Failure to thrive in the perinatal period.

Identification of newborn nutritional inadequacy is one of the major areas in perinatal medicine where intervention can influence outcome. An infant's failure to thrive may be the result of prenatal and/or post-natal causes. Management of failure to thrive in the newborn infant must include identification of the problem, establishment of an efficient therapeutic regimen and means of evaluating the morbidity which may occur.