Frankie, who was born at 24 weeks and 3 days, weighing 650 grammes. She was part of Barbara’s study. Frankie is now thriving. The photo was supplied by Frankie’s family. Photo: Parents' photo
New research on what extremely low birth weight babies need to thrive suggests a need for new national guidelines on the amount of nutrients given in our neonatal units. Dr Barbara Cormack is specialist neonatal dietician at the University of Auckland's Liggins Institute, author of a recent paper exploring refeeding syndrome in babies with extremely low birth weights.
Refeeding syndrome has been observed in people with severe anorexia, and prisoners of war, and can occur when malnourished people don't get the correct balance of nutrients, including phosphates, in normal diets - resulting ultimately in heart failure.
