Non Organic Failure To Thrive Syndrome For A Baby

Failure To Thrive is a blockage in normal increases in height and weight that can be the precursor to interruptions in the developmental process and maturation.

Failure To Thrive Syndrome is a description of a condition given to infants who are consistently underweight or who do not gain weight. There may be many causes. Many causes involve socio-environmental elements that interact to keep the child from having the nutrition the baby needs. Sometimes, medical disorders prevent a child from developing normally. Another significant contributing factor is the infant’s own intolerances.

When There Are Social And Environmental Causes For The Failure To Thrive

Many social and environmental elements can be a part of Failure To Thrive. Parental abuse or neglect, parental emotional health issues, and disorganized family situations in which routine, nutritious meals are not provided, may all interfere with a child’s appetite and intake of food. The amount of money a family makes available for food and the nutritional value of the food they have also affects growth. Inadequate food intake may be a symptom of poor parenting and stimulation from the environment.

When the situation is not based in medical difficulties, this is called Non Organic Failure To Thrive Syndrome. Long ago, Non Organic Failure To Thrive Syndrome was thought to be caused by poor parenting. But there are recent studies which have indicated a growing recognition that poor parenting may be an infrequent cause of the situation.

When The Issues Of The Difficulty Are Medical Disorders

Sometimes Failure To Thrive Syndrome is brought on by a medical problem in the baby. This is often called Organic Failure to Thrive. The issue can be as minor as difficulty drinking, chewing, or swallowing (as a child might have with a cleft lip or cleft palate). Other medical disorders, such as acid reflux, esophagus narrowing, or intestinal malabsorption, may also affect a child’s ability to obtain nutrition from food. Infection, tumor, hormonal or metabolic disorders (such as cystic fibrosis or diabetes), heart disease, kidney disease, genetic disorders, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are other medical reasons for Failure To Thrive.

If The Roots Are Based In Reactions To Sensitivities and Intolerances

Often an infant’s or a baby’s Non Organic Failure To Thrive is brought on by the baby’s body reacting to normal environmental factors as if those normal things were toxic. This is a intolerance of some things in the environment which the child’s defenses thinks are toxic.

This response to this “toxic attack” could include shutting down the child’s normal developmental process as a temporary protective tactic until the “attack” stops. And, because these environmental factors are not toxic to others, the family and the medical professionals do not know to eliminate these “toxic” factors from the baby’s environment. In this case this temporary conservation defensive response continues on an ongoing basis. This means that the child’s own defenses interferes with the baby’s normal development on an ongoing basis, because of the child’s sensitivities.

Diagnosis For The Roots In Medical Difficulties And Socio-Environmental Causes

Doctors indicate that a child has Failure To Thrive when the infant’s weight or physical development is well below what it should be when compared with past measurements or standard age-height-weight charts. If the rate of growth is adequate, the child may be small for his or her age but still developing appropriately.

To determine why a infant may be failing to grow normally, medical practitioners ask the parents specific questions about feeding, bowel habits, social, emotional, and financial stability of the family, which might affect the baby’s access to food, and illnesses that the child has had or that run in the family. The medical practitioner examines the baby, looking for signals which may explain the child’s growth delay. The medical practitioner makes decisions about blood and urine tests and x-rays based on this evaluation. More testing is performed only if the doctor believes there is an underlying medical condition.

Finding The Child’s Intolerances and Sensitivities

There are some published diets ( for instance: GFCF and Feingold diets) which attempt to deal with these intolerance and sensitivity issues. These diets function well for those children who are intolerant of the things which are specifically restricted by these programs. But, for the majority of Non Orhanic Failure To Thrive children whose sensitivities are affecting their growth and development, these diets are inappropriate and not specifically designed for them.

It is best to have a specialist, who knows how to perform this specific test for intolerance and sensitivity, work with your Non Organic Failure To Thrive child to determine your child’s precise list of intolerances and sensitivities. Those who perform this kind of testing can include some chiropractors, nutritionists, and other wellness practitioners trained for this specific type of evaluation.

Treatment and Prognosis For The Roots In Medical Disorders And Socio-Environmental Causes

The medical problems and socio-environmental issues approach assumes there is something wrong with the baby’s body or the child’s social environment. These treatments are focused on a problem in the baby’s nutritional processing or access.

Treatment depends on the root of the difficulty. If a medical problem is found, specific treatment is given. Otherwise, treatment depends on how far below normal the baby’s weight is. Mild to moderate Failure To Thrive is treated with high-calorie nutritious feedings delivered on a regular schedule. Parents might be counseled about family interactions that are dangerous for the child and about social and financial resources available for their family. More severe Failure To Thrive Syndrome is treated in the hospital where nutritionists, social workers, feeding specialists, psychiatrists, and other specialists team together to determine the most likely causes of the child’s Failure To Thrive and the best program to feeding.

Treatment For When The Roots Of The Failure To Thrive Syndrome Are In Intolerances and Sensitivities

The interventions for the sensitivities approach is to determine which environmental factors the infant is reacting to and eliminates those from the baby’s environment. When the baby is no longer reacting to those, the normal developmental process re-engages and development can proceed normally. With this approach, nourishment is absorbed and development gets back on track. There are specialists in Non Organic Failure To Thrive syndrome who can determine your child’s intolerances and sensitivities and coach you in getting your child back on track.

Summary

The social and environmental approach for Non Organic Failure To Thrive children assumes that something is wrong in the infant’s social environment in such a way that nourishment is not available or is not accepted by the child.

The medical difficulties approach for Organic Failure To Thrive infants and children assumes that nourishment is not being processed and absorbed by the child because of some medical disorder.

The intolerances approach for Non Organic Failure To Thrive Syndrome assumes that the baby is having reactions to environmental factors and these reactions are shutting down the normal growth and developmental process.

If you need to read more about Failure To Thrive or you would like to communicate with someone about Non Organic Failure To Thrive Syndrome, you will like our free, private Non Organic Failure To Thrive Social Network

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