of weight gain during the prolonged hospital stay after birth. The development worsened during the period of physiological weight loss and regain, and they did not reach to comparable growth rate of normal fetus even at the time of discharge. This poor growth velocity of VLBW infants influence negatively for their future growth. Therefore nureses who work at the neonatal intensive care unit must develop an effective nursing intervention protocol to promote the velocity of weight gain and to conduct the parental educational sessions to emphasize the importance of weight gain for VLBW infants at home.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.272-279
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• 2012

Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop an appropriate nursing information guideline according to corrected age, after investigating parents' concerns about the growth, development, and diseases of their premature infants after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods: The parents of premature infants (birth weight, <2,500 g; gestational age, <37 weeks) who went to a neonatal follow-up clinic after NICU discharge at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital from January 2005 to December 2009, were asked with regard to their concerns about their infants through a questionnaire survey. The results of physical examinations, including body measurements and neurodevelopmental status at 4, 8, 12, and 18 months of corrected age, were retrospectively reviewed in 390 infants. Results: The most common parental concerns were developmental delay, poor growth, and feeding and nutritional problems. Parental concerns about developmental delay, growth failure in improvement in body weight and length, and overweightness were high in specificity but very low in sensitivity. After NICU discharge, 30% of premature infants experienced infectious diseases before 18 months of corrected age, the most common of which was respiratory tract infection. Conclusion: For guiding of premature infants in outpatient day clinics after NICU discharge, it is necessary to identify the parents' highest concerns, to educate them about the possibilities of growth and neurodevelopmental disabilities in their infants and to provide them with handouts containing guidelines on the management of infectious diseases, especially respiratory infections.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.129-140
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• 2002

The article reports the process, contents and strategies in the development of community based-heath care management program for high-risk infants and family, which was based on literature review, empirical needs assessment from pilot study. The program was divided into two emphasis areas: (1) identification and home visiting nursing care program, and (2) the construction of self-supporting group. The contents of home visiting nursing care were developed from the pilot study of the direct home visiting to premature infants after discharge. The documentation form for home care was standardized, including the demographic data, birth history, home care services, education and counsels, and visiting schedules. The integrated education protocol was elaborated to enhance the body of knowledge as well as clinical competency in caring high-risk infants and family by the supports of neonatologists, nursing scholar, and clinical specialists. In addition, the process and strategies in developing self-supporting group, consisting the high-risk infants and family, and any significant others were addressed. Emphases were given to the role of public health center and the recycling health care referral system to maximize the growth and development of high-risk infants on the community-base, which in turn, contributing to decrease the postneonatal mortality rate.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.177-181
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• 2011

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is characterized by arrest of vascular and alveolar development in premature infants. Recent advances in neonatology have increased the survival of immature babies. Consequently, the prevalence of BPD is increasing. Animal studies and autopsy findings of BPD have demonstrated interruption in vascular development and reversal of lung injury through promotion of vasculogenesis. Normal lung development is driven by temporal and spatial specific growth factors and cellto-cell signaling in vascular development. Lung injury through various pathways causes disruption in this complex interactive process and results in aberrant vascular development and subsequent BPD. By understanding the regulation of vascular growth of the lung, it would be possible to find new targets in the treatment and prevention of BPD in premature infants.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.41-51
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• 1972

In this article, the writer attempted to study the followings: (1) mother's knowledge of milk feeding (including method of sterilization, formula and feeding) (2) reasons of artificial feeding (3) how much mothers are concerned about their artificial feeding infants (4) condition of growth and development of artificial feeding infants. As the object of study, 96 mothers with artificial feeding infants, who had consulted dep't of pediatrics of two Hospitals in Seoul (Korea Hospital and Med. College Woo Suk Hospital, Korea Uni.) and well baby clinic of the two Health Centers (Sung Dong and Dongdaemoon), were randomly sampled. The data were treated by the statistic method of chi-square and percentage, and come to the following conclusion. 1. Knowledge of milk feeding Sterilization: 70 percentages of mothers know about the milk sterilization (including bottle, nipple and instrument), but 55 percentages of them do not know the nipple sterilization correctly. Formula: 69 percentages of mothers follow the indicator or in accordance with doctor's directions, but 31 percentages do at their option by reasons that the baby often coughs up the milk, the baby is too small, the baby often has digestive troubles, or the baby grow fleshy heavily etc, except family economic problems. Feeding: only half of mothers know the correct feeding method, especially they do not know how to determine the heat degree of milk and how to bubble up the baby correctly. They just do feeding according to the accepted usages. 2. Reasons of artificial feeding Of the reasons of artificial feeding, 18 percentages were caused by infants and 82 percentages by mothers. Most of the reasons are mainly due to the lack of breast milk and sufficient supply of nourishments rather than mother's deficiency or mother's abnormality. 3. Mother's concern for artificial feeding infants Mothers who are sharply concerned for their artificial feeding baby's growth and development: 63%, mothers who made the baby (artificial feeding infant) routine vaccinated: 81%, mothers who ear anxious about the baby's future personality forming : 68%, mothers who care about the baby's condition of nourishment; 60%, mothers who are anxious about tile selection of baby's food; 54%. 4. The growth and development of artificial feeding infants compared with Korean average infants. The artificial feeding infants are above the Korean average infants in stature by 1.21 centimeters and in weight by 0.3 kilograms. Conclusion: It has been said that there is no better food for infant than the breast milk. However, the artificial feeding has been used for the supplement of nourishments and as substitute food for the breast milk. And this artificial feeding could give the married women the chance to act in society and more opportunity to develop themselves and to work for others at home and other fields. Considering these advantages, artificial feeding should not be exclusive, but preferably should be more improved and inquired positively. And even in artificial feeding, what is most important is that mothers should recognize the requirement and need of artificial feeding clearly and correctly, and they should be accustomed to the correct knowledge and skills of artificial feeding in order to practice it appropriately. In some degree, they should be properly trained in school education process.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.226-231
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• 2005

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of supplementary diet in infants. Influence of appropriate dietary habits on infants was also examined by being applicable to diets fortified chewiness as a means of intervention. The iron supplementary diet was supported to the healthy infants twice a day for three months. Measures of hemoglobin, hematocrit, RBC count, serum iron, TIBC, ferritin, development examination, and dietary intake patterns of experimental group (n = 25) and control group (n = 20) were performed before and after the intervention. The amount of iron intake from the supplementary diet in the experimental group was $1.77{\pm}0.80 {\cal}mg/day$. After the intervention period, the experimental group not only had increased intakes of grains also decreased intakes of milk. Outcomes observed in infants receiving iron intervention showed that the improved trend of excessive milk intakes and the possibility as a regular diet by serving the iron supplementary diet which can apply to main dish. All measures in blood did not provide significant differences except TIBC between the experimental and the control group before the intervention. But, after the intervention, the experimental group improved most levels of measures, especially significance in hemoglobin, but serum iron. Development of two groups did not differ significantly and both groups were in the range of normal infants' development. However, the levels of MDI and PDI evaluated by BSID-II in the experimental group were slightly higher than the control. Furthermore, the development of cognitive and languistic function was associated with infant growth in the experimental group. In conclusion, this research demonstrated that the iron supplementary diet could affect the iron status and the development of infants despite low-dose supplementation of iron.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.308-320
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• 2015

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the predictive factors for maternal role development for mothers of premature infants. Methods: A descriptive correlational study was conducted. A total sample of 121 mothers of premature infants following discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit were recruited using two strategies; an internet-based survey and an in-person data collection in a tertiary university hospital in Korea. A self-report questionnaire was used to collect data regarding personal, birth variables, marital intimacy, maternal attachment, maternal identity and maternal role development. Results: A hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that parity, maternal attachment, marital intimacy and maternal identity were predictors for maternal role development for mothers of premature infants, accounting for 70% of the variance. Among these variables, maternal attachment is the most powerful predictor for maternal role development. Conclusion: Nursing interventions during hospitalization to post-discharge education that includes parents of premature babies with positive interaction between couples strengthening marital intimacy and promotes maternal attachment that leads to integrate maternal identity should be considered by priority. Community-based family services such as home visits should be focused on maximizing the predictive factors for maternal role development in transition to motherhood that can contribute to maternal health as well as optimal growth and development of premature infants.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.495-505
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• 2006

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to describe growth and development of breast-fed infants and to depict experiences of breastfeeding mothers. Method: The data were collected from 145 infants and mothers participating in A Healthy Breastfeeding Infant Contest. The instrument used for this study was a self-report questionnaire completed by the participants and an evaluation record completed by the examiners. Results: The more specific results of the study are as follows: the weight of the infants was much higher than the Korean Standards. The height of infants was not significantly different from the Korean Standards except for 5 month old male infants. The results of Denver II showed all 145 infants were classified as normal. The breastfeeding experiences in mothers was as follows; 31.7% of the mothers breastfed for 5 months, 48.3% wanted to breastfed as long as the baby wanted. The mothers pointed out that the difficult problem in breastfeeding was insufficient breastfeeding room in public areas. What mothers want to know related to breastfeeding was, breastfeeding duration, time to begin solid food and recommended amounts, time to discontinue breastfeeding at sleep time and appropriate methods. Conclusion: Mothers' experience in breastfeeding was positive. We should provide mothers a comfortable place in public areas for breastfeeding. Based on the result of the study it's propose that health professionals must intervene in breast care during both antepartum and early postpartum periods.