Optimal nutrition for preterm infants: Putting the ESPGHAN guidelines into practice

Neonatal nurses have a major role in optimising the nutrition of preterm infants. They are ideally placed to closely monitor the nutritional status of the preterm infant, offer support to the mother and most importantly, to advocate and promote the use of breast milk. In 2010, the Committee of Nutrition of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) produced guidelines on the nutritional requirements of preterm infants. In this paper, a member of the expert group that drafted these guidelines discusses how neonatal nurses can put them into practice.