Enteral and parenteral feeding of neonate

Neonates cannot get necessary nutrients through natural ways required for growth, development, maintaining body functions healthily and renewal of the organism due to some kind of limitations. In these specific conditions, it may be necessary to use enteral or parenteral feeding method. Gestation age, birth weight, the fullness of food sources, nutritional method, the existence of growth failure and metabolic changes caused by illnesses and treatments of neonates should be taken into consideration in order to be able to choose one of these methods. Nurses who are members of a multidisciplinary team are responsible for meeting nutritional requirements of neonates. Nurses who work in the neonatal intensive care units are expected to have knowledge about nutritional requirements and feeding methods and do their practices in parallel with the evidence-based guidelines while they meet the nutritional requirements of neonates