History and Objectives: Considering the significance of newborn growth, its prognosis, the absence of enough information and the controversies regarding the effect of feeding intervals on the growth process, this comparative study was carried out to evaluate the effect of demand-based and multiple feeding on the newborn growth in Shabihkhani hospital in Kashan from 1996 to 1997.

Materials and Methods: The clinical trial, sequential sampling and quasi-experimental strategy of this research was carried out on 45 newborns in demand-based feeding group (Control) and 40 newborns in multiple-feeding group (Case). The groups were similar regarding age, occupation, education, multiparous state, number of children, kind of pregnancy, interval between labors, father’s age, education and occupation, number of children, home area, home status, monthly income, gender, time of first feeding and birth-time weight, height and head perimeter. Birth-time weight, height and head perimeter and the same parameters at days 14 and 28 postpartum were measured and statistical t-test was used for data analysis.

Results: Eight cases of the demand-based group and 14 cases from the multiple-feeding group were excluded from the study for illnesses, incomplete information, supplementary nutrition, not on time refers, inappropriate follow-up and/or mismatch of nutritional style with considered criteria. In total, the research was carried out on 63 cases (Control (n=32) and case (n=31) groups). During the first 14 days, the weight changes were 399.7±113 and 613.9±194.1 in control group and case group respectively. In other words, case group showed a 53% increase in comparison with control group (P<0.001). In addition, changes of head perimeter and height were also greater in case group, but did not reach to significant level.

Conclusion: Multiple-feeding method can clearly affect the physical growth of newborns. It is recommended to perform a research study to evaluate the long-term effect of this feeding pattern on growth and other related parameters.