Consensus guidelines

Growth goals for preterm infants*

  1. Support preterm infants to grow at rates and accrete nutrients similar to the fetus.
  2. Aim for preterm infant growth to maintain weight, head circumference and length growth patterns, that is to aim for growth that is approximately parallel to growth chart curves.
  3. Increasing weight out of proportion to length does not confer developmental benefits.
  4. Gaining additional body fat postnatally appears to be a temporary event
  5. If an infant’s growth pattern deviates importantly from expected growth patterns, ensure nutrition is optimized and assess for possible contributing factors.
  6. Preterm infants place lower on growth chart curves after the postnatal weight loss phase. The phrase “extrauterine growth restriction” should be retired and not used to diagnose infants with weight below the 10th or 3rd percentile, since it is not predictive of adverse outcomes.

*Endorsed at Nov 5th Expert Group meeting

 

Fenton TR, Elmrayed S, Alshaikh B. Nutrition, Growth and Long-Term Outcomes. In: Nutritional Care of Preterm Infants, Scientific Basis and Practical Guidelines. Editors: Koletzko B, Cheah F. Domellöf M, Poindexter BB, Vain N, van Goudoever JB. World Rev Nutr Diet. 2021;122:12-31. doi: 10.1159/000514745. PMID: 34352761 https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/514745