Enhanced nutrition of premature infants throughout their hospitalization and the first year of life, but particularly in the first day to first few weeks, appears to improve developmental outcomes.

Research on the impact of protein intake on long-term outcomes in premature infants needs to continue. "Traditional" feeding/nutrition practices should be replaced with evidence-based nutrition by all healthcare providers who care for preterm infants.

Program Objectives:

* Describe the importance of adequate protein intake in preterm infants and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes.

* Identify the benefits of early versus later nutritional supplementation for preterm benefits.

* Describe the safety and efficacy of early protein supplementation.

Faculty Name: Jacqueline Wessel, MEd, RD, CNSD, CSP, CLE

Title:
Registered Dietitian II, Regional Center for Newborn Intensive Care, Cincinnati Children's Hospital


Bio: Jacqueline Wessel is a registered dietitian specializing in neonatal nutrition. She works in the Regional Center for Newborn Intensive Care and High Risk Infant Follow-up Clinic at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. She has been active in the Pediatric Section of ASPEN serving as pediatric chair and program planner for several of Clinical Congress Weeks. Jackie was instrumental in developing the ASPEN pre-conference nutrition workshop for pediatric clinicians. She has written several articles and book chapters on topics in neonatal nutrition, including Feeding Methodology and Short Gut Syndrome in 2 editions of the neonatal “red book” Nutritional Care for High Risk Newborns. Jackie was part of the multidisciplinary group that wrote the ASPEN Enteral Feeding Guidelines and was chair of the task force for the Guidelines for Hospitalized Pediatric Patients.

Program Date: October 2010

Media Format(s): Print (English)

Continuing Education Units: Nurse 1.0 Contact Hours