Breastfeeding can successfully be established in very preterm infants. Mothers of low social classes, smokers, multiple birth and very preterm infants with low weight for age may need extra attention in breastfeeding establishing policies.

Fortification of mother's milk after hospital discharge while breastfeeding very preterm infants was possible without influencing breastfeeding duration but did not significantly influence growth parameters at 1 year of age compared with unfortified mother's milk.

Aim: To determine the incidence amongst infants born at term or near‐term of extreme hyperbilirubinaemia, i.e., with a serum concentration of unconjugated bilirubin exceeding the limit above which an exchange transfusion was indicated according to the authorized guidelines. Method: The investigation period covered 2 y, 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2001, and included all infants born alive at term or near‐term in Denmark. All infants with extreme hyperbilirubinaemia admitted to paediatric departments were recorded. Results: Thirty‐two infants developed extreme hyperbilirubinaemia, i.e., an incidence of 25 per 100 000. The maximum total serum bilirubin concentration (TSB) was 492 (385–689) μmol/l (median (range)). The median value of the exchange transfusion limits was 450 μmol/l. Twelve infants had signs and symptoms of central nervous system involvement; 11 had acute bilirubin encephalopathy phase‐1 symptoms; and one had phase‐2 symptoms. Nineteen infants developed extreme hyperbilirubinaemia during primary admission to the maternity ward or neonatal department; the others after having been discharged. There was no difference in maximum TSB between those infants not discharged from hospital and those infants admitted to hospital from home. Maximum TSB appeared latest amongst those infants admitted from home (p<0.01), and these more often had signs and symptoms of central nervous system involvement (p<0.05). Ten infants were of non‐Caucasian extraction. Less than half of all Danish mothers receive both verbal and written information after birth on jaundice in the infant. Conclusion: Twenty‐five per 100 000 infants born at term or near‐term developed extreme hyperbilirubinaemia, the majority of them whilst in hospital. Infants admitted from home more often had signs and symptoms of central system involvement.

Twenty-five per 100 000 infants born at term or near-term developed extreme hyperbilirubinaemia, the majority of them whilst in hospital. Infants admitted from home more often had signs and symptoms of central system involvement.

We carried out a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded trial to evaluate the effect on morbidity of high dose oral vitamin A, given on hospital admission to 592 children aged 1-59 months with moderate and severe pneumonia. Severely underweight children were not included, but 45% were moderately underweight. The vitamin A and placebo groups were comparable in baseline characteristics. Four patients died. Among all of the surviving children, no differences were found regarding mean time for normalization of fever, respiratory rate and time of hospitalization. Stratification for moderate malnutrition, degree of pneumonia, age and sex revealed moderately malnourished vitamin A-supplemented children to have a shorter time of hospitalization (p = 0.04), due to an effect in females aged > 12 months (p = 0.02) and females with very severe pneumonia (p = 0.048). This study indicates that, in developing countries like Vietnam, supplementation with vitamin A in children with pneumonia could shorten the recovery rate in the ones that are undernourished, especially females > 1 y old.