Research & Practice
Finding Consensus in Preterm Infant Nutrition Guidelines
Infants born preterm and/or with a low birth weight have high nutritional needs for survival, rapid growth, and mitigation of neurodevelopmental delays. Therefore, ensuring this population receives sufficient nutrition is critical. There appears to be lack of consensus, however, on the exact nutrition needs of preterm infants. The aim of this project was to landscape the current preterm infant nutrition guidelines for macro and micronutrients to identify where there may be overlap. To complete this objective, a systematic search for credible, health entity backed preterm nutrition guidelines and data extraction of recommendations for each nutrient was completed. The deliverable included a summary spreadsheet and data visualization demonstrating the ranges and overlap of the recommendations for every nutrient. This work supports a broader study aimed at understanding the composition of donor human milk and how it may require fortification to meet the nutrient recommendations for preterm infants.
Project Type(s): MPH Fieldwork
Author(s): Hannah Sanders
Program(s): Master of Public Health, RDN Training
Year: 2024
Adviser(s):