Nemours registered dietitians food and nutrition experts who hold specific academic and professional certifications) have special training and expertise in the nutritional needs of infants, children, and teens. Our staff can provide education, guidance, and motivation for children with chronic illness, failure to thrive, obesity, eating disorders, or other problems that have an effect on nutrition and, in turn, on healthy growth and development.
Our dietitians use a team approach, working side by side with specialists from other areas to deliver the best outcomes. For example, we collaborate with gastroenterologists (digestive health specialists), to provide medical nutrition therapy for children with diseases of the digestive tract, liver, and pancreas. For children with eating disorders, we partner with adolescent medicine doctors and behavioral health experts to create a successful recovery plan. For infants and toddlers with swallowing problems or food aversions, we may encourage intervention by feeding therapists (speech or occupational therapists with special training in feeding disorders).
The staff has special expertise in managing nutritional needs related to a variety of conditions, including:
- general failure to thrive
- gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)
- diabetes
- heart disease
- kidney disease
- metabolic disease
- disorders of the pancreas
- liver disease
- cancer
- inflammatory bowel disease (including Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis)
- short bowel syndrome
- cystic fibrosis
- celiac disease
- food allergies
- weight management
- obesity
- eating disorders
Additionally, Nemours is a national leader in obesity research, treatment, and prevention. Our family-centered approach helps families make permanent behavioral and dietary changes that will improve their child’s health and quality of life.
What We Do
In addition to any diagnostic testing performed by your child’s doctor or medical team, we provide our own thorough evaluation of your child’s nutritional status, which typically includes:
- interviews with you and your child about your child’s daily dietary habits
- an assessment of the adequacy of vitamins and minerals in your child’s current diet
- analysis of a “food diary” that is kept over the course of several days
- detailed body measurements, including weight, length or height, head circumference, weight-for-length, BMI, and skin fold measurements. We can assess your child’s growth by comparing these measurements to reference standards on a growth chart.
- calculations of your child’s resting energy expenditure or basal metabolic rate, which is the number of calories your child would burn if he or she rested all day
- education and guidance for you and your child about how best to manage nutritional needs related to a particular disease or condition
We will work closely with you and your child to create a plan that ensures your child gets the nutrition he or she needs to promote growth, especially during times of serious illness. Our recommendations may include individualized feeding plans, special diets, and advice on behavioral approaches to better nutrition, just to name a few.
We can also work with your child’s doctor to determine whether your child might benefit from tube feedings (also called enteral feedings). This is when liquid nutrition is delivered by a tube directly into the stomach or into the small bowel. There are several methods of tube feedings, some short term and some long. Whatever your child’s needs, we will work with your doctor and feeding therapist to help you to confidently manage your child’s tube feedings, educating you about the process and recommending enteral feeding products. We also have special experience with total parenteral nutrition (TPN), which is nutrition given intravenously (through an IV), if your child is not able to digest and absorb oral or tube feedings.
In all we do, communication is central to our process. Nemours registered dietitians use an integrated medical record that allows all of your child’s doctors and caregivers to communicate in “real time” and keeps all team members up-to-date on your child’s visits and progress. We also place great emphasis on education. We want our patients and their families to understand how their condition affects their nutrition, and to feel free to ask questions. Because your child’s nutritional needs will change as he or she grows, our goal is to be a trusted, long-term partner in your child’s care.