Nutrition for the Preterm Neonate: A Clinical Perspective

Survival of extremely premature neonates has improved significantly following the advances in neonatal intensive care. Extrauterine growth restriction is a serious issue in this population. Nutritional exposures during critical period of life influence the individual’s risk of disease throughout life. Nutritional deficit and poor growth are associated with long term neurodevelopmental impairment, short stature and metabolic disorders in extremely preterm neonates. Optimising nutrition in the early postnatal life of the preterm neonate is therefore a priority. However this is easier said than done considering the frequency of feed intolerance, fear of necrotising enterocolitis, and the hesitancy in adopting an aggressive approach to parenteral nutrition in this population. Some of the finest researchers in the field have come together to provide the clinical perspective on the A to Z of nutrition in the preterm neonate in simple and clear fashion in this book.