The impact of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative on neonatal hypoglycemia.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To assess Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admissions for hypoglycemia after the introduction of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), followed by implementation of American Academy of Pediatrics recommended hypoglycemia guidelines. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review of NICU admissions for hypoglycemia. Eligible subjects were healthy infants >35 weeks gestation transferred to a NICU for hypoglycemia. Infants admitted with other pathologies were excluded. NICU admissions from 3 different 18-month epochs (1 = pre-BFHI; 2 = post-BFHI; 3 = post-BFHI+hypoglycemia guidelines) were compared. RESULTS: After implementation of BFHI there was a statistically significant increase in admissions for hypoglycemia (Epoch 2 = 1.23% vs Epoch 1 = 0.55%, p < 0.001). Followed by a decrease in admissions after the implementation of hypoglycemia guidelines (Epoch 2 = 1.23% vs Epoch 3 = 0.76%, p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: NICU admissions for hypoglycemia increased with the BFHI. Hypoglycemia guidelines decreased NICU admissions, but not to the pre-BFHI baseline.