Editor’s Focus

Preterm infants show delayed development of motor function after birth. Using a pig model, Cao and coinvestigators tested the hypothesis that early initiation of enteral feeding stimulates both gut growth and neonatal physical activity. Groups of preterm pigs were fed different combinations of parenteral nutrition, bovine colostrum (BC), formula, and human milk (HM). The researchers found that BC and HM supplementation had the greatest effect in increasing physical activity and intestinal weight. See page 137