Hi all,

I saw a mom today with a "failure to thrive" six month old - baby had only
gained 2 ounces between 4 mos. and 6 mos. Baby was gorgeous - long and
slender but not skinny and completely normal developmentally.  To make a long
story short, the baby had an overactive gag response and pushed the nipple to
the front of her mouth. Thankfully the suck is being fixed by the wonderful
D.O. in our city; mom's adjusted positioning is also helping. BUT the biggest
factor in this equation was that mom was being coerced into a 4-hour schedule
by an abusive husband who gives her toddler too-hot baths, threatened to
choke her when she disagreed with him, and won't make eye to eye contact with
the baby!  The most important intervention was giving her the number of the
battered women's shelter and believing her when she described this jerk.

Linda Smith, private practice in Dayton OH