Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Turkish Journal of Plastic Surgery, cilt.33, sa.2, ss.80-85, 2025 (ESCI, Scopus)
Objective: To examine the impact of nutrition instruction delivered by a specialized pediatric nurse to mothers of infants with cleft lip/palate on the infants' attainment of the weight necessary for corrective surgery. Subjects and Methods: This research is a cohort study involving 85 infants and their mothers, monitored till corrective surgery at the Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty Plastic Surgery outpatient clinic from 2015 to 2023. During the initial visit, the nurse delivered nutritional education to the mothers and assessed the infants' weights. The training sessions and weight assessments were conducted at each visit (2nd, 3rd, and 6th month). The World Health Organization's (WHOs) age-specific weight percentile charts were utilized to compare the average weights of infants at the 50th percentile. Results: About 57.6% of the infants were female, while 42.4% were male, with a mean age of 17.48 ± 10.35 days. Among the girls, 71.4% exhibited a cleft palate; 11.1% of the boys presented with a cleft lip; additionally, both conditions were observed in 22.4% of the girls and 50% of the boys. The average birth weights of the infants were statistically indistinguishable from the WHO values (P > 0.05). Boys' weight gain was below the WHO average for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th months. An increase around the average was noted. The weight gain of girls paralleled that of boys during the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd months. It increased prior to the 6 th month and exceeded the WHO average during the 6 th month. Conclusion: Nutrition education effectively assisted infants in attaining the weight necessary for corrective surgery.