Fulfilling
nutritional requirements of the child with cerebral palsy
I am
sure getting your child to eat nutritious food might be much of a
pain. The problem can be even worse in case your child suffers from
cerebral palsy. This is because there can be a lot of frustration
and anxiety feeding your child because it can be quite difficult for
your child to chew and swallow food. However, it is really essential
to supplement your child with nutritional diet for his overall growth
and development. The food should consist of high-fiber, low fat diet
to avoid constipation and to keep the weigh under control.
You are
aware of this fact that in the absence of proper nutrition, you child
may have several health issues. This is responsible for stunted growth,
slow development of the brain as well as lot of exhaustion and lack
of energy in the child. According to the research, it has been established
that around 35% of the children suffering from cerebral palsy are
malnourished.
If you are having trouble in feeding your child who is a victim of
cerebral palsy, a speech therapist can provide you all the necessary
help. He can assist your child in strengthening the mouth muscles
and teach him to use his tongue efficiently. This will be of great
help since it would alleviate your child’s troubles. Meal times
won’t be much of a pain for your child.
Apart from this, another technique can also help you. Your doctor
can insert the gastrostomy feeding tube which would help your child
to get proper nutrition. A dietician can also be of great help in
this regard. There might be other problems like vomiting as well as
stomach related problems which can be responsible for your child’s
insufficient nutrition.
Besides, you can also give your child some natural supplements which
are available without prescriptions in any drugstore or grocery store.
Ensure, Ensure Plus, Carnation Instant Breakfast, Sustacal and Pediasure
are some of the liquid supplements. But it is really important to
consult your pediatrician in this regard.
If your child has problem in chewing food then you can try out a few
techniques to ensure your child has lesser problem. You can offer
dried apricots or fruit straps in between meals to your child. In
fact providing your child with foods with different textures, you
can benefit your child a lot.
The diet of your child should be a balanced one and comprise of proteins,
carbohydrates, roughage, fats, vitamins, minerals and lots of fluids.
It is a fact that if your child has high muscle tone, then he would
burn calories at a higher rate. As such he would have trouble gaining
weight. On the other hand, if your child has low tone, then he will
gain weight quite easily. Thus it would be an essential task to monitor
the calories that your child is intaking.
All this
can cause a lot of anxiety and stress to the parent. The parents need
not panic and seek help from the doctor in this regard.
