For some babies, embracing feeding can be a challenge.
This was true for little Evie and Tait, who after shortly after entering the world, became reliant on nasogastric feeding tubes to help keep them well nourished.
After being born at Frankston Hospital, mother Zahlee Hunn returned to Peninsula Health with her newborn daughter, Evie, after noticing she was not gaining weight and was refusing to feed.
“I noticed once we were home,” says Zahlee. “I felt like she wasn’t growing and instead she was losing weight, it was clear she wasn’t really drinking, despite us attempting to dual feed.”
“We were told to go to the Emergency Department, and that’s when they put Evie on the nasogastric tube to give her nutrients.”
“It was scary,” shares Zahlee.
Nasogastric tubes are used to feed babies and children who cannot take in enough calories by mouth. The soft tube is placed through a child’s nostril, down the back of their throat, and into the stomach.
Similarly, for mother Shannon McKeddie, her newborn son Tait required a nasogastric tube after dropping weight from the 80th to the 10th percentile in just a couple of weeks.
“Tait experienced a lot of breathing difficulties, to the point that he would turn blue and stop breathing,” tells Shannon. “Quite often his feeding went downhill.”
Placed on a feeding tube, nothing seemed to be getting better for Tait. Determined to get him off the feeding tube, Shannon and her family relocated to the Mornington Peninsula where she brought Tait to Peninsula Health’s Joint Feeding Clinic.
“I was absolutely relieved that [Tait] was finally going to get some care,” says Shannon. “It was amazing because Tait had been through so much trauma that he was absolutely petrified by that stage.”
“Transitioning from tube to oral feeding can certainly be a process for some children,” says Alice Tovey, Speech Pathologist at Peninsula Health.
“Although feeding though a tube can be confronting, it allows the child to receive the nutrition they need to grow and meet their developmental milestones, while reducing stress and pressure around achieving volumes orally.”
“The Joint Feeding Clinic is delivered with a speech pathologist and dietician,” explains Alice. “Working collaboratively, we see a range of conditions that may result in feeding difficulty, including oral aversion, cleft palate, faltering growth and nasogastric tube fed children.”
“We very much enjoyed working with Evie and Tait!”
“Being part of a family’s journey and seeing the caregivers become empowered, grow in their confidence and self-belief in doing one of the most fundamental things we need to do as parents – feed our child – is extremely rewarding.”
“Zahlee and Shannon had such tenacity and strength through some of the most difficult periods in their child’s life. It was a pleasure working with both of them.” Alice adds.
If you are concerned about your child’s feeding development, visit Peninsula Health’s Feeding and Swallowing Service.