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Review Paper | Pediatric Nursing | Volume 15 Issue 7, July 2026 | Pages: 1982 - 1984 | India
Benefits of Probiotics on Enteral Nutrition in Preterm Neonates: A Systematic Review
Abstract: Babies born early still face serious health risks around the world, creating ongoing strain on hospital newborn units. Because their digestive systems aren?t fully developed, these tiny infants often struggle to feed properly, fall behind in weight gain, and are more likely to get very sick from gut-related issues like NEC or infections. Feeding through the gut helps them grow stronger while also training their intestines to work better over time. Lately, helpful bacteria known as probiotics have drawn attention for possibly balancing gut life and making feeding easier for small preemies. A close look at past studies was done to see how well probiotics actually support feeding progress in early-born babies cared for inside certain hospitals and special baby wards. From 2015 to 2026, research on preterm babies in hospitals who got probiotics was pulled together using standard methods. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, along with Google Scholar formed the base for finding these studies. Details such as type of probiotic used, how feeding went, whether NEC occurred, cases of infection, growth numbers, plus time spent in hospital were gathered carefully. Full milk feeding happened faster where probiotics were part of care. Feeding upset dropped down; babies handled their meals better when given helpful bacteria. Fewer infants developed NEC after taking supplements designed to support gut balance. Late infections showed up less often among those receiving microbial help during early days. Weight climbed at a stronger pace once good microbes entered daily nutrition plans. Stays in intensive units shrank somewhat under consistent use of certain live cultures. Yet differences popped up across reports - strains varied, amounts changed, timing wasn?t fixed. Still, most data leaned one way: useful bugs made a real difference in how tiny newborns ate and grew. Most likely, adding probiotics to feeding plans for premature babies could help their immediate health plus long-term development. Still unclear is how best to use them across hospitals without consistent methods in place yet. What follows should be more large-scale studies spread over many centers to settle on clear guidelines everyone can follow.
Keywords: Probiotics, Preterm Neonates, Enteral Nutrition, Feeding Tolerance, Necrotizing Enterocolitis, NICU, Systematic Review
How to Cite?: Jaya Prabha M J, Priya Dhanya J B, Dr Sheeja, Jilsha J, "Benefits of Probiotics on Enteral Nutrition in Preterm Neonates: A Systematic Review", Volume 15 Issue 7, July 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1982-1984, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR26722190114, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR26722190114