Pediatric Disease Related Malnutrition
Cath and Frankie’s story
“Frankie has a heart condition that he was born with. He was tube fed straight away. We have to get extra calories added into his milk as Frankie is very slow at putting on weight – and keeping the weight on because he’s very active, very active! It is a bit of a battle.
His feeds have been his main source of food and fluid, for him to grow up, and he’s done fantastic with them. We treat him like every other child, he can run, jump, play. We don’t let anything stop him.”
What can cause growth challenges in early life?
Optimal growth and development in childhood are essential for long-term health and well-being. However, there are a number of reasons why some children can have difficulties growing optimally. Inadequate growth may occur in children who have an underlying disease or condition such as cerebral palsy, a congenital heart disease, cystic fibrosis, liver disease or cancer1-2. This is often due to a poor intake during their illness or nutritional requirement being higher. In addition, it can occur when there is no disease-related cause, for example, with feeding difficulties3.
Feeding Tube Awareness Week
A week aiming to spread awareness and educate as many as possible through people’s stories on the health benefits the enteral tube feeding can make in the lives of patients.
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Nutricia’s role in managing infants & children facing growth challenges due to their medical condition
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The Healthcare professionals pages provide access to a range of articles and resources related to Pediatric Disease-Related Malnutrition, including clinical guidelines and detailed product information. The pages are for healthcare professionals only.