To review the current use of various nutritional fortifiers for human milk in preterm infants and introduce novel or investigational fortifiers.
Approach:
Overview: The article discusses the advancements in perinatal medicine and neonatal care that have improved survival rates of extremely preterm infants, while highlighting the ongoing issue of extrauterine growth restriction.
Nutritional Needs: It emphasizes that human milk alone may not meet the high nutritional requirements of very preterm infants, necessitating the use of nutritional fortifiers.
Types of Fortifiers: The article describes various types of human milk fortifiers currently used in different enteral feeding situations for preterm infants.
Key Findings:
Survival rates of extremely preterm infants have improved due to advancements in neonatal care.
Extrauterine growth restriction remains a significant concern.
Human milk may not provide sufficient nutrition for very preterm infants, leading to the use of fortifiers.
Interpretation:
Conclusion:
The article provides a descriptive review of current and investigational nutritional fortifiers for human milk in preterm infants.
