Infant Nutrition: Conditions and Interventions

Vocabulary flashcards on infant nutrition for infants with special health care needs.

Nutritional Risk

40% of infants and children with special health care needs are at nutritional risk.

Very Preterm Infants

Advances in neonatal health care have increased survival of infants who were preterm, low birth weight and/or had chronic conditions, resulting in more infants requiring specialized nutritional services.

Conditions Affecting Infants at Risk

Respiratory difficulties, frequent infections/fever, temperature regulation, and recovery from surgeries and complications can increase caloric and nutrient hydration needs.

Growth Charts for Specific Conditions

Used in addition to tracking weight, height and head circumference to reflect nutritional status for most infants.

Corrected Age

Current age minus the number of months of prematurity; used for monitoring growth parameters on growth curves for preterm infants, at least for the first year of life.

Energy Needs for Infants at Risk

Increased calories are recommended for premature infants, especially with illness, respiratory illness, temperature regulation, or recovery from illness; decreased calories may be recommended for conditions like spina bifida or Down syndrome.

Protein Requirements for Infants at Risk

Increased for premature infants or those recovering from illness.

Fat Requirements for Infants at Risk

A greater proportion of calories should come from fats compared to later in life; preterm infants may need more fat compared to term infants.

Human-milk Fortifiers

Provide additional calories and nutrients, including vitamins A, D, and C, as well as calcium, phosphorus, sodium, chloride, and zinc.

Physiologic Anemia of Prematurity

Preterm infants have a lower iron content at birth; supplementation or fortified formula is often recommended for the first 12 months.

Vitamin A

Promotes normal growth and proliferation of epithelial tissues; important for eye, gastrointestinal, and lung tissue development; preterm stores in the liver are low.

Zinc

Largely accumulated in the third trimester; preterm infants may be deficient with increased needs for growth; inadequate concentrations in breast milk.

Parenteral Nutrition

Nutrients delivered directly to the bloodstream; required when gastrointestinal problems interfere with nutrient absorption, such as in cases of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

Enteral Nutrition

Nutrients delivered directly to the GI tract through oral-gastric, transpyloric, gastrostomy, or jejunostomy tubes.

Oral-gastric (OG) Tube Feeding

Tube feeding from the mouth to the stomach.

Transpyloric Tube Feeding

Tube feeding from the nose or mouth to the small intestine.

Gastrostomy Tube Feeding

Surgical opening to the stomach for tube feeding.

Jejunostomy Tube Feeding

Surgical opening into the small intestine for tube feeding.

Recommended Nutrition Source for Preterm Infants

Breast milk is the recommended source of nutrition for preterm infants when initiating enteral feeds, while formula for preterm infants is more nutrient-dense.

Nutrition interventions

May include frequent growth assessment, monitoring food and fluid intake, adjustment of feeding frequency/volume, adjusting feeding timing/position, nutrient density adjustments, parent education and support, observation of parent-infant interactions, and consideration of developmental abilities.