General Information

Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) is a major cause of death and serious disability in preterm infants and understanding is relevant to all NICU practitioners, as well as gastroenterologists, hepatologists, and a range of Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) especially dieticians and pharmacists. Whilst NEC only affects 5-10% of very preterm infants, the fear of NEC dominates decision making on a day to day basis on the NICU. The risk of NEC is affected by and impacts on feeding rate, milk type including the use of donor human milk, the use of fortifiers or supplements including breast milk fortifiers, and other interventions such as probiotics.