Nutrients and Clinical Strategies: Supporting Growth and Development in the NICU

Two nutrition experts discuss the latest advances in neonatal nutrition. Sara E. Ramel, MD, assistant professor in neonatology at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, looks at the role of macronutrients in neonatal growth, and the connections among nutrition, neurologic development, metabolic outcomes, and long-term growth. Paula P. Meier, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor of Women, Children and Family Nursing, and professor of pediatrics at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, reviews the current science of mother's milk and donor milk, fortification strategies, and feeding protocols.

This material was originally presented to a live audience on 23-Oct-2015, and was available for credit through 14-Nov-2017.

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  Paula P. Meier, PhD, RN, FAAN

  Director for Clinical Research and Lactation, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
  Professor of Women, Children and Family Nursing
  Rush College of Nursing
  Professor of Pediatrics
  Rush Medical College
  Chicago, Illinois

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  Sara Ramel, MD

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  Sara E. Ramel, MD, is an associate professor in neonatology and a member of the faculty of the Center for Neurobehavioral Development/Masonic Institute of the Developing Brain at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She received her medical degree from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine where she completed her residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in neonatal/perinatal medicine. Dr. Ramel is board certified in pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine.

  Dr. Ramel’s research focuses on the impact of neonatal nutrition, illness and growth on long-term neurodevelopment and body composition. She has been the principal investigator on a number of growth studies sponsored by the University of Minnesota, the National Institutes of Health, as well as the March of Dimes and the Minnesota Obesity Center. Dr. Ramel and her research team have uniquely shown that optimizing linear growth in the first year of life is as important as adequate weight gain in improving long-term neurodevelopment amongst preterm infants. Additionally, the team found that increased fat-free mass gains, rather than fat-mass gains, are associated with improved speed of processing and cognitive and motor scores later in life. Dr. Ramel and her colleagues worked on the development of growth curves for preterm infants in fat mass and fat-free mass, as well as examining factors, both nutritional and non-nutritional, associated with improved linear growth and fat-free mass gains. In addition, the team examined the difficult balance between optimizing neurodevelopment and minimizing later metabolic risk amongst preterm infants.

  Dr. Ramel is the co-author of numerous peer-reviewed publications, manuscripts and book chapters. She is also a sought-after speaker at national and international conferences and serves as an ad hoc review for several prestigious medical journals.

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  Sara Ramel, MD

  Associate Professor
  Division of Neonatology
  Department of Pediatrics
  University of Minnesota
  Minneapolis, Minnesota