Feeding and Nutrition

Infants with sucking or feeding challenges, as well as picky eaters who restrict their diet to just a couple of food items, may struggle to receive the necessary calories for healthy growth and weight gain.

In partnership with Washington state’s Nutrition Network, Mary Bridge Children’s Therapy Services works directly with families to resolve feeding and nutrition issues through an interdisciplinary team approach.

How we help

Our feeding team consists of speech-language therapists and occupational therapists who collaborate with other experts, such as pediatric gastroenterologists and dietitians, to support your child’s development and well-being. Our areas of expertise include the following:

Enteral (tube) feeding

Enteral feeding refers to food that is delivered directly to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract through a tube. These may include gastrostomy tubes (G-tubes), gastrojejunostomy tubes (GJ tubes) and nasogastric tubes (NG tubes).

We support families with children who are starting their journey with feeding tubes, currently have a feeding tube or are preparing to wean off tube feeding.

We provide individualized feeding therapies to assess and improve oral motor skills and create positive mealtime experiences, offering referrals or recommendations for further medical evaluation when necessary.

Mary Bridge Children’s dietitians play an integral role in monitoring growth, ensuring optimal nutrition, and managing tube feed schedules and volumes based on each child’s unique needs.

Pediatric dysphagia

Our feeding team offers ongoing therapy, in inpatient and outpatient settings, for infants and children who experience difficulties swallowing liquids and solids, a condition known as dysphagia.

We typically begin with a clinical swallow evaluation and then collaborate with the medical team for further assessment, if needed, and develop a plan of care to ensure your child can swallow safely.

Cleft lip and cleft palate

Our therapists provide support to children born with cleft lip or cleft palate, or both. After delivery, we conduct a thorough clinical evaluation of each newborn’s feeding skills. This evaluation assesses your baby’s medical status, oral and facial structures, oral motor skills and current feeding abilities.

Following this assessment, our therapists modify feeding techniques as needed to maximize success. We invite you to actively participate in these evaluations and offer guidance on how to feed your child effectively.

We develop a customized feeding plan for each infant, outlining specific feeding guidelines. Our team offers additional consultative services as needed to address any ongoing feeding and communication needs during your baby’s inpatient stay.

Once your child is discharged home, we will continue to follow their progress, providing therapy services as needed. Families may also receive support from the Seattle Children’s Craniofacial Center.

Visit the Children’s Craniofacial Association or the Foundation for Faces of Children to learn about craniofacial conditions.