Impaired development of oral-motor functions required for normal oral feeding as a consequence of tube feeding during infancy.

The child who is tube fed during the first two years of life is at risk for impaired development of normal oral-motor patterns and coordination during feeding. In order to ensure as smooth a transition to oral feeding as possible, it is necessary to provide the tube-fed child with a framework of normal oral sensitization from which he can develop the level of trust in his own oral mechanism required to achieve the mature, coordinated oral movements essential to development of the normal bite-chew-suck-swallow sequence. While this can be a tedious and taxing process, an ongoing program of oral stimulation, training and development should be included in the overall management of every young child receiving tube feedings.