Enteral nutrition

What is it?

Good nutrition helps promote children’s health and growth.
Food is normally introduced by the mouth, travels down the esophagus to the stomach and then passes through the small intestine (or small bowel) before continuing on to the large intestine (or colon).
The small intestine is composed of three sections: 1. the duodenum, 2. the jejunum and 3. the ileum. Most of the digestion and absorption of food takes place in the small intestine, especially in the duodenum and jejunum.

Certain problems or situations can prevent children from feeding themselves adequately:
- difficulty sucking, chewing and swallowing (eg, surgery in the mouth),
- need extra calories (eg, to treat wounds, heal burns, gain more weight),
- poor absorption of food (eg, inflammatory bowel disease),
- need to give the intestines a rest period (eg, after gastrointestinal surgery),
- increased energy needs because of other medical conditions (eg, heart or lung conditions),
- loss of appetite,
- aspiration (accidental entry of food or reflux from the stomach into the lungs),
- malfunctioning of the digestive system (eg, congenital malformations, genetic conditions),
- etc.
Enteral nutrition (or enteral feeding or gavage) is used to feed children who cannot take any food or fluids by mouth or who need supplemental feeding to meet their nutritional and water needs to ensure their hydration and growth.
Enteral nutrition is a way to deliver different types of nutrition directly into the stomach or small intestine through a tube. The types of nutrition may include: water, breast milk, fortified breast milk, infant formula, nutritional formula (or enteral formula or feeding or gavage solution) or liquefied food.

When enteral nutrition is prescribed at home, it may be needed for several weeks, months or longer, depending on the child’s condition. The duration of treatment is determined by the healthcare team.
Your healthcare team has determined that enteral nutrition is the most appropriate way to adequately feed and hydrate your child, given his or her condition. With proper monitoring and good daily care, enteral nutrition at home is effective and safe. It allows your child to continue to grow and develop well.

https://complexcareathomeforchildren.com/enteral-nutrition/

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