Optimizing Growth in the Preterm Infant

Most very low birth weight preterm infants experience postnatal growth failure in the neonatal ICU. In an attempt to minimize this phenomenon, the nutritional support of these infants has tended to become more aggressive in recent years and has become a focus of much study. Despite this attention, many questions remain unresolved. This article examines several of these issues, including the controversies regarding optimal postnatal growth velocity, early aggressive nutritional support, and the transition to enteral nutrition in preterm infants.