Preterm Infant Growth Essentials and Benefits
An Infant’s First Year of Nutrition Is Vital to Long-term Health
PRETERM INFANTS NEED INCREASED NUTRIENTS* TO CATCH UP
It’s natural for parents of preterm infants to worry about their infant’s development. Showing them how nutrition intervention can help their infant grow and thrive can be reassuring—and empowering.
Premature infants have unique nutrition needs for the nourishment and development of vital systems and organs.
GETTING THE RIGHT AMOUNT AND MIX OF NUTRIENTS CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.
THE BENEFITS OF ENRICHED NUTRITION*
See why a nutrient-enriched feeding plan makes sense for premature infants.
Breast milk alone doesn't contain enough of these specific nutrients that preterm infants need.
WHEN FED AN ENRICHED FORMULA TO 12 MONTHS, PREMATURE INFANTS SHOWED IMPROVED:
TO MEET A PRETERM INFANT’S NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
CONSULT with parents
ASSESS their infant’s nutritional health
FORMULATE a plan to enrich the infant’s diet
RECOMMEND parents follow the feeding plan
* Increased protein, vitamins, and minerals compared to term infant formula.
† Based on preterm infants at 34-38 weeks current gestational age with no nutritional deficits.
‡ Provided at 120 Cal/kg/day.
§ Compared to infants fed a formula without DHA and ARA in a clinical trial with Similac® Special Care and Similac® NeoSure® infant formulas with iron; prior to the addition of lutein.
ǁ Visual acuity measured at 4 and 6 months corrected age and assessed by VEP (visual evoked potential).
¶ Based on a subset of infants in a post hoc analysis.
References: 1. Lapillonne A, et al. J Pediatr. 2013;162(3 suppl):S90-S100. 2. Groh-Wargo S, et al. Infant, Child & Adolesc Nutr. 2014;6(5):262-265. 3. Carver JD, et al. Pediatrics. 2001;107(4):683-689. 4. Groh-Wargo S, et al. Pediatr Res. 2005;57(5, pt 1):712-718. 5. O’Connor DL, et al. Pediatrics. 2001;108(2):359-371.
