Enterale Ernährung von Frühgeborenen

To a large extent postnatal growth failure is caused by inadequate postnatal nutrition. Postnatal growth failure is associated with poor brain growth, low IQ, coronary heart disease and hypertension. Growth failure is a marker of poor neurocognitive outcome. Owing to safety concerns, parenteral nutrition is started too late and advanced too slowly, and enteral nutrition is started too late, withheld too often and advanced too slowly. The immediate postnatal priority is to reestablish the fetal condition of full parenteral nutrition as fast as possible and gradually introduce enteral nutrition. In the present paper early enteral feeding of preterm infants is reviewed with especial reference to nutritional needs, markers of early feeding tolerance, feeding techniques and supplementation of feeds.