Nutrition of premature babies post-discharge

The nutrient needs and appropriate growth rates of the hospitalised premature infant have been reviewed elsewhere [1]. In the post-discharge period, however, such data are not available. Although the rate of foetal growth serves as the standard for the infant less than 36 weeks gestation and breastfeeding meets the needs of the healthy term infant, neither goal has been shown to apply to the premature infant posthospital discharge [2]. The graduate of the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) frequently enters into the home setting at a physical size that is significantly less than that of the foetus of the same postmenstrual age [3]. Nutrient needs may be further altered by gender, ethnicity, hospital course and clinical status [4-6]. Post-discharge formulae recently have been developed and a few have been subjected to randomised trials that include term infant formulae. Clinical studies on post-discharge nutrition are few and they differ in the population studied, specific diet investigated, duration of study diet and outcome measures. No data are available to determine how these formulae compare with actual nutrient needs for particular populations. Continued monitoring of dietary intake, anthropometry and clinical status will aid in understanding how these formulae meet nutrient needs.