Small for gestational age intervention improves infant growth in India trial
A JAMA trial in South Delhi found home-based support improved growth, anemia and development in babies born small.
By Tom Brennan · Health & Medicine Correspondent
3 min read
A small for gestational age intervention delivered through home visits improved growth and developmental measures in infants in a randomized trial in India, according to researchers from the Society for Applied Studies in New Delhi and the University of Bergen. The findings matter because babies born small face higher risks in early childhood, and South Asia has a high share of such births.
The trial, published in JAMA, tested a package that combined health, nutrition, early child stimulation and psychosocial support for mothers and infants. The University of Bergen said earlier studies had often examined single measures or only partly combined programs, with mixed results.
What is a small for gestational age baby?
A baby is described as small for gestational age, or SGA, when the infant is smaller than expected for the length of the pregnancy. According to the University of Bergen, SGA infants are more likely to have poor growth, developmental delays, illness and death during early childhood.
The University of Bergen said about 23 million babies worldwide, or 17% of births, are SGA each year. In South Asia, the prevalence is about 40%, which the university linked to continuing maternal nutrition, health and socioeconomic constraints in the region.
How the India trial was run
The study took place in low-resource neighborhoods of South Delhi from January 2023 through August 2025. Researchers enrolled term SGA infants within 14 days after birth and followed them until they reached 12 months of age.
A total of 1,300 infants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group of 647 infants received the integrated intervention through regular home visits to mothers and babies, while 653 infants received usual care available through Indian government programs, according to the research team.
The work was carried out by Indian and Norwegian researchers. The University of Bergen identified Ranadip Chowdhury and Rukman Manapurath as first authors and Sunita Taneja of the Society for Applied Studies as last author. Co-authors included Ingvild Fossgard Sandøy, Tor Strand and Jose Martines of University of Bergen-affiliated centers.
What did the intervention change?
Infants in the intervention group had lower rates of underweight, stunting, wasting and anemia than those receiving usual care, the researchers reported. The University of Bergen said anemia prevalence fell by more than half among babies who received the intervention.
The study also found better cognitive, language and motor composite scores in the intervention group. Researchers reported fewer deaths among babies who received the integrated package than among those in the control group during the trial period.
The findings point to the value of combining services rather than treating infant growth, nutrition and development as separate issues, according to the University of Bergen. The researchers said the results are relevant for India and South Asia because of the region’s high SGA burden, and also for other settings where babies born small face elevated risks.
The paper is titled “Multidomain Intervention for Growth in Term Small-for-Gestational-Age Infants.” Its DOI is 10.1001/jama.2026.12117.
This story draws on original reporting from Medical Xpress.