Considerations Regarding the Digestive Development of the Premature Neonate

For most parents, adjusting to life with a typical newborn revolves around two main priorities: getting the baby sufficiently fed and watching for tell-tale signs of adequate digestion. Usually this does not involve much consideration for what is going on between the two ends of the digestive system. However, if the infant is born prematurely or needs to spend the start of life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), they find themselves thrust into a foreign world where life revolves around the baby’s fluid intake & output, oxygen saturations and heart rate. At this point, a conversation about the physiological maturation of the digestive system may need to take place between parents and health care providers