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Failure To Thrive is a hold-up in physical growth and weight gain that might be the precursor to interruptions in the normal developmental process and maturation.

Failure To Thrive is a description of a condition given to infants who are consistently underweight or who do not gain weight for unclear reasons. There are many causes. Many causes involve environmental and social factors that work together to keep the child from having the nutrition the child needs. Sometimes, medical conditions prevent a child from growing normally. Another important cause is the child's own intolerances.

When There Are Environmental And Social Based Problems

Many environmental and social factors can be responsible for Failure To Thrive. Parental abuse or neglect, parental mental health difficulties, and disfunctional family situations in which regular, nutritious meals are insufficiently provided, may all repress a child's appetite and food intake. The amount of money a family makes available for food and the nutritional value of the food they buy also affects development. Inadequate food intake may be a sign of poor parenting and not enough environmental stimulation.

When The Causes Are Medical Difficulties

Sometimes Failure To Thrive Syndrome is caused by a medical issue in the child. The issue can be as minor as difficulty drinking, chewing, or swallowing (as a child might have with a cleft lip or palate). Medical issues, such as acid reflux, narrowing of the esophagus, or poor intestinal absorption, may also affect a child's ability to obtain nutrition from food. Infection, tumor, hormonal or metabolic disorders (such as cystic fibrosis or diabetes), heart diseases, kidney disease, genetic disorders, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are other medical reasons for Failure To Thrive.

If The Causes Are Based In Sensitivities

And, sometimes child and infant Failure To Thrive is caused by the child's body responding to normal things in the environment as if those normal things were toxic. This is a intolerance of some things in the environment which the child's defenses thinks is toxic.

This response to this "toxic attack" could be shutting down the child's normal developmental process as a temporary conservation measure until the "attack" stops. And, because these things in the environment are not toxic to others, the family and the medical professionals do not know to eliminate these "toxic" factors from the child's environment. In this case this temporary conservation defensive response continues without stopping. This means that the child's own defenses suspends the child's normal developmental process indefinitely, because of the child's intolerances.

Diagnosis For The Issues In Medical Difficulties And Environmental And Social Issues

Doctors indicate that a child has Failure To Thrive when the child's weight or physical development is much lower than what it should be when compared with prior measurements or standard age-height-weight charts. If the physical development is adequate, the child may be small for his or her age but still developing appropriately.

To find out why a child may be failing to develop normally, doctors ask the parents specific questions about feeding, bowel habits, social, emotional, and financial stability of the family, which might affect the child's access to nutrition, and illnesses that the child has had or that run in the family. The medical practitioner examines the child, looking for signs of conditions that might explain the child's growth delay. The medical practitioner makes decisions about blood and urine tests and x-rays based on this initial evaluation. Additional testing is performed only if the doctor thinks there is an underlying medical condition.

Determining The Child's Sensitivities

There are some published diets (GFCF Diet and Feingold Diet) which attempt to address these sensitivity and intolerance issues. These diets work well for those children who are intolerant of the things which are specifically restricted by these programs. But, for the majority of children whose intolerances are affecting their growth and development, these diets are incomplete and not specifically tailored for them.

It is best to have a specialist, who knows how to perform this specific test for sensitivity and intolerance, work with your child to determine your child's precise list of intolerances. Those who specialize in this testing can include chiropractors,  nutritionists, and other wellness practitioners trained for this type of evaluation.

Treatment and Prognosis For The Issues In Medical Difficulties And Environmental And Social Issues

The medical disorders and environmental and social roots approach assumes there is something wrong with the child's body or the child's social environment. These treatments are focused on a fault in the child's nutritional processing or nutritional access.

Treatment depends on the cause of the difficulty. If a medical difficulty is found, specific treatment is given. Otherwise, treatment depends on how far below normal the child's weight is. Mild to moderate Failure To Thrive is treated with high-calorie nutritious feedings given on a regular schedule. Parents might be counseled about family interactions that are dangerous for the child and about financial and social resources available for their family. More severe Failure To Thrive is treated in the hospital where social workers, nutritionists, psychiatrists, feeding specialists, and other specialists team together to determine the most likely causes of the child's Failure To Thrive and the best approach to feeding.

Treatment For The Issues In Sensitivities

The interventions for the intolerances approach is to determine which things in the environment the child is responding to and eliminates those things from the child's environment. When the child is no longer reacting to those things in the environment, the normal process of development kicks in and development can proceed normally. With this intervention, food is absorbed and growth and development starts to catch up. There are specialists in Failure To Thrive syndrome who can determine your child's intolerances and coach you in getting your child back on track.

Summary

The environmental and social approach for Failure To Thrive children assumes that something is wrong in the child's social environment in such a way that nourishment is not available or is not accepted by the child.

The medical disorders approach for Failure To Thrive infants and children assumes that nourishment is not being processed and absorbed by the child because of some medical difficulty.

The intolerances approach for Failure To Thrive children assumes that the child is having reactions to environmental factors and these reactions are shutting down the normal growth and developmental process.