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Pediatric Feeding Disorder
Pediatric feeding disorders occur when a child has difficulty preparing food or liquid in the mouth to be swallowed.
What is a Pediatric Feeding Disorder?
A child who struggles to prepare (chew) food or liquid in their mouth and swallow it may have a feeding disorder. Oftentimes, feeding disorders go hand in hand with dysphagia (swallowing disorders) and affect the child’s ability to get nutrition from eating and digesting food.
What are the signs and symptoms of a Pediatric Feeding Disorder?
Feeding disorder symptoms in infants (birth to 1 year*) can include:
- Arching back during feeding
- Coughing or gagging during meals
- Difficulty breastfeeding
- Frequent spitting up or vomiting
- Irritable during feeding
- Long feeding times
- Slow weight gain
- Stiffening the body during feeding
Feeding disorder symptoms in toddlers (1 to 3 year old**) and children older than 3 can include:
- Coughing or gagging while eating
- Difficulty chewing
- Difficulty breathing while eating or drinking
- Doesn’t accept food textures
- Drool and/or food/liquid coming out of nose or mouth while eating
- Recurring respiratory infections, including pneumonia
- Refusing to eat or drink
- Stuffy nose while eating
- Slow weight gain
* Age of infants as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO).
**Age of toddlers as defined by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
What are the causes of Pediatric Feeding Disorder?
Pediatric feeding disorders can be caused by a variety of illnesses, diseases and congenital (present from birth) defects. The most common include:
- Airway disorders
- Behavioral Issues
- Dysphagia (swallowing disorders)
- Cleft lip or palate
- Failure to thrive
- Food Allergies
- GERD (reflux)
- Nervous system disorders like cerebral palsy
- Prematurity
Pediatric Feeding Disorder Doctors and Providers
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Bradley Barth, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Michele Alkalay, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Amal Aqul, MD Pediatric Hepatologist -
Laura Austin, PhD Pediatric Psychologist -
Sarah Barlow, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Nandini Channabasappa, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Aakash Goyal, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Bhaskar Gurram, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Lauren Lazar, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Megha Mehta, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Derek Ngai, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Charina Ramirez, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Norberto Rodriguez-Baez, MD Pediatric Hepatologist -
Isabel Rojas Santamaria, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Rinarani Sanghavi, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Meghana Sathe, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Mhammad Gaith Semrin, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Luis Sifuentes-Dominguez, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
David Troendle, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Stephen Chorney, MD Pediatric Otolaryngologist (ENT) -
Romaine Johnson, MD Pediatric Otolaryngologist (ENT) -
Edaire Cheng, MD Pediatric Gastroenterologist -
Phuong Luu, PA-C Physician Assistant - Gastroenterology -
Van Nguyen, APRN, PNP-PC Nurse Practitioner - Gastroenterology -
Jennifer Peacock, APRN, PNP-PC Nurse Practitioner - Gastroenterology -
Shabina Walji-Virani, APRN, PNP-PC Nurse Practitioner - Gastroenterology -
Christine Winser-Bean, APRN, FNP Nurse Practitioner - Gastroenterology
