This post will examine what I learnt from consuming all my nutrition by feeding tube for a week in order to better understand what families of tube-fed children have to go through. Part 2 can be found here.
Tube dependency occurs in children who received a temporary feeding tube but stay tube fed after stabilization of the underlying medical condition because they cannot transition (back) to oral feeding.
The beginning of enteral nutrition is directly connected to the development of nutrition tubes, and their roots reach back into antiquity. People have been exploring the theme of undernutrition and malnourishment since the time of ancient civilizations in Egypt, India, Persia, and China.
Parents are always asking us about our success rates of our Eating Schools and Netcoaching program. In this article you will get an overview of our success rates in tube weaning.
No parent is a stranger to them – those phases in a child’s life when they are just plain difficult (eaters). For days, it’s all plain noodles all the time, the cold cuts can only be eaten minus the bread, and anything green meets with sheer refusal.
After long stays in hospital and a medical history full of complications, you are suddenly confronted with the tube dependency of your own child. Imagine that you don’t have nearly any more strength left; energy resources are drained and yet, you still have to get through the tough process of tube weaning!