Home | Family

What Is Non Organic Failure To Thrive Syndrome For A Baby

By: Gerald Fitzgerald

Read More About Family

Failure To Thrive is a delay in normal physical development that might be the precursor to interruptions in the developmental process and normal maturation.

Failure To Thrive is a description of a condition given to babies who are consistently less than the normal weight for their age or who do not gain weight. There are many causes. Many causes involve socio-environmental factors that work together to keep the infant from getting the nutrition the infant needs. Often, medical disorders prevent a infant from growing normally. Another important cause is the baby's own sensitivities and intolerances.

When There Are Socio-Environmental Causes For The Condition

Many socio-environmental factors can be a part of Failure To Thrive. Parental neglect or abuse, parental emotional health difficulties, and dysfunctional family situations in which routine, nutritious meals are insufficiently provided, may all interupt a child's appetite and intake of food. The amount of money a family makes to spend on food and the nutritional value of the food they have also affects normal development. Also, inadequate intake of food may be a sign of inadequate parenting and environmental stimulation.

When the situation is not based in medical difficulties, it is called Non Organic Failure To Thrive Syndrome. Long ago, Non Organic Failure To Thrive Syndrome was thought to be caused by abusive parenting. But there are many recent articles which have indicated a growing recognition that poor parenting may not be a common basis of the situation.

When The Roots Of The Problem Are Medical Problems

Sometimes Failure To Thrive Syndrome is brought on by a medical disorder in the infant. This is sometimes called Organic Failure to Thrive. The disorder can be as minor as difficulty drinking, chewing, or swallowing (as a child might have with a cleft lip or cleft palate). Medical disorders, such as gastroesophageal reflux, narrowing of the esophagus, or intestinal malabsorption, may also affect a child's ability to obtain nutrition from food. Infections, tumors, metabolic or hormonal disorders (such as cystic fibrosis or diabetes), cardiac problems, kidney diseases, genetic disorders, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are other medical reasons for Failure To Thrive.

When The Roots Are Based In Responses To Intolerances

Sometimes an infant's or a baby's Non Organic Failure To Thrive is brought on by the baby's body reacting to normal things in the environment 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 infant's normal developmental process as a temporary protective measure until the "attack" stops. And, because these things in the environment are not toxic to others, the family and the medical professionals do not know to eliminate these "toxic" things from the infant's environment. In this case this temporary protective defensive reaction continues without stopping. This means that the infant's own defenses blocks the infant's normal development on an ongoing basis, because of the child's sensitivities and intolerances.

Diagnosis For The Issues In Medical Problems And Socio-Environmental Roots

Doctors indicate that a child has Failure To Thrive when the infant's weight or physical development is much less than what it should be when compared with former measurements or standard age-height-weight charts. If the physical development is adequate, the infant may be small but still developing normally.

To determine why a infant may be failing to grow normally, doctors ask the parents specific questions about feeding, bowel habits, social, emotional, and financial stability of the family, which might affect the infant's access to nutrition, and illnesses that the infant has had or that run in the family. The doctor examines the infant, looking for signals that could explain the infant's growth delay. The doctor makes decisions about blood and urine tests and x-rays based on this initial evaluation. More extensive examinations are performed only if the doctor suspects an underlying disease.

Finding The Child's Intolerances

There are some available diets ( for instance: Casein Free and Feingold diets) which attempt to address these intolerance issues. These diets work well for those children who are sensitive to the things which are specifically restricted by these programs. But, for the majority of Non Orhanic Failure To Thrive children whose sensitivities and intolerances are affecting their growth and development, these diets are inappropriate and not specifically tailored for them.

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

Treatment and Prognosis For The Issues In Medical Problems And Socio-Environmental Roots

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

Treatment depends on the cause of the difficulty. If a medical disorder is found, specific interventions are performed. Otherwise, treatment depends on how far below normal the infant's weight is. Mild to moderate Failure To Thrive is treated with high-calorie nutritious feedings delivered on a regular schedule. Parents could be counseled about family interactions that are damaging to the child and about social and financial resources available to them. More severe Failure To Thrive Syndrome is treated in the hospital where social workers, nutritionists, psychiatrists, feeding specialists, and other specialists work together to determine the most likely causes of the child's Failure To Thrive and the best program to feeding.

Treatment For When The Issues Of The Failure To Thrive Syndrome Are In Intolerances

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

Summary

The socio-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 infant.

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

The sensitivities and intolerances approach for Non Organic Failure To Thrive for a baby assumes that the infant is having defensive responses to environmental factors and these defensive responses are shutting down the normal development and growth process.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

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

Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Family Articles Via RSS!
Additional Articles From - Home | Family
Sign Up for a free account.
Our other websites
All about SEO
Beauty Tips Forum
Submit Articles
Member Login
Link Us
Submission Guidelines
Ezine Notifications
Article RSS Feeds
Sitemap
New Stuff
About Us
Developer
Good shopping portal
Link to Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service

counter easy hit

Powered by Article Dashboard