Feeding and Eating Disorders in Infancy or Early Childhood

Author

Institution

Introduction

Child bearing comes off as one of the most crucial events in any human being’s life. Indeed, it is the only way that an individual can ensure the continuation of his or her own progeny. It goes without saying that infants come with considerable vulnerability to ailments, infections and microbes. This underlines the reasons as to why governments in a large number of countries have been increasingly paying attention to the health of children. While there may be varied disorders that affect infants or young children, none arguably comes as more fundamental than the feeding and eating disorders. A child would be diagnosed with feeding or eating disorders in case he or she satisfies varied criteria. First, the kid has to be six years old and younger. In addition, the eating problem is not emanating from any gastrointestinal condition or any other medical condition. On the same note, the eating problem should have resulted from the unavailability of food or a mental disorder. Lastly, the child would not be eating sufficient amounts of food, in which case he or she would not be following the normal weight gain curve pertaining to his or her age (Cooper & Stein, 2013). In this case, he or she would have lost significant amounts of weight within a month or more. However, there are instances where a child would not be eating sufficiently but is still retaining his or her normal weight for their age. This aspect is under discussion by healthcare professionals, and has underlined the necessity of revision of the criteria for the diagnosis of feeding and eating disorders (Cooper & Stein, 2013). Indeed, research shows that between 25% and 45% of infants with normal development patterns have feeding disorders (Kirkpatrick & Caldwell, 2004). In some cases, feeding disorders persist from infancy to early childhood. Indeed, the condition may be noticed during birth, or even make a sudden appearance usually as a response to environmental or psychological triggers.

Types of Feeding and Eating Disorders in Infants

Scholars have identified three types of feeding and eating disorders in infants. These include Pica, Rumination disorder and Failure to thrive.

Pica

This disorder takes place in instances where children continuously consume one or more non-food substances in a minimum of one month. While this may not appear like a dangerous problem, it may become fatal especially considering that the ingested non-food substances may be toxic and harmful to the human body (Cooper & Stein, 2013). Indeed, Pica may lead to serious medical complications including parasitic infection, poisoning, and intestinal blockage and in some cases death. The high risk of fatality pertaining to this behavior has resulted to its being christened one of the most serious categories of self-injurious behavior (Kirkpatrick & Caldwell, 2004). Of course, there are variations as to the type of substances that kids may consume depending on their age. They range from animal droppings, hair, plastic, paint, cloth and strings, pebbles, insects and leaves.

Scholars have strived to come up with causes of the disorder and theorized that the condition may be caused by mental retardation, family history, developmental delays, zinc deficiency, as well as iron deficiency (Kirkpatrick & Caldwell, 2004). In addition, there have been theories to the effect that the condition emanates from lack of proper stimulation, parental attention, as well as oral fixations. Nevertheless, there has been no clearly-defined cause of the disorder.

Rumination disorder

Rumination disorder occurs in instances where children regurgitate, re-chew and spit out their food after eating. This eating disorder often develops in young children and infants and must exist for a minimum of one month for diagnosis to be made (Cooper & Stein, 2013). It is worth noting that children that have the disorder do not exhibit retching, disgust or nausea that is associated with rumination behavior nor do they have the associated gastrointestinal problems that usually cause the behavior (Kirkpatrick & Caldwell, 2004). In most cases, symptoms for the condition are evident between the 3rd and 12th month of age, before remitting spontaneously after some time. Nevertheless, the condition is more common in male kids than in females.

Failure to thrive

This disorder results in loss of weight and difficulties in the maintenance of normal weight. It occurs in instances where a child fails to eat sufficiently and to maintain appropriate nutrition. The diagnosis of this disorder is only done in instances where it does not emanate from a medical condition such as esophageal reflux, chronic lung disease, and cleft palate among others.

Causes of feeding disorder

Scholars are yet to identify the causes of feeding and eating disorders among infants. However, the disorder has been attributed to dysfunctional child-caregiver interactions, poverty, parental misinformation pertaining to the nutritive needs of the child, child abuse/ neglect, as well as motor coordination difficulties in the child. In addition, the child may have a history of medical conditions that triggers unpleasant feelings towards eating. For example, children who underwent tube feeding or infants whose stomach muscles are underdeveloped may find eating unpleasant (Cooper & Stein, 2013). This may also result from problems in the digestive system and food allergies. For example, celiac disease is known to cause allergic reactions to some types of foods such as wheat gluten, in which case children may become uncomfortable until proper diagnosis of their condition is done and their diet changed accordingly.

Scholars have also noted that a large number of feeding disorder especially “Failure to thrive” emanate from predisposing conditions in the metabolism and stomach of the child among other factors (Kirkpatrick & Caldwell, 2004). Some non-medical causes may include stress and fear about something, post-traumatic anxiety from a previous incident such as choking, or even cases where the child dislike foods that have certain smells, tastes or textures.

Symptoms of feeding disorders

There exists some similarities between this disorder’s symptoms and those of other conditions that may result in the malnourishment of the child. It is imperative that the parent seeks immediate medical attention, irrespective of how healthy the child looks, if he or she exhibits symptoms such as constipation, irritability, excessive crying, apathy and low weight (Cooper & Stein, 2013). In addition, the child may have difficulties chewing or swallowing, and may gag, choke and vomit. In addition, the kid may decline to drink or eat by turning their heads, spitting and throwing foods, screaming and throwing tantrums during meal times (Kirkpatrick & Caldwell, 2004). However, these may occur in perfectly normal kids, in which case it is imperative that the symptoms to go beyond what normal picky kids may display.

Diagnosis of the disorder

The diagnosis of feeding and eating disorders in infants requires that the kids are taken for a thorough examination by the pediatrician. The pediatrician may undertake medical exams so as to determine whether the disorder is merely an expression of other conditions such as nutrient deficiency, malnutrition and dehydration (Cooper & Stein, 2013). In addition, the pediatrician may ask questions pertaining to the environment in which the child lives so as to determine whether the disorders are linked to deficiency of stimulation, problems in family relationships, or even specific consequences such as obtaining caregivers’ attention (Cooper & Stein, 2013). In the case of Pica, Bayley Scales of Infant Development would be used in measuring the motor and sensory development of the child. The scale evaluates the memory, perception, sensation, problem solving, motor movement and abstract thinking capabilities of the child.

Treatment of Feeding and Eating Disorders in Infancy

The treatment of eating disorders usually requires the collaboration of multiple professionals such as dieticians, physicians, as well as behavioral psychologists. In addition, an occupational therapist would be required especially in instances where the child is having issues with chewing or swallowing food.

As much as this team of professionals would be quite suited for the production of the best results, feeding disorders in infants and young children are best tackled using a behavior modification plan. This would essentially involve a graduated technique for enhancing the children’s food intake (Cooper & Stein, 2013). This would go a long way in ensuring that the child has higher chances for obtaining sufficient nutrients for their growth and development. Behavior modification plan is made up of techniques for modifying the things that are rewarding, as well as the things that are discouraging in the environment of the child in order to influence the child the behavior of the child (Kirkpatrick & Caldwell, 2004). In essence, the plans would reward the desirable behaviors while discouraging undesirable ones. These plans are customized to the child through a careful examination of the food refusal behaviors of the child.

References

Cooper, P.J & Stein, A (2013). Childhood Feeding Problems and Adolescent Eating Disorders. New York: Routledge

Kirkpatrick, J., & Caldwell, J. P. (2004). Eating disorders: Everything you need to know. Buffalo, N.Y: Firefly Books.