Feeding

Introduction

As a parent feeding your child is one of the most important elements of day-to-day care. It can be extremely distressing and sometime isolating to discover that your child is unable to feed as you had hoped.

If your child has been born with a complex heart condition they may find feeding difficult. Their heart condition creates an increased need for energy. Feeding, especially for a newborn baby, requires the energy that we would need to run a race. The children often start a meal or milk feed with great enthusiasm because they are very hungry but gradually they become breathless and sweaty and often they are unable to complete their meal because they are so exhausted. Feeding is very hard work, and the problem is further complicated by the fact that children with heart conditions need more calories than those without.

Calories are needed to provide energy for living. If you have an inefficient heart pump, you require lots of fuel/food to run your body, but children with a heart problem also need to grow so they need to take in more calories than other children of their age.

Babies with single ventricle heart conditions often find feeding difficult. Many are fed through a naso-gastric tube in their early days and weeks; some need tube feeding for longer. Other babies successfully bottle or even breastfeed. Whichever method is used, it is likely that extra calories will need to be added to the milk via special easy-to-mix supplements prescribed by a dietician.

Children should be encouraged to eat a healthy and varied diet, rich in fruit, vegetables and starchy foods. Teenagers need to be supported as they learn to take responsibility for their own nutritional needs. They need to learn the importance of a balanced diet, but they must also learn how to ensure they have the calories they require, particularly during this time of growth and hormonal change. Whilst salads, fruit, and vegetables should all be important components of their diet, they also need to eat plenty of carbohydrates (e.g. pasta, rice, potatoes) and protein (e.g. meat, fish, cheese, eggs, pulses, nuts).

Little Hearts Matter has produced a feeding booklet to help anyone involved in the feeding of children with complex heart disease. It includes information and ideas on many aspects of feeding a child, drawing on medical input and also including parents’ experiences. Each topic is designed to stand alone so that different sections can be referenced as and when needed. The pack starts with general information on feeding at home, then goes on to cover specialised aspects of breastfeeding and tube feeding.

In each section we have tried to include a range of ideas - you can then choose which you would like to try, as you know your child best. Many of the ideas have been suggested by parents, based on their own tried and tested experience. It is often helpful to try one new idea for a few days or even a week before trying something else, rather than constantly trying new techniques. It is also best to only try one new idea at a time.

If you would like to download or order our Feeding at Home guide, click here.

If you would like to talk about feeding issues call us on 0121 455 8982 or email info@lhm.org.uk.

The information pack does not replace any individual medical advice you may receive e.g. from your child’s cardiologist, dietician, speech and language therapist or any other health care professional supporting your family.

To open a printable PDF version of this information, click here.

Page updated: Aug 2011