Research progress of enteral nutrition in very low birth weight infants

Abstract

The nervous system of very low birth weight infants is particularly sensitive to malnutrition.The growth and neural development of very low birth weight infants will be limited by various nutritional deficiencies.Early enteral nutrition is beneficial for the growth and neural development of very low birth weight infants.However, there is still a controversy about the timing of starting enteral nutrition, the amount of milk to be fed, the rate of adding milk and whether strengthening breast milk or adding probiotics.This article reviews the problems and controversy of enteral nutrition in very low birth weight infants. Key words: Very low birth weight infant; Enteral nutrition; Minimal enteral feeding; Non-nutritive sucking; Human milk fortifier; Probiotics; Individual feeding