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Updated: May 1, 2026
Development of a Neonatal Piglet Acute Lung Injury Model Recreating the Early Environment of Preterm Infant Lungs
Published on: October 31, 2025
Preterm nutrition and the lung
1Betty Cameron Women and Children's Hospital, Wilmington, N.C., USA.
Insights
Fetal and neonatal nutrition significantly impacts lung development and long-term respiratory health. Optimizing nutrient intake, like specific vitamins and fatty acids, is crucial for infant lung function and disease prevention.
Area of Science:
- Neonatology
- Pulmonology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Fetal and neonatal nutrition profoundly influences pulmonary development and long-term lung health.
- Intrauterine growth restriction and postnatal undernutrition are associated with increased risks of respiratory distress and chronic lung disease.
- Specific nutrients play a role in lung development and function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the impact of fetal and neonatal nutrition on pulmonary growth, development, function, and disease risk.
- To evaluate the role of specific nutrients in supporting lung health in infants.
- To identify areas for future research in neonatal nutrition and lung health.
Main Methods:
- Review of experimental and clinical evidence linking nutrition to lung outcomes.
- Analysis of the effects of intrauterine growth restriction and postnatal undernutrition on pulmonary function.
- Examination of the association between specific nutrient supply and lung development in very low birth weight infants.
Main Results:
- Fetal growth abnormalities impact respiratory outcomes, with restriction increasing risk for respiratory distress syndrome and excessive growth reducing lung function.
- Postnatal undernutrition adversely affects pulmonary function and increases chronic lung disease risk in vulnerable infants.
- Specific nutrients (fluids, protein, carbs, inositol, DHA, calcium, phosphorus, vitamins A & E) are linked to lung development, warranting further study.
Conclusions:
- Neonatal nutrition is a critical factor in modulating lung development and function.
- Careful consideration of nutrient administration, avoiding excess fluids and high glucose, is important for infants with chronic lung disease.
- Further research into optimal nutritional strategies, including specific vitamins and lipids, is needed to enhance infant lung health.
Abstract:
Experimental and clinical evidence show that fetal and neonatal nutrition and metabolism can markedly modulate pulmonary growth, development, and function, as well as long-term lung health and disease risks. Intrauterine growth restriction has been linked to an increased risk for respiratory distress syndrome and chronic lung disease, while excessive fetal growth reduced forced expiratory volume. Postnatal undernutrition adversely affected pulmonary function in animal models and was associated to a higher risk of chronic lung disease in very low birth weight infants. The supply of specific nutrients to very low birth weight infants, including fluids, protein, carbohydrates, inositol, docosahexaenoic acid, calcium, phosphorus and the vitamins A and E has been associated with lung development and function and deserves further evaluation. In infants with evolving or established chronic lung disease, excess fluid administration and high intravenous glucose infusion rates should be avoided and the provision of vitamin A be considered. Opportunities exist for further research relating to neonatal nutrition and lung health, for example exploring optimal strategies and effects of providing vitamin A, docosahexaenoic acid and intravenous lipid emulsions.
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