Newt News

Newborn Weight Tool shown to have utility in low- and middle-income countries

Sep 13, 2023 - In a study funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, investigators compared weight trajectories in the first 5 days after birth among newborns born in a low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) cohort with those used to develop NEWT. Between April 2019 and March 2020, a convenience sample of 741 singleton healthy breastfeeding newborns who weighed ≥ 2000 g at birth were enrolled at selected health facilities in Guinea-Bissau, Nepal, Pakistan, and Uganda. Using a standardized protocol, newborn weights were obtained within 6 hours of birth and at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 days. The trajectories of early newborn weight change in the new cohort were largely similar to those in NEWT, with the exceptions that initial newborn weight loss in Guinea-Bissau was more pronounced than those on NEWT and newborn weight gain following weight nadir was more pronounced in Guinea-Bissau, Pakistan, and Uganda than those in NEWT. The investigators concluded that the data demonstrate that NEWT may have utility in LMIC settings. (Ginsburg AS et al., Scientific Reports 2023;13:14128 [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-39773-4])

Paul recognized for pediatric research excellence

Jun 15, 2022 - Dr. Ian Paul has been selected for the 2022 American Pediatric Association Research Award, which recognizes an investigator who has advanced pediatric knowledge through excellence in research. Read the full story

Newborn Weight Tool marks the fifth anniversary of helping providers track infant growth

Feb. 10, 2020 - The Newborn Weight Tool (Newt), developed by Dr. Ian Paul, a pediatrician and professor of pediatrics and public health sciences at Penn State College of Medicine, is enjoying a good measure of online celebrity. The tool allows providers to compare a newborn’s weight loss against data from more than 160,000 infants. Read the full story