An Insight into Enteral Nutrition for Preterm Infants

A preterm infant is a baby born before the completion of 37 weeks of gestation (more than 3 weeks before due date) in a pregnant woman. If the woman goes into labor before 37 weeks, is termed as preterm labor. The health conditions of the mother, such as heart disease, Kidney damage, diabetes, may be responsible for a preterm birth. Many times, the cause of a premature birth is rather unknown. Some premature births are also caused due to multiple pregnancies, such as twins and triplets. The number of premature neonatal births are increasing significantly in the last few decades. This has majorly been achieved due to substantial changes brought about in enteral nutrition supply in preterm neonates. The purpose of feeding preterm neonates with enteral nutrition is to establish growth similar to fetal growth for a satisfactory functional development of the neonate. The preferred nutrition for preterm infants is fortified human milk from the infant’s own mother, or, formula milk, particularly designed for preterm infants. However, mothers who deliver preterm are often not able to successfully breastfeed. Alternative nutrition supplements which are fed enterally need more attention for preterm infants to undergo proper mental and physical growth and development.

Author(s): Aayushi Singh

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