Why is infant nutrition important to brain development?
There are many nutrients that are essential for brain development that may be found in human milk or that have been added to formula. When the baby is born early, the brain growth occurs in the time that they are cared for in the newborn intensive care unit and directly affects their outcomes some two years later. Therefore, we know that there’s direct linkage between the brain growth that occurs after birth and specific nutrients that are important for babies to receive to optimize their brain development. Low birthweight babies are susceptible to two very serious infections: sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis. What are these diseases? Sepsis is an infection of the blood, spinal fluid or urine. Because premature babies have an underdeveloped immune system, they have increased risk for the entry of bacteria and viruses into their system both around the time of birth and then later during their hospital stay. Necrotizing enterocolitis is a potential disaster of the gastrointestinal tr
