Pediatric Feeding Program helps newborn Karter Stewart defy the odds
When Lara Stewart found out she was pregnant with her fifth child, she was excited and up for the challenge. What she didn’t expect was what happened next.
Lara learned during her first ultrasound that her unborn baby, Karter, was suffering from a subchorionic hemorrhage, or bleeding in the membranes surrounding the embryo. The hemorrhage meant Karter wasn’t likely to survive, and Lara’s water broke prematurely at just 19 weeks. Our team at The Birthplace at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital was able to extend Lara’s pregnancy as long as possible. Ultimately, Karter was born at 22 weeks and weighed only one-and-a-half pounds.
Karter was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital where she spent the next 170 days as our NICU team worked to keep her healthy and help her grow after such a short time in the womb.
“It was terrible to have our newborn in the NICU, but the staff there made it the best experience possible,” said Lara. “I was thankful to have such great support from our whole care team.”
Following her time in the NICU, Karter was discharged home to begin a new journey in outpatient care. Because babies who are born early often have ongoing health concerns, our neonatologists continue to monitor their development after they leave the hospital through our NICU Follow-Up Program.
Karter came to our Pediatric Feeding Program as part of her follow-up care, shortly after arriving home from the NICU. While feeding is second nature to many babies, it can be incredibly difficult for those born prematurely. But it was critical to continue helping Karter grow.
Holistic support for Karter’s growth
Transitioning home from the NICU can be nerve-wracking for families, but our multidisciplinary care team eased the process for the Stewarts. They’re able to receive follow-up care close to home at the M Health Fairview Pediatric Specialty Clinic – Woodbury.
“We were so thankful to have everything in one system and have such an awesome team that works together,” said Lara. “It made the transition very easy.”
When Karter arrived at our Pediatric Feeding Program over a year ago, she was struggling to take in fluids and was using a feeding tube for supplemental nutrition. She started her care with speech language pathologist Kendall Sexe, MS, CCC/SLP and physical therapist Christa Weigel, PT. In speech therapy, Karter works on improving her oral motor functions (including how her tongue and lips move) to help her learn to speak and safely eat and drink. Now, she’s able to take small amounts of liquid from a sippy cup and can even eat small amounts of food.
“We’re excited that Karter is beginning to demonstrate age-appropriate feeding skills,” said Sexe. “Our goal now is to get her eating a wider range of foods and continue to slowly wean her off of her feeding tube.”
In physical therapy, Karter’s care team focused on improving her strength and posture to better allow for movement and play. “Karter is now crawling all over the place to explore her environment and is happily progressing in her independence in standing mobility,” said Weigel.
In addition to meeting with physical and speech therapists, Karter recently began seeing occupational therapist Leah Tisdale, OT, who partners with speech therapy to diversify Karter’s diet and support her feeding.
“We are working to help Karter increase the range and variety of foods she can eat, as well as increase the amount of food she can eat in order to support adequate growth and development,” said Tisdale.
How can our Pediatric Feeding Program help?
There are many reasons why children struggle with feeding. Some have a physical challenge that makes it difficult to chew or swallow, others may dislike flavors or textures or be distracted by their environment, making it difficult for them to get adequate nutrition.
We offer individualized treatment plans and feeding regimens to support each patient based on where they are at in their development. Our Pediatric Feeding Program can work with children who are struggling with a variety of feeding-related difficulties, including:
- Choking, gagging, or coughing when eating
- Trouble chewing or swallowing
- Difficulty breast- or bottle-feeding
- Lack of appetite
- Aversion to eating, breast- or bottle-feeding
- Difficulty transitioning to solid foods
- Restrictive eater
- Avoidance of certain food categories (proteins, vegetables)
- Poor weight gain
- Behavioral issues at mealtimes
- History of gastrointestinal issues or feeding tube placement
- Mouth or throat abnormalities that interfere with eating
Many of our pediatric rehabilitation clinics offer feeding therapy services with speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists. Our speech and occupational therapists meet one-on-one with patients, typically weekly or biweekly, and offer joint sessions as needed, collaborating closely on patient care. Our therapists have been trained in specialized methods for working with children with feeding issues.
For children with more complex needs, we also offer comprehensive evaluation at M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital. This initial evaluation can address questions and concerns from the simple to the complex. The team at our children’s hospital includes a speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, and a registered dietitian. They may recommend and refer your child for continued feeding therapy that can be scheduled at one of our pediatric clinics.
‘It’s Karter’s world’
Our multidisciplinary team makes it easy for the Stewart family to access coordinated care for their little one. While there are still a lot of unknowns, “Karter’s progress has been remarkable,” according to Nurse Practitioner Marla Mills, RN, CNP, DNP. Mills works as Karter’s care coordinator with our NICU Follow-Up Clinic.
Karter continues to make progress toward her developmental milestones and has tremendous support from her care team, parents, and four older siblings.
“She will get there eventually, she’s a fighter,” said Lara. “It’s Karter’s world, we just live in it.”
Click here to learn more about our Pediatric Feeding Program or call 612-273-6228 to make an appointment.
