Baby's heart defect

Hi, I have a question for a friend of mine who's just had a baby with the
'hole-in-the-heart' defect. They are now home, with baby being tube-fed
because of difficulty swallowing and breathing at the same time. Is there
any precedent for cup feeding heart defect babies? Is there any info or
advice anyone could give, or that anyone knows of, that could help her?
Thanks in advance

"meee" wrote in message
...
Hi, I have a question for a friend of mine who's just had a baby with the
'hole-in-the-heart' defect. They are now home, with baby being tube-fed
because of difficulty swallowing and breathing at the same time. Is there
any precedent for cup feeding heart defect babies? Is there any info or
advice anyone could give, or that anyone knows of, that could help her?
Thanks in advance

I've no direct experience myself of hole in the heart but one of our twins
had feeding problems early on. He didn't eat enough and we had to feed him
twice as frequently...

Did the docs say she can try regular feeding as well? I think I'd ask the
doc if that's ok - just to head off problems later when they come to remove
the tube. What I mean is.. perhaps she could bottle/breast feed a little
with the balance going in via the tube. Otherwise I can imagine problems
getting the baby to feed normally when the tube comes out. If she breast
feeds it might be a problem working out how much more to give by the tube? I
don't know. Best ask the docs for advice.

Google finds several references that suggest babies with a
'hole-in-the-heart' tire very easily while feeding - I imagine it's not
unlike an adult trying to eat when they have a really bad cold and blocked
nose (you can't breath and eat at the same time). Perhaps they will remove
the feeding tube in a few weeks when it's clear the baby is gaining weight
ok.

Small extract..

http://www.ohsu.edu/heart/articles/reller01.htm
VSDs-hole(s) in the wall between the pumping chambers - cause few symptoms
at birth, but within several weeks, infants with larger defects often "fail
to thrive." They suffer from poor feeding, slow weight gain and have rapid
breathing. Large ventricular defects require surgery, but VSDs tend to
become smaller with age. Smaller defects, although they cause a heart murmur
(an abnormal heart sound), typically do not cause symptoms, and the infant
grows and develops normally. Almost half of babies born with this condition
may have the holes close on their own in their first few years.


http://your-doctor.com/healthinfocen...enitalhrt.html

In infants symptoms may include failure to grow and gain weight. These
infants usually tire easily when feeding and are not as active as healthy
infants

"CWatters" wrote in message
...

"meee" wrote in message
...
Hi, I have a question for a friend of mine who's just had a baby with
the
'hole-in-the-heart' defect. They are now home, with baby being tube-fed
because of difficulty swallowing and breathing at the same time. Is
there
any precedent for cup feeding heart defect babies? Is there any info or
advice anyone could give, or that anyone knows of, that could help her?
Thanks in advance

I've no direct experience myself of hole in the heart but one of our
twins
had feeding problems early on. He didn't eat enough and we had to feed him
twice as frequently...

Did the docs say she can try regular feeding as well? I think I'd ask the
doc if that's ok - just to head off problems later when they come to
remove
the tube. What I mean is.. perhaps she could bottle/breast feed a little
with the balance going in via the tube. Otherwise I can imagine problems
getting the baby to feed normally when the tube comes out. If she breast
feeds it might be a problem working out how much more to give by the tube?
I
don't know. Best ask the docs for advice.

Google finds several references that suggest babies with a
'hole-in-the-heart' tire very easily while feeding - I imagine it's not
unlike an adult trying to eat when they have a really bad cold and blocked
nose (you can't breath and eat at the same time). Perhaps they will remove
the feeding tube in a few weeks when it's clear the baby is gaining weight
ok.

Small extract..

http://www.ohsu.edu/heart/articles/reller01.htm
VSDs-hole(s) in the wall between the pumping chambers - cause few symptoms
at birth, but within several weeks, infants with larger defects often
"fail
to thrive." They suffer from poor feeding, slow weight gain and have rapid
breathing. Large ventricular defects require surgery, but VSDs tend to
become smaller with age. Smaller defects, although they cause a heart
murmur
(an abnormal heart sound), typically do not cause symptoms, and the infant
grows and develops normally. Almost half of babies born with this
condition
may have the holes close on their own in their first few years.



http://your-doctor.com/healthinfocen...enitalhrt.html

In infants symptoms may include failure to grow and gain weight. These
infants usually tire easily when feeding and are not as active as healthy
infants


Thanks for all this info. So far she's been told by the doctors to tube
feed, but hasn't had a chance yet to ask specifically about cup feeding. She
more wanted me to see if I could find any other parents who'd successfully
cup fed. She's mainly concerned about getting more food into him and trying
to encourage him to swallow, so he can be as normal as possible. So far
she's continuing tube feeding as advised by doctors, but is looking at other
options for him. Thanks so much for the links and info, I'll pass them on to
her.