TITLE:
Psychomotor Development of Low Birth Weight Infants at the “Mère-Enfant” University Hospital Centre (UHC) of Libreville
AUTHORS:
Kuissi Kamgaing Eliane, Minto’o Rogombe Steeve, Mintsa-Mi-Nkama Edmée, Mabery Grodet Eyang Adriana Mino, Lembet Mikolo Aude, Koumba Maniaga Raïssa, Kiba Live, Boungani Morgane, Loulouga Badinga Pascal, Simon Ategbo
KEYWORDS:
Hypotrophy, Psychomotor Development, UHCME-JEF, Libreville-Gabon
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.13 No.1,
January
16,
2023
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Low birth weight is a key indicator of newborn health. The objective of
this study was to contribute to the reduction of low birth weight-related
morbidity and mortality. Patients and Methods: cohort study conducted
from January 2019 to July 2020 at the “Mère-Enfant” University Hospital Centre
(UHC) of Libreville. All newborns with a birth weight 2500 g were included. The clinical data of patients were
studied. They were followed over a period of 12 months and assessed
psychomotorly by the Brunet-Lézine scale. Results: 1260/9035 births of
low birth weight (14.0%) were observed, and 300 among them were included. The
mortality rate was 27.0% (81) and 219 were followed for 12 months. The sex
ratio was 0.8, the average birth weight was 2008.6 ± 215.2 g. The average gestational
age was 34 ± 12 weeks with 75.3%
prematurity. An infant disease was observed in 61.6% of cases and respiratory
pathologies were more observed except at 3 months of age where the proportion
of digestive pathologies was 20.5%. At the time of the last consultation at 12
months of life, 76.2% of infants had no pathology. The quotients of postural
development, language and coordination were normal (between 110 - 70) respectively in 75.4%, 99.1% and 68% of cases at
the age of 12 months. The psychomotor development quotient was correlated with
the birth weight in the language area r = 0.15 (p = 0.024), posture r = 0.15 (p
= 0.015) and coordination r = 0.15 (p = 0.026) respectively. Conclusion: Low birth weight is a public health problem at UHCME-JEF. Despite the fact that
psychomotor development can be said to be satisfactory, many efforts remain to
be made to reduce low birth weight levels and improve survival.