Abstract:
Congenital heart disease is one of the more common congenital anomalies with an incidence of approximately 4 per 1000 live births. Although many of these infants are born at term with birthweights well within the normal range, they often can develop growth failure due to inadequate nutrition. Providing optimal nutrition for these infants is imperative for improving both short and long term outcomes. However, clinicians have been reluctant to provide enteral feedings to these infants due to potential risks including necrotizing enterocolitis. Although the literature is sparse, some recent publications have suggested that several important management strategies can help to promote optimal growth in these infants both pre and postoperatively including a standardized feeding protocol and feeding these infants an exclusive human milk (EHM) diet. A recent RCT compared a postoperative feeding regimen of EHM versus feeds consisting of formula in infants who had recently undergone surgical palliation. The results suggested that infants fed an EHM diet had improved growth velocity and no increased risk for NEC. Determining how best to feed these infants is an important factor in their overall management and long term outcomes.
