Neonatal Nutrition in Health and Disease

Neonatal nutrition involves the management of the nutritional demand of neonates. The nutritional care of newborns and infants particularly, premature newborns and infants, is challenging because of their growth and organ development needs. A child's health depends on proper infant nutrition from birth to adulthood. Breast milk is ideal for a neonatal, as it contains all of the essential vitamins and minerals. Neonatal malnutrition is a major cause of diseases, and leads to an elevated risk of infection, stunted growth, hemorrhage and neonatal death. The newborn's short and long-term survival depends on receiving the best nutritional care throughout the neonatal period. The strategy for newborn nutritional management is dependent on the mother's nutritional status, co-morbidities during pregnancy, the length of the pregnancy, the circumstances surrounding the birth, the baby's birth weight, and the resources that are available for postpartum care of the baby and mother. This book explores the role of neonatal nutrition in health and disease. Different approaches, evaluations, and advanced studies on this topic have been included herein. This book will serve as a reference to a broad spectrum of readers.