When a baby is born prematurely or is very sick in the NICU, oftentimes he or she is too young and/or fragile to be fed breastmilk or formula. During this time, your baby will receive infused nutrition through an IV in his or her vein called Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN).
WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF TPN?
TPN is composed of Parenteral Nutrition (PN) and Lipids. PN is the bright green bag hanging on your baby’s IV pole. It contains carbohydrates and sugar (dextrose), protein (amino acids), electrolytes, essential vitamins, as well as minerals. It’s basically “baby Gatorade.” The ingredients are customized DAILY depending on your baby’s blood work to help balance labs, meet fluid needs, and optimize growth.
The other very important constituent of TPN is Lipids. This is used in conjunction with PN as the source of calories (energy) and essential fatty acids (fats). This is the smaller, creamy white fluid that you see running through your baby’s IV. Lipids are a very concentrated form of fat that is safe for infusion through the vein. Lipids help your baby to gain weight and also help with brain growth and development.
Fun Fact: There are many different forms and types of Lipids. Stay tuned for a future post that describes the most common type used in the NICU!