Early postnatal growth failure in preterm infants is not inevitable

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Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Development of a Neonatal Piglet Acute Lung Injury Model Recreating the Early Environment of Preterm Infant Lungs
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Development of a Neonatal Piglet Acute Lung Injury Model Recreating the Early Environment of Preterm Infant Lungs

Published on: October 31, 2025

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Edward Thomas Andrews1, James John Ashton2,3, Freya Pearson1

  • 1Department of Neonatal Medicine, Princess Anne Hospital, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.

Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition
|August 24, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Preterm infants born before 32 weeks

Area of Science:

  • Neonatalogy
  • Pediatrics
  • Growth and Development

Background:

  • Previous studies indicate preterm infants often experience weight decline and poor head growth in early life.
  • This study examines longitudinal growth patterns in weight, head circumference (HC), and length for preterm infants born before 32 weeks' gestation.
  • The research was conducted following the implementation of enhanced nutritional guidelines in a neonatal unit.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe the longitudinal changes in weight, head circumference (HC), and length in preterm infants born before 32 weeks' gestation.
  • To evaluate the impact of improved postnatal nutritional guidelines on infant growth trajectories.
  • To determine if early postnatal growth failure is an inevitable outcome for preterm infants.

Main Methods:

  • Data collected from 396 preterm infants (born <32 weeks' gestation) between July 2012 and June 2017.
  • Infants categorized by gestational age at birth.
  • Longitudinal growth curves for weight, HC, and length constructed from median measures and compared against reference centile lines.

Main Results:

  • Analysis of 2808 weight, 1991 HC, and 2004 length measurements.
  • Longitudinal growth plots showed no initial absolute weight loss in any subgroup.
  • The mean change in SD score between birth and 36 weeks was -0.27 (95% CI -0.39 to -0.15) across all groups.

Conclusions:

  • Early postnatal growth failure is not inevitable in preterm infants.
  • Most preterm infants grow along a trajectory close to their birth centile, without significant weight decrease or loss.
  • Evidence suggests that extrauterine weight gain tracking centile lines is achievable for preterm infants.
Abstract

Keywords:
growthneonatologynutrition

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