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Neonatal Health: Neurodevelopment, Growth, and Nutrition

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 February 2024) | Viewed by 4289

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Neonatology, Pediatrics Area, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Universidad de Oviedo, 33006 Oviedo, Spain
Interests: neonatal nutrition; probiotics; antibiotics; Bifidobacterium; research ethics
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Guest Editor
Teaching and Research Area, Pediatrics Area, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, 33011 Oviedo, Spain
Interests: growth; nutrition; genetics; chronic diseases

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Guest Editor
Endocrinology Unit, Pediatrics Area, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, 33011 Oviedo, Spain
Interests: growth; nutrition; genetics; chronic diseases

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The subject of nutrition, growth, and neurodevelopment is of great importance in pediatrics and presents many possibilities for research and study. Nutrition and growth go hand in hand in early childhood, and their translation to neurodevelopment is crucial and highly topical.

In the field of neonatology, neonatal nutrition is essential in the neurodevelopment of newborns born prematurely. In many other areas of pediatrics as well, this relationship is vital. The nutrition of children with chronic pathologies or nutrition in societies of the less developed world, and its impact on their neurodevelopment are also topics of great interest in the pediatric world.

We hope that this Special Issue can be very attractive to neonatologists, pediatricians, and nutritionists. We welcome short communications, related original research articles, and clinical studies, as well as review articles, for this Special Issue. Thank you for considering this Special Issue as an outlet for your research on Neonatal Health: Neurodevelopment, Growth, and Nutrition.

Dr. Gonzalo Solís Sánchez
Prof. Dr. Julián Rodríguez Suárez
Dr. Isolina Riaño-Galan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • neonatal Health
  • neurodevelopment
  • cognitive function
  • brain development
  • nutrition

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 230 KiB  
Editorial
Neonatal Growth, Nutrition, and Neurodevelopment: A Complex Relationship
by Julián Rodríguez-Suárez, Gonzalo Solís-Sánchez and Isolina Riaño-Galán
Nutrients 2023, 15(21), 4634; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15214634 - 31 Oct 2023
Viewed by 984
Abstract
Growth in the neonatal period is critical for the neurodevelopment of the individual, both in low- and middle-income countries [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neonatal Health: Neurodevelopment, Growth, and Nutrition)

Research

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12 pages, 912 KiB  
Article
Effect of Donated Premature Milk in the Prevention of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
by Amaia Merino-Hernández, Andrea Palacios-Bermejo, Cristina Ramos-Navarro, Silvia Caballero-Martín, Noelia González-Pacheco, Elena Rodríguez-Corrales, María Carmen Sánchez-Gómez de Orgaz and Manuel Sánchez-Luna
Nutrients 2024, 16(6), 859; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16060859 - 15 Mar 2024
Viewed by 649
Abstract
Introduction: Breastfeeding is one of the strategies that has been shown to be effective in preventing severe forms of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). When mother’s own milk (MOM) is not available, pasteurized donor milk (DM) is the best alternative. However, the evidence is inconclusive [...] Read more.
Introduction: Breastfeeding is one of the strategies that has been shown to be effective in preventing severe forms of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). When mother’s own milk (MOM) is not available, pasteurized donor milk (DM) is the best alternative. However, the evidence is inconclusive on the difference in the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) between patients fed MOM and those fed with DM. As standard DM is usually mature pooled milk donated by mothers who have delivered their babies at term, the potential benefits of preterm milk may be lost. Materials and Methods: An observational, retrospective, single-center study was conducted in the neonatology department of a high-complexity hospital. The study included newborns <32 weeks of gestational age born between January 2020 and December 2022. When supplemental milk was needed, non-pooled preterm pasteurized donor milk (PDM) matched for gestational age and moment of lactation was used in this study, classifying preterm infants in two groups: mainly MOM (>50% of the milk) or mainly PDM (>50% of the milk). Two groups were established: those who received >50% MOM and those who received >50% PDM. They were also classified according to the diagnosis of DBP: one group included no BPD or grade 1 BPD (noBPD/1), while the other included grade 2 or 3 BPD (BPD 2–3). The objectives of this study were, firstly, to evaluate the incidence of BPD 2–3 among patients who predominantly received PDM versus MOM. Secondly, to analyze differences in the type of human milk received and its nutritional components, as well as to study the growth in patients with or without BPD. Results: One hundred ninety-nine patients were included in the study. A comparison of noBPD/1 versus BPD 2–3 groups between those receiving mainly MOM versus PDM showed no significant differences (19% vs. 20%, p 0.95). PDM colostrum in BPD 2–3 compared to noBPD/1 was higher in protein content (2.24 g/100 mL (SD 0.37) vs. 2.02 g/100 mL (SD 0.29) p < 0.01), although the statistical significance decreased after adjustment for gestational age and birth weight z-score (OR 3.53 (0.86–14.51)). No differences were found in the macronutrients in the mature milk of patients feeding more than 50% PDM in both study groups. Growth of BPD 2–3 showed a greater decrease in the difference in z-scores for height at birth and at discharge compared to noBPD/1 (−1.64 vs. −0.43, p 0.03). Conclusions: The use of mainly MOM or PDM demonstrates a similar incidence of noBPD/1 or BPD 2–3. Non-pooled and matched by gestational age and time of lactation preterm donor milk can probably be an alternative when mother’s own milk is not available, with a similar protective effect in the prevention of severe BPD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neonatal Health: Neurodevelopment, Growth, and Nutrition)
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17 pages, 1320 KiB  
Article
Exploring Factors Associated with Stunting in 6-Month-Old Children: A Population-Based Cohort Study in Sulawesi, Indonesia
by Andi Imam Arundhana Thahir, Mu Li, Andrew Holmes and Adrienne Gordon
Nutrients 2023, 15(15), 3420; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15153420 - 01 Aug 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1776
Abstract
Stunting in children under the age of two is a significant global concern, particularly in low- and middle-income countries like Indonesia. Intervention efforts often come too late as many of the underlying causal factors have already occurred earlier. While antenatal multiple micronutrient supplements [...] Read more.
Stunting in children under the age of two is a significant global concern, particularly in low- and middle-income countries like Indonesia. Intervention efforts often come too late as many of the underlying causal factors have already occurred earlier. While antenatal multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) have demonstrated positive effects on pregnancy outcomes, their impact on infant growth in the first six months remains inadequately explored in epidemiological studies. This study aims to identify factors associated with stunting at six months in infants whose mothers received MMS. A population-based cohort study was conducted in four subdistricts of Banggai, Indonesia. Pregnant women were recruited in their third trimester and followed up until their children were six months of age. Validated questionnaires were employed to gather data on social determinants of health and diet, and standardised methods were utilised for anthropometric measurements. Stunting was determined based on the WHO child growth standards. The analysis comprised data from 152 mother–child pairs. The prevalence of stunting during early infancy (first two months) was 18.4%, which decreased to 15.8% in later infancy (at six months). Factors such as small-for-gestational-age (AOR = 11.29; 2.73–46.66), preterm birth (AOR = 6.33; 1.25–31.97), short birth length (AOR = 4.31; 1.11–16.78), maternal mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) below 23.5 cm, and female infants (AOR = 3.27; 95%CI: 1.04–10.27) were associated with stunting at six months. This study highlights that stunting in the first six months is present at birth, with small-for-gestational-age (SGA) as a strong predictor. In addition, there was a trend to improved growth (−0.30 [−0.79 to 0.18]) in infants born to mothers who received MMS supplementation pre-pregnancy rather than during pregnancy, although it was not statistically significant. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neonatal Health: Neurodevelopment, Growth, and Nutrition)
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Review

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13 pages, 463 KiB  
Review
Variability in Definitions and Criteria of Extrauterine Growth Restriction and Its Association with Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Preterm Infants: A Narrative Review
by Clara González-López, Gonzalo Solís-Sánchez, Sonia Lareu-Vidal, Laura Mantecón-Fernández, Aleida Ibáñez-Fernández, Ana Rubio-Granda and Marta Suárez-Rodríguez
Nutrients 2024, 16(7), 968; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16070968 - 27 Mar 2024
Viewed by 474
Abstract
Extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) has been used in the literature and clinical practice to describe inadequate growth in preterm infants. Significant variability is seen in the criteria for EUGR, with no standard definition reached to date. Moreover, no consensus on the optimal timing [...] Read more.
Extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) has been used in the literature and clinical practice to describe inadequate growth in preterm infants. Significant variability is seen in the criteria for EUGR, with no standard definition reached to date. Moreover, no consensus on the optimal timing for assessment or the ideal growth monitoring tool has been achieved, and an ongoing debate persists on the appropriate terminology to express poor postnatal growth. To ensure an adequate understanding of growth and early intervention in preterm infants at higher risk, it is critical to relate the diagnostic criteria of EUGR to the ability to predict adverse outcomes, such as neurodevelopmental outcomes. This narrative review was conducted to present evidence that evaluates neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants with EUGR, comparing separately the different definitions of this concept by weight (cross-sectional, longitudinal and “true” EUGR). In this article, we highlight the challenges of comparing various published studies on the subject, even when subclassifying by the definition of EUGR, due to the significant variability on the criteria used for each definition and for the evaluation of neurodevelopmental outcomes in different papers. This heterogeneity compromises the obtention of a single firm conclusion on the relation between different definitions of EUGR and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neonatal Health: Neurodevelopment, Growth, and Nutrition)
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