Non-organic failure to thrive: a developmental perspective

Like other segments of the child's development, eating behavior follows a sequential pattern. To understand the infant's or child's feeding problems which can lead to failure to thrive or dwarfism we propose that a child's progression be studied through three stages of development: homeostasis, attachment and separation-individuation. Specific feeding problems can arise at each of these stages of development and consequently impede the child's weight gain. During the period of homeostasis the infant learns to regulate himself, to suck, to swallow and to time the onset and termination of feedings by giving signals of hunger and fullness. If he is unable to master these, he cannot be fed effectively. Failure to master these basic feeding skills interferes with the next developmental task of attachment and also impedes development of motor skills, language and affective engagement. During the period of attachment, the infant establishes distinct interactional patterns with his caretakers. Lack of engagement between mother and infant leads to lack of pleasure and lack of appetite or even to severe dysfunctional feeding patterns like vomiting and rumination. Feeding problems in the third developmental stage of separation and individuation can arise because of maladaption in the attachment phase or because of new difficulties which center around issues of autonomy vs. dependency. At this stage, the infant learns means-end differentiation and begins to understand that his actions elicit certain consequences. If the infant's struggle between autonomy and dependency gets caught in the feeding situation, the infant's emotional needs can dictate his eating behavior. The infant refuses to eat either to have his emotional hunger for mother's attention met or to assert his autonomy and to express his anger toward her. In order for the infant to learn to differentiate between his physiological feelings of hunger and his emotional need states, the caregiver needs to give contingent responses by offering food when the infant is hungry and comfort when the infant is distressed. Feeding problems which can create, co-exist with, or result from a growth problem must be considered within a developmental context. As the infant progresses through the developmental stages of homeostasis, attachment, and separation, he masters phase-appropriate feeding skills which help him to progress from reflex sucking to autonomous feeding. Early identification of maladaptive feeding behavior will assist the pediatrician in making timely interventions.