What are the symptoms of dysphagia in newborns?

Whether the baby has difficulty swallowing can be judged by the details of the baby's feeding. Difficulty in swallowing is a very common phenomenon in life. Many people have had similar experiences. Most people will experience pain when they have difficulty swallowing. The cause of difficulty in swallowing is throat disease or esophageal disease. Since newborns cannot speak, parents need to observe them carefully.

1. Oral preparation stage and oral stage These two stages are affected by the degree of voluntary movement disorders. The main symptoms include: poor accuracy when eating due to limb movement disorders, often manifested as poor position and unstable posture of the trunk, head and neck, and food cannot be accurately delivered to the mouth; the mouth is opened too wide or the mandibular movement is not flexible when eating; the residual oral primitive reflexes and reduced stimulation often lead to oral hypersensitivity, decreased oral entity discrimination, and tongue pushing food out; affected by the joint reaction, the control of lip closure is poor, and the pressure between the lips when closing is insufficient, so that food cannot be retained in the mouth; functional defects of the orbicularis oris muscle can lead to saliva and/or food overflow in the mouth.

2. Children with severe dysphagia in the esophageal stage will have their normal esophageal and gastrointestinal motility affected due to long-term nasogastric feeding. After food enters the esophagus, esophageal peristalsis is slow and the contraction function of the lower esophageal sphincter decreases, leading to gastroesophageal reflux.

3. Children with cerebral palsy in the pharyngeal stage have poor ability to control the oropharyngeal muscles, which often leads to incomplete swallowing and some food remaining in the pharynx. At the same time, due to swallowing and breathing regulation disorders, the range of the larynx to be raised forward and upward is insufficient, and the glottis cannot be completely closed, resulting in aspiration and choking.

There should be a balance between meat and vegetables, alternating between dry and fine foods, and a combination of rice, flour and coarse grains. Generally speaking, you should have three main meals a day, two snacks between the main meals, and no food other than fruits after lunch and dinner. You should especially avoid sweets before going to bed to ensure the best sleep and prevent the occurrence of tooth decay.

One of the dietary health care for young children:

One of the physiological characteristics of young children is that they are prone to thirst, so they should drink more water. The best drink for young children is water. It is advisable to drink less or no soft drinks, ice cream, Coca-Cola, coffee, and tea. It is better to eat less candy and sweets before meals to avoid affecting appetite and normal meals.

Young children should pay attention to food hygiene, eat less raw and cold food, not eat overnight meals and unclean food, and semi-finished products and cooked food should be fully steamed and cooked before eating. At the same time, special emphasis should be placed on children washing their hands before meals and after defecation, and the tableware used by children should be cleaned and disinfected regularly. Only by paying attention to food hygiene can we better prevent or reduce the occurrence of children's diseases and ensure their healthy growth.

Children's dietary health care 3:

While ensuring that young children's food is fresh, colorful, fragrant, and shaped to stimulate appetite, it should also be chopped and cooked thoroughly to facilitate children's chewing, swallowing, and digestion. The main cooking methods should be steaming, stewing, simmering and stir-frying, and the taste should be light.