Key takeaways: Pediatric feeding disorder is impaired eating that isn’t age-appropriate and is linked to medical, nutrition, feeding skill, or psychosocial problems. Signs include frequent coughing or choking with feeds, refusing most foods, inability to move to textures, poor weight gain, or very stressful mealtimes. Feeding therapists (speech-language pathologists or occupational therapists) can help.
Most babies learn to eat with practice. Some need extra support.
What Is a Feeding Disorder?
A 2019 consensus statement defined pediatric feeding disorder as impaired oral intake that isn’t age-appropriate and is linked to medical, nutritional, feeding skill, and/or psychosocial problems.
Signs to Watch For
- Coughing, choking, or gagging often during feeds.
- Wet or gurgly breathing during or after feeds.
- Poor weight gain or weight loss.
- Refusing most foods or only accepting a few.
- Trouble moving past purees by about 9 to 10 months.
- Vomiting often during or after meals.
- Very long feeds (often more than 30 minutes).
- Stressful mealtimes for the family.
- Frequent pneumonia or respiratory illness.
Who’s at Higher Risk
- Babies born preterm.
- Babies with medical conditions like reflux, heart disease, or neurological conditions.
- Babies with tube feeding history.
- Babies with oral differences like cleft palate.
What Feeding Therapy Involves
Feeding therapists may:
- Evaluate sucking, chewing, and swallowing.
- Recommend positioning and equipment.
- Gradually introduce textures and foods.
- Work on oral-motor skills.
- Help with sensory sensitivities.
- Support positive mealtime routines.
Some babies need a swallow study (such as a video fluoroscopic swallow study) to check for aspiration.
How to Get Help
- Talk to your pediatrician.
- Ask for a referral to a feeding specialist.
- Contact early intervention for babies under 3.
The Bottom Line
If eating is a struggle, help is available. Talk to your pediatrician about signs of a feeding problem.
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Sources
- Goday PS, Huh SY, Silverman A, et al. Pediatric feeding disorder: consensus definition and conceptual framework. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2019;68(1):124-129.
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Pediatric feeding and swallowing. https://www.asha.org
- Feeding Matters. Pediatric feeding disorder. https://www.feedingmatters.org
This article is for general education and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice. Always talk with your baby’s health care provider or your own provider about your specific situation. If you think your baby or you may have a medical emergency, call 911.
