Analytical Unreliability of 25 Hydroxy Vitamin D Measurements in Pre-Term Neonates.

Background: Vitamin D supplementation is common practice for neonates and infants due to limited stores of vitamin D at birth. Although not commonly encountered, vitamin D toxicity can occur due to over-supplementation. However, toxic concentrations are often not included in method validation experiments, and assays often are not validated in the neonatal population.

Visual development of human milk-fed preterm infants provided with extra energy and nutrients after hospital discharge.

Background: Human milk (HM) is the optimal way to nourish preterm low birth weight (LBW) infants after hospital discharge. However, there are few data on which to assess whether HM alone is sufficient to address hospital-acquired nutrition deficits, and no adequately powered studies have examined this question using neurodevelopment as an outcome. The purpose of this work was to determine whether adding extra energy and nutrients to the feedings of predominantly HM-fed LBW infants early after discharge improves their visual development.

Growth and nutrient intakes of human milk-fed preterm infants provided with extra energy and nutrients after hospital discharge.

Objectives: The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether mixing a multinutrient fortifier to approximately one half of the human milk fed each day for a finite period after discharge improves the nutrient intake and growth of predominantly human milk-fed low birth weight infants. We also assessed the impact of this intervention on the exclusivity of human milk feeding.

Methods: Human milk-fed (> or = 80% feeding per day) low birth weight (750-1800 g) infants (n = 39) were randomly assigned at hospital discharge to either a control or an intervention group.