Nutrient-enriched Diet in the Early Neonatal Period Influences the 3 year-old Height in Very Low Birth Weight Infants

Nutrient-enriched milk has been advocated to enhance premature infants’growth and early nutritional intervention is effective for growth failure in very low birth weight infants (VLBWI). We studied the 3-yr-old physical growth of VLBWI who received nutrient enriched diets in the early neonatal period. VLBWI, who were born in 1996, received nutrient enriched milk around 1 mo of age. By contrast, in VLBWI born in 1998, nutrient enriched milk was started at 1–2 wk after birth. The daily calorie intake of VLBWI in 1998 had a tendency to be high compared to that of VLBWI in 1996. Height and body weight SD of 3-yr-old children who were born in 1998 tended to be greater than those of children who were born in 1996 (mean ± SD, –0.27 ± 0.54 vs. –1.01 ± 0.67; p=0.043, –0.47 ± 0.61 vs. –0.97 ± 1.10; p=0.31). Our study suggests that early feeding of nutrient-enriched milk for VLBWI in the neonatal period may affect their growth.