Mercy Kids Feeding and Swallowing Services
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- Mercy Kids Feeding and Swallowing Services
Expert Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Care
Children with feeding and swallowing problems have a wide range of symptoms, and not all are present in every child. Symptoms that parents should look for include:
- Feeding for more than 20 to 30 minutes
- Stressful mealtimes
- Poor weight gain
- Refusal to self-feed
- Coughing and gagging during meals
- Crying or acting out at the presentation of new foods
- Refusing entire texture categories, such as baby or table foods
- Refusing entire food groups, such as fruits or vegetables
Feeding and Swallowing Conditions We Treat
- Nervous system disorders, such as cerebral palsy and encephalopathy (brain dysfunction)
- Gastrointestinal conditions, such as reflux
- Prematurity
- Low birth weight
- Cleft lip/palate and craniofacial deformities
- Autism
- Respiratory difficulties
If left untreated, feeding and swallowing issues may lead to a limited diet, dehydration, poor nutrition, aspiration, pneumonia, and repeated upper respiratory infections.
If you suspect your child is having difficulty eating, contact their pediatrician or primary care doctor. Your child’s doctor may recommend working with a member of our feeding team who specializes in treating children with feeding and swallowing disorders. This therapist, along with other key members of our team, will evaluate and assess your child. The team will then make recommendations on how to improve your child’s feeding and swallowing concern.
Our services are provided as part of the Mercy Kids Center for Neurodevelopment.