Feeding A Child Who Has Cystic Fibrosis

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What number of energy does my baby want?

Kids with cystic fibrosis (CF) typically have poor weight achieve. This will occur even once they get sufficient energy. Infections, respiratory issues, and the physique’s lack of ability to absorb sure vitamins (malabsorption) can all result in the necessity for additional energy. Kids with CF ought to have a weight loss plan excessive in energy. With additional energy, most youngsters with CF are in a position to develop and develop usually.

Kids with CF ought to eat 3 meals and a couple of to three snacks a day to assist meet their calorie wants. Including additional fats to meals and snacks can assist meet these wants. Pancreatic enzymes will typically be wanted to assist digest this meals. These are sometimes given as drugs at mealtime.

How can additional energy be added?

You may add additional energy to your kid’s meals and snacks with these steps:

  • Add butter, margarine, or vegetable oil to:

    • Breads, toast, crackers, or sandwiches

    • Potatoes, sizzling cereals, rice, noodles, soups, or casseroles

  • Add bitter cream to:

    • Potatoes, rice, pasta, or greens

    • Use as a dip for greens, or chips

  • Add mayonnaise to:

    • Sandwiches or crackers

    • Dips, salad dressing, or sauces

    • Meat, fish, eggs, or vegetable salads

  • Add cream cheese to:

    • Fruit slices, uncooked greens, bread, toast, or crackers

  • Use heavy lotions in:

    • Soups, sauces, batters, custards, puddings, shakes, mashed potatoes, or cooked cereals

  • Use whipping cream on:

    • Pancakes, waffles, fruit, ice cream, pudding, sizzling chocolate, or different desserts

    • Combine in cream soups, sizzling cereals, mashed potatoes, pudding, and custards

  • Add brown sugar, maple syrup, or syrup to:

    • Scorching cereals, chilly cereals, fruits, ice cream, or puddings

    • Use as a glaze on meats, or greens

  • Add powdered milk to:

    • Cereals, potatoes, cream soups, eggs, puddings, gravy, and casseroles

    • Add 2 to 4 tablespoons of powdered milk to 1 cup of complete milk to make tremendous milk

  • Add cheese to:

    • Sandwiches, burgers, toast, crackers, eggs, potatoes, noodles, and snacks

  • Add peanut butter to:

    • Sandwiches, crackers, toast, fruit slices, greens, ice cream, or milkshakes

  • Use high-calorie drinks, comparable to:


Does my baby want additional nutritional vitamins?

Nutritional vitamins are essential for proper development and improvement. Nutritional vitamins A, D, E, and Okay are often called fat-soluble nutritional vitamins. Many kids with CF don’t get sufficient of those nutritional vitamins from the meals they eat. That’s as a result of they’ve hassle digesting and absorbing fats. When this occurs, your baby might have to take additional nutritional vitamins. Your kid’s healthcare supplier can advise you concerning the kind and quantity of nutritional vitamins to present to your baby. There are nutritional vitamins particularly made for kids with CF. Ask your kid’s healthcare supplier for extra info.

Your baby will want further iron and calcium throughout puberty and when their bones are rising. Zinc can also be essential to your kid’s development and wound therapeutic skill. It additionally helps the immune system work appropriately. Talk about your kid’s vitamin and dietary complement plans with the healthcare supplier and CF dietitian.

Does my baby want additional salt?

Kids with CF want additional salt of their diets. It’s because they lose extra salt of their sweat than different kids. Add additional salt by utilizing the salt shaker at meals and together with salty meals and snacks. These embrace chips, pretzels, quick meals, French fries, pickles, nuts, and lunch meats. Additional salt consumption is essential within the sizzling climate, when kids are enjoying exterior and sweating.

What if my baby isn’t gaining weight?

Typically kids with CF do not develop or achieve weight even with a high-calorie weight loss plan. This will occur in case your kid’s urge for food is poor, they’ve frequent infections, or your baby has malabsorption. Inform the healthcare supplier if feeding your baby butter, bitter cream, cream cheese, or different fatty meals results in signs of malabsorption (see beneath).

Signs of malabsorption embrace:

  • Bloating

  • Passing fuel (flatulence)

  • Dangerous-smelling stools

  • Stomach ache

  • Watery diarrhea

In case your baby cannot eat sufficient meals for regular development and improvement, then they could want supplemental oral or tube feedings, as directed by your kid’s healthcare supplier. For brief-term feedings, your baby might have a small tube inserted by means of the nostril and into the abdomen. The tube is referred to as a nasogastric tube. You may then give your baby a high-calorie method or complement by means of this tube.

Some kids with CF want calorie dietary supplements over an extended time period. On this case, a feeding tube (gastrostomy or G-tube) is positioned by means of the abdomen wall. Speak with your kid’s healthcare supplier for extra info.