05. Comparison of Blood Glucose Level Between Breast-Fed and Formula-Fed Term Babies

Glucose is an important metabolic fuel for human body mainly the brain. Hypoglycemia is common in newborns, especially in the first day of life, which isusually asymptomatic and consequently difficult to recognize. Breastmilk is naturally designed for feeding of the newborns up to the age of 6 months. In the first few hours and days oflife, the breasts start to produce and release milk in response to changes in the hormonal milieu and stimulus of the infant's suckling.
Physiologically the glucose levels are lowest in the first two to three hours after birth. Full-term infants can have blood glucose concentrations as low as 55-60 mg/dl in the two to four hours of life, and then rise to 70-80 mg/dl after 72 hours.4,5 Low blood glucose concentration can occur in day two to three after birth in breastfed full-term infants.6 Costello et aU report that blood glucose and ketones rise along with age in 0-48 hours of life. Heck and Erenberg8 report low blood glucose concentration in formula-fed babies than that of the breastfed ones. Hawdon et al9 state that in the first ............

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05. Comparison of Blood Glucose Level Between Breast-Fed and Formula-Fed Term Babies