In today’s Webisode, a Registered Dietitian discusses Failure to Thrive and how you can help.

In this video you will learn:

• The causes of Failure to Thrive
• Steps and measures to take when your child shows signs of Failure to Thrive
• How a dietitian and a doctor can help when your child has Failure to Thrive

Video Transcription:

Announcer: From Chicago’s leading experts in pediatrics to a worldwide
audience, this is Pediatric Therapy TV where we provide experience and
innovation to maximize your child’s potential. Now your host, here’s Robyn.

Robyn: Hello, and welcome to Pediatric Therapy TV. I’m your host, Robyn
Ackerman. I’m standing here today with a registered dietician, Stephanie
Wells. Stephanie, can you tell us what failure to thrive is and what can be
done about it?

Stephanie: Sure. Failure to thrive is diagnosed in children that are less
than two years old when their weight for length is less than the fifth
percentile on the growth chart and for kids that are over two years old, if
their BMI is less than the fifth percentile on the growth chart.

So in terms of what can be done, first a doctor and a registered dietician
can assess if there are any medical factors that are causing the failure to
thrive and then address those medical issues if that’s necessary. Second,
then a dietician can meet with the parent and the child and put together a
high calorie, high protein diet that includes three meals and two to three
snacks per day. Third, often these children need to be on some sort of a
high calorie, high protein formula or oral supplement beverage which the
dietician can recommend and get a prescription for, if needed. And then
from there, the dietician and doctor will closely monitor the child’s
weight and growth to make sure that they’re moving in the right direction
and meeting the goals that the dietician has made for the child.

Robyn: All right. Thank you, Stephanie, for that explanation and thank you
to our viewers. And remember, keep on blossoming.

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