Clinical Programs
Neonatal Nutrition Service
Today's complex neonatal treatment demands that the critical aspect of neonatal nutrition be at the forefront of care. Our nutrition specialists are an integral part of that care for the patient populations we serve.
Over a 16-year period, the Neonatal Nutrition Service for the Section of Neonatology at Baylor College of Medicine has grown exponentially as the size of the nurseries at Texas Children's Hospital and Ben Taub General Hospital has expanded and the patient population has become more complex. The Nutrition Service began with one nutritionist at Texas Children's and now four nutritionists provide education services at Texas Children's and at Ben Taub. As active members of the multidisciplinary neonatal teams, nutritional support is optimized during nursery rounds.
Before joining the BCM Neonatal Nutrition Service, all members had prior work experience in a neonatal intensive care unit. Two completed the three-month Neonatal Nutrition Fellowship Program and one completed the One-week Neonatal Nutrition Update Practicum (both funded by the Federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau) either at BCM or at the Medical University of South Carolina headed by Diane Anderson, Ph.D., R.D., L.D. This program is unique in the U.S.—it provides three solid months of focused training in the very specialized area of neonatal nutrition.
Our nutritionists play a strong educational role for physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals that comprise the clinical teams. The Nutrition Service is further enhanced through collaborative relationships with the Nutrition Services Section of the Texas Department of State Health Services and the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center—the largest federally funded children's nutrition research center in the country, which is operated by Baylor College of Medicine in cooperation with the US Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service and Texas Children's Hospital.
