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What Is Non Organic Failure To Thrive Syndrome In Babies

By: Gerald Fitzgerald

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Failure To Thrive is a restriction in physical growth and weight gain that could lead to interruptions in the normal developmental process and maturation.

Failure To Thrive is a diagnosis given to babies who are consistently underweight or who do not show weight gain. There are many causes. Many causes involve socio-environmental factors that work together to keep the infant from having the nutrition the infant needs. Occasionally, medical issues prevent a infant from developing normally. Another significant cause is the baby's own sensitivities and intolerances.

If There Are Environmental And Social Roots For The Failure To Thrive

Many socio-environmental factors can be responsible for Failure To Thrive. Parental neglect or abuse, parental mental health difficulties, and chaotic family situations in which regular, nutritious meals are insufficiently provided, may all repress a child's appetite and food intake. The amount of money a family has available for food and the nutritional value of the food they provide also affects growth. Inadequate food intake may be a symptom of inadequate parenting and environmental stimulation.

When the situation is not based in medical conditions, it is called Non Organic Failure To Thrive Syndrome. In the past, Non Organic Failure To Thrive Syndrome was thought to be caused by abusive parenting. But there are recent studies which have indicated a growing recognition that poor parenting may be an uncommon root of the condition.

If The Roots Of The Failure To Thrive Are Medical Disorders

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

If The Roots Are Based In Responses To Sensitivities and Intolerances

Sometimes an infant's or a baby's Non Organic Failure To Thrive is brought on by the baby's body responding to normal things in the environment as if those normal things were toxic. This is a sensitivity to some things in the environment which the child's defenses thinks are toxic.

This response to this "toxic attack" could be shutting down the infant's normal developmental process as a temporary protective measure until the "attack" stops. But, because these things in the environment are not toxic to others, the family and the medical professionals do not know to eliminate these "toxic" factors from the infant's environment. In this case this short-term protective defensive reaction continues without stopping. This means that the infant's own defenses blocks the infant's normal developmental process indefinitely, because of the child's sensitivities and intolerances.

Diagnosis For The Roots In Medical Disorders And Environmental And Social Issues

Doctors diagnose Failure To Thrive when a infant's weight or physical development is much less than what it should be when compared with prior measurements or standard age-height-weight charts. If the physical development is adequate, the infant may be small for his or her age but still growing appropriately.

To determine why a infant may be failing to thrive normally, medical practitioners 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 food, and illnesses that the infant has had or that run in the family. The doctor examines the infant, looking for signs of conditions that could explain the infant's growth delay. The doctor makes decisions about blood and urine tests and x-rays based on this evaluation. Additional testing is performed only if the doctor believes there is an underlying disease.

Finding The Child's Sensitivities and Intolerances

There are some published diets ( for instance: Gluten Free 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 and intolerances are affecting their development and growth, these diets are not quite right and not specifically tailored 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 sensitivities and intolerances. Those who specialize in this testing can include chiropractors, nutritionists, and other wellness practitioners trained for this type of evaluation.

Treatment and Prognosis For The Roots In Medical Disorders And Environmental And Social Issues

The medical difficulties and socio-environmental causes 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 nutritional access.

Treatment depends on the cause of the problem. If a medical difficulty 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 nutritious high-calorie feedings provided on a regular schedule. Parents may be counseled about family interactions that are damaging to the child and about financial and social 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 approach to feeding.

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

The interventions for the sensitivities and intolerances approach is to determine which things in the environment the infant is responding to and eliminates those factors from the infant's environment. When the infant is no longer reacting to those, the normal process of development re-engages and development can proceed normally. With this intervention, food is absorbed and growth 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 difficulty.

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

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

If you want more information about Failure To Thrive or you would like to talk with other parents or professionals about Non Organic Failure To Thrive Syndrome, you will like participating in our free, private Non Organic Failure To Thrive Social Network.

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