What is The Goal of My Preterm Baby’s Growth?


Feeding your preterm infant is complex – it isn’t as simple as putting a bottle in your baby’s mouth.  How to feed, what to feed, when to feed… these are all important.  We will try to help you understand how proper feeding and nutrition will help your baby grow.  Remember, the goal for preterm infants is to achieve the same growth rates comparable to the normally growing, healthy human fetus. What you might not realize is how fast your baby will grow during this time.  To grow well and develop properly, your baby has unprecedented nutritional needs.

Remember Michael Phelps’ Diet in the Bejing Olympics?

preterm baby

1200 calories per day for Michael — same calories/lb – 120kcal/kg/day for a preterm infant

Your baby needs the same calories per pound to support her growth as Michael Phelps needed to perform in the Olympics!