12 Nov Concerned that your baby isn’t feeding well 

Are mealtimes challenging and stressful
Is baby needing thicken formula to prevent coughing and vomiting 
Is your toddler a fussy eater 

Often times babies struggle to feed well because of an underlying low muscle tone. Signs of low muscle tone includes the following behaviours: 

1. Baby feels “floppy’ when you hold them in your arms where you feel you need to hug them tight or they will slip through your arms. Babies with normal muscle tone will be able to hold their body upright and lift their heads up in your arms when you carry them. 

2.  Baby struggles to hold their head up on tummy time and can only tolerate 1-2 minutes on their tummy to play before they cry. Babies with normal muscle tone should be able to hold their heads up 45-80 degrees when on their tummies and with practice on tummy time to play will quickly be able to tolerate tummy time for 30-60 minutes per session.

3. Baby struggles to latch onto the breast or bottle teat for feeding, coughs a lot during feeds and tires quickly with feeding. Babies with normal muscle tone tend to be able to learn to latch on quickly for feeds, demonstrate strong sucks and swallowing motions and do not cough with feeding. 

The key to overcoming feeding issues for babies with low muscle tone often lies in strengthening baby’s neck muscles and core muscles in their tummy and backs. When baby is stronger in their neck, tummy and back muscles, their internal muscles for swallowing also gets stronger. Being able to hold their heads stable and sit upright allows baby to be able to coordinate the muscles in their mouth and tongue to suck and swallow or eat and swallow better. 

Here at My Favourite Physio, we see many babies with low muscle tone and we help them to get stronger to be able to learn how to roll, sit, crawl and walk. Parents always report that feeding improves when baby’s gross motor skills improve. So if you are concerned about your little one struggling to feed, reach out to My Favourite Physio on (02) 9790 4233 to speak to one of our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists today!