Tube-feeding

Babies may need to be tube fed for several reasons. These include:

• They are very premature, less than 34 weeks
• They can't co-ordinate sucking and swallowing with breathing (may be due to a neurological problem)
• They have breathing difficulties or a heart problem

Tube feeding can be achieved by:

• Nasogastric (NG) tube: the baby is fed through a small soft tube, which is placed in the nose and runs down the back of the throat, through the oesophagus and into the stomach.
• Orogastric tube: a small soft tube is placed in the mouth and runs down the back of the throat down to the stomach.
• Gastrostomy Tube: a large bore tube is surgically placed directly through the abdominal wall and into the stomach

Feeds are either pushed from a syringe down the tube or allowed to drip from a syringe down the tube. The skin surrounding a gastrostomy tube should be kept clean and dry since leakage of stomach contents can cause skin irritation.

Some babies go home tube fed, but for those that do, changing tubes, managing feeds and skin care significantly increases care/supervision requirements. Babies may need tube feeding for weeks or months (and sometimes longer).