Failure to Thrive in Infants

This is a condition that has been known for many decades but still “failure to thrive” does not have an exact description, mostly due to the fact that it defines a condition instead of a precise disease. Infants who are diagnosed with “failure to thrive” do not receive or not able to taken in and retain or use the calories that are necessary to increase weight as well as grow as anticipated.

Many identified with “failure to thrive” are found in toddlers or infants in the first years of life which is a crucial time period of mental and physical growth. Following birth, the brain matures as much in the 1st year as it does during the remainder of life. Nutrition which is poor during this time may cause permanent negative problems on the mental development.

The majority of babies will double birth weight in four months and triple before 1 year old, but those with “failure to thrive” do not meet these indicators. Often, a child who begins rather plump and who demonstrate signs of growth may start to decrease in gaining weight. Eventually, the height growth may also slow down.

When this condition continues, undernourished children may:

• Avoid eye contact
• Are disinterested in surroundings
• Are ill-tempered
• Unable to reach milestones such as sitting up, talking or walking at the normal age.

Causes of Failure to Thrive in Infants

Failure to thrive may be due to various underlying causes, such as:

Problems with the gastrointestinal system

These problems include GERD or “gastroesophageal reflux disease”, cystic fibrosis, chronic diarrhea, chronic disease of the liver as well as celiac disease. For those with GERD, the esophagus becomes so inflamed that the child will refuse to eat due to the fact that it hurts. Diarrhea which is persistent also can hinder the body’s capacity to retain calories and nutrients from food. Chronic liver disease, cystic fibrosis, and celiac disease are disorders of malabsorption that interferes with the body’s capacity to hold on to nutrients. A baby might eat a great deal but the system does not absorb enough of the food. Celiac disease is caused by sensitivity to a protein that is in wheat and additional grains. The body’s immunity system’s atypical response to this protein creates injury to the intestine lining, interfering with the capacity to engage nutrients.

Social factors

There are cases where physicians cannot find a medical problem but can find that the parents are actually causing the failure to thrive. For instance, many parents may restrict the amount of calories they give their infants. This could be done out of fear that the child will get fat or force a limited diet much as the one they follow. Or, they might simply not feed the child enough either due to lack of interest or due to too many distractions in home, leading to child neglect. Living in poverty can also lead to the inability to provide children with the proper nutrition.

Milk intolerance

This may create difficulty in absorbing nutrients until it is diagnosed. It may also cause an entire class of food to be not viable, limiting the child’s diet and in some cases leading to “failure to thrive”.

A chronic medical disorder or illness

Any child who has problems eating – due to prematurity or a cleft lip or palate, for instance – may not get the calories to maintain normal growth. Other conditions which may lead to “failure to thrive” include endocrinologic, cardiac, as well as respiratory disorders, which may increase the child’s caloric needs but also makes it difficult to meet them.

Metabolic disorders

These problems limit the body’s ability to get the most of any calories consumed. This makes it problematic for the body to digest process or get energy from food or cause an increase of toxins during the digestive process that can cause the child to feed poorly or vomit.

Infections

Urinary tract infections, parasites, tuberculosis as well as other problems can put energy demands on the body and force it to use nutrients rapidly but can also diminish appetite, often bringing around short or long-term “failure to thrive”.