Interesting Article about GERD and Development

[Anonymous]

My son had severe GERD and just this past month, at 18 mos of age, we were finally able to successfully wean him off of his prevacid. Hurray!!! It was a rough road. One of the things that made it difficult was that on top of GERD, Jackson was developmentally delayed for some time. He did not babble like other babies or imitate me. He made great eye contact and was social (giggling, observant, etc), but his speech was just not developing normally. At 12.5 mos he got evaluated by Early Intervention and qualified. He had delays in both receptive and expressive. At 13 months, he got tubes. At 16 months, he was caught up to his typical peers and by 17 mos, he was kicked out of early intervention. When I would ask the pediatrician whether there was a connection b/t GERD and developmental delays, I would always get the same response – well, if he does not feel good he cannot learn. I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. My gut, however, tells me that there is more to it than that. I searched online and found one article that suggested that I was right. It said that GERD can affect a child developmentally. Jackson’s brain is caught up and he understands everything that I say, but his pronunication is poor- even for an 18 mos old. I believe that GERD can affect speech development and overall oral motor development. Of course, ear infections, related to GERD, can affect speech as well (Jackson had plenty of those!), but I mean that I believe that the constant spitting into the mouth can have an impact. I do not have any scientific research to back it up, but this article suggested that a connection could very well exist. So, my question to you all who have babies with significant GERD (which most of you have or you would not belong to this site!) is- do you believe that the constant reflux affected speech development? If so, how? Here is the article-

http://www.healthcentral.com/acid-reflux/c/39/2098/qa-author-tracy/

[Laura edited this just to make the link a ‘link’ sorry for the invasion]

hellbennt2009-03-22 15:16:57

[Anonymous]

I can totally see where they are coming from but I can say 100% that is not the case for us. Cooper has excelled verbally and really in most of his development. would he be more advanced if he hadn’t had reflux as an infant, I don’t know. I know that he walked at 11 months, was “talking” very early and has been using “sentences” since he was 18 months old. But I will also say that he has an extremely large head (97th percentile) and his ped and I joke that that means he has a really large brain and is therefore just really smart. I do however think that the number of ear infections and the probable need for tubes in reflux babies probably has more to do with the speech delays than the actual spitting up itself. Now I don’t know that either, as Cooper didn’t have many ear infections and most were caught very early so I don’t think his hearing has ever been affected b/c of them,but if you can’t hear then how can you imitate. I wonder what some other moms will say.

[hellbennt]

Jonah, too, was extremely verbal…he had silent reflux; not sure if that makes a difference? he also had many ear infections, but we got them under control, once we started sprayed saline up his nose all the time, poor baby!!

But I DO BELIEVE there is a connection! you are not the first to mention it. Anne Marie can attest to the same sorts of things w/ Dylan and there have been many others as well…

[Anonymous]

I see your point, Beth. I am not really sure if there is anything to what I am saying. Jackson did have chronic ear infections and maybe that was the sole cause of his delayed speech. He crawled just before 6 months, pulled himself up on furniture and cruised by 6.5 mos, walked at 9 mos and literally ran at 10 mos, so there was certainly not a physical delay! His gross motor was off he charts and when he was evaluated at 12.5 mos, they placed his gross motor at the level of a 21 month old! He caught up so fast after tubes as far as speech goes, but his pronunciation is slow. Maybe that is just the hearing issues that existed during his first 13 months. Also, one of his tubes was clogged last month and I just pray that he does not get glue ear again! I hope that he is hearing clearly right now. He may have to get tubes again. Ugh!

[Anonymous]

Laura- maybe the fact that your LO had silent GERD did make a difference. Jackson was a HUGE spitter!

[Anonymous]

Well, we have so many other factors, so I think we are a difficult example. Dylan also had NEC, spent the first 12 weeks of his life in the NICU connected to wires, with 24 hours a day of temps being taken, pokes for blood gasses, sugar tests, IV’s Changed, anitibiotics for the NEC for 10 days and then 21 days for the Meningitis along with surgery on both eyes, and not to mention the brain bleed during the meningitis etc, etc, etc….. He was declaired legally blind very young and had standing fluid in his ears for the first 18 months of his life until he got tubes, so delays were inevitable. BUT, all that being said, I have no doubt that children that suffer a long time like Dylan with the GERD before getting it resolved (over 7 months old for Dylan) miss out on so much. We never went ANYWHERE, and I think that is so important for a baby’s social development. Even just going to the park, grocery store, walks outside, etc….. we did very little of all of this with Dylan and I spent most of his first year isolated from the rest of the world. Also, with GERD babies, that spend so much time crying, they are not open to learing to hear words, they have lack of sleep that affects development, etc….

It is a horrible thing for babies to go through. I really think the earlier that the pain is resolved and on the right dose of meds and food figured out, that the less chance of delays for a lot of reasons.

I do agree there has to be some connection. I also have recently taken Dylan to a chiropractor. I was ADEMENTLY opposed to this when he was young as I was not comfortable with adjusting and cracking a body that was already so fragile and still growing, but this chiropractor works with soft touch and massage only. He did a scan and analysis of myself and Dylan and on a scale of 1-5 (one being relaxed and 5 being you are about to be in a car accident) he labled Dylan as higher than a 4.5. I believe he spent so much time in pain he is always tense as that is the way he learned to exist. We are working on relaxing him now, but any of you that have had tense moments, know that you are not open and focused on anything else around you.

Anyway… really now, done ranting. But I think there is a lot of factors on how much pain, how each baby deals with that pain, how much acid is physically damaging, lack of sleep appropriate for development, lack of practice with excercizing the mouth muscles from putting off or lack of solid foods, Dylan did a lot of soft foods, baby food, etc… and not a lot of chewing, then he didn’t get the practice of tounge lateralization, low muscle tone in his jaw, cheeks, etc….

Very interesting, but each situation is so unique, to have a good study, there would have to be good controls….

Just my two cents….

[Anonymous]

Wow, Ann Marie. You have been through so much. I am so sorry that you have had to overcome so much. He is lucky to have you.

[Anonymous]

This is interesting because the blog that’s linked is written by Tracy Davenport. She’s not a reflux expert, but rather a mom like us who had babies with reflux who learned so much that she thought that she would write a book… kind of like most of us thought we should do at some point or another. That’s not to say that her book isn’t good, because it probably is… I tend to think that passionate moms know and learn a lot. What’s interesting is that she used CaraCream for her kids and was affiliated with marci-kids like a lot of us here. A while back marci-kids asked me to write a testimonial for their site, and I sent Dr. P back a list of questions I had about why their research isn’t better known. He sent me back a couple of lines, and then gave Tracy my email to send me back a much longer reply from a paren’ts perspective. Anyhow, I think she sums it up best when she says that delays/problems “can” happen from reflux- which means I guess that some kids will have complications and others will not.

I think that whether or not a baby develops delays from reflux will depend on many things- some objective like the actual severity of the reflux, and some based on the child’s temperament. What I mean is that two kids can have the same severity of reflux and one child won’t be bothered by it and end up a happy spitter, while the other may develop a feeding aversion. I would guess that if the reflux doesn’t for the most part permeate into other aspects of the baby’s life, then they’ll go on developing on schedule. But if it starts impacting the baby from experiencing typical experiences needed to develop, then you’re more likely to see delays.

Kids with feeding problems are notorious for developing speech delays. This is because feeding actually helps to strengthen some of the musculature that is needed for speech.

Chronic ear infections due to reflux can also cause speech delays because the baby can’t hear.

Physical development can be affected if the baby is in too much pain to practice the physical skills needed to begin sitting, crawling, standing, walking etc. Sometimes a parent has to spend so much time trying to feed a child with a feeding aversion that there is little time for the baby to work on doing other things. Or sometimes the baby cries so much that the parent holds the child more often to soothe them, not allowing the baby enough opportunity to practice skills needed for physical development. Feeding aversions can also affect physical development by affecting nutrition, growth and muscle development. Sleep can be impacted which also affects physical development. Tube fed babies who get day feeds may be restricted physically by the equipment that feeds them.

Social implications of reflux can also exist, especially in more severe cases. Babies who are extreme spitters may be kept at home more often due to the inconvenience of going out and constantly needing to change clothes. Babies with feeding aversions may be kept at home since feeding can occupy most of the mom’s day. Or babies who are crying too much might not get the chance to socialize as much. I think that Ann Marie made a good point which is that if you’re in pain, your whole body can react by being tense, which can affect you in many ways.

I think that reflux can be very frustrating. But I always felt that if it doesn’t get in the way of other things, then those cases are lucky. And I don’t mean to minimize things for anyone else. I just know that for Hailey, she had the feeding aversion which was horrible, and caused her to have physical delays. The speech delays were likely due to the hearing issues from the ear infections but also related to the feeding problems. The social delays were due to being trapped in the house all day trying to feed her, but also from being in constant pain. The pediatrician called it social anxiety disorder, but really she was just hurting so much all the time that she couldn’t do anything other than cry. Probably the worst part is the hair pulling- she developed this as a self soothing mechanism, and unfortunately it’s something that we’re still dealing with today.

I guess my point after this long ramble is that for some kids reflux will just be reflux. Something that’s a nuisance or challenging, but not something that affects them too much otherwise. For others it can cause temporary or permanent deviations from the typical path of development. If a doctor says that reflux is just reflux or not a big deal or not the cause of other problems, I would definitely challenge that physician and move on.

[Anonymous]

Well said, Lori! HA! You have a better talent with written words than I do. I kept nodding my head “yes” and agreeing with you as I read, but can not get it from my head to the keyboard without rambling and getting off track! LOL!

There are so many variables, it is hard to tell, but definitely can be and is the case for some with reflux linked to the delays.

Always good to see you!

Ann Marie

[Anonymous]

Ann Marie- Funny you comment on my writing… I definitely have a roblem with rambling. I think you’re much more to the point and right on. Thank you for sharing your experience with Dylan. I had no idea that Dylan went through so much at birth. It must have been so hard for him and you. Did his vision ever improve, or is the damage considered permanent? I think that you are such a strong mom, and often remember you when I’m having a bad day with Sarah and wondering what the future holds.

Others- In reading through my post, I realize that some of what I said may have sounded insulting. That certainly wasn’t my intent. I know that reflux affects people’s lives differently and is hard for everyone, no matter what that experience is. It’s good to have a forum like this to get support from others who understand.

s&h’s mum2009-03-24 15:25:57

[Anonymous]

I do not think that you were offensive AT ALL, Lori! I think that everyone understands that everything is relative. Infant GERD is never an easy thing to deal with, but when you add in other complications, whether it be feeding aversions, ear problems, developmental problems, etc., it adds a different dimension. It is hard for us all, but I think that when you add in the other complications, it just feels even more stressful.

[Anonymous]

Hey there Lori,

Dylan’s vision has improved and he is fairly well corrected with the glasses, but his prescription is very strong. He is doing really well visually and he is only followed by BESB (board of Education Services for the Blind) on a consult basis at this point. We did have weekly services when he was younger, but he is testing pretty well now so consult only to make sure he has no glare in seating in teh classroom, etc…

HA! I lost it about a week ago. I mean really lost it…. I won’t go into details, but thank heaven’s for modern meds is all I can say. We do pretty well over here as a team (David and I) but every few months or so we just loose it. They think Carter is having mild strokes and we are going in for another MRI on the 31st (long story, but a post for another time) so let’s just say I can be strong sometimes and totally useless at others.

I think we all rise to the challenge for our children when we need to. This is a group of some of the strongest moms I have ever “met”! I would trust you all with my children before some of my family, but don’t tell them LOL!

I will tell you though, through all of what both boys have been through, it was always either the event and then recovery or we took a diagnosis and moved on. With Reflux, it was never ending with Dylan so it really was the thing that really was so tough with him regardless of all those other things as I couldn’t “fix” it until I found the right doctors/meds/formula, etc… the other stuff was more an event or illness that we dealt with or accepted at the time and are working our way through, but reflux felt like forever, so it is totally relative that it is absolutely one of the most difficult things I have ever dealt with. Sleep deprevation is for the birds!

Anyway, now I am totally rambling! Kudos moms! You are all great!

monty1232009-03-24 18:33:53

[Anonymous]

I was actually going to ask about delays on here.
My ds was diagnosed at 18 months with a speech delay and possible motor skill delay. We are going to start speech therapy and Early Steps Program (if he qualifies).
I totally believe the reflux has everything to do with it. He has had major issues with sleep and therefore sleep deprivation. Not getting adequate sleep and being in so much pain makes it harder to learn all of the things most children get to.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Ann Marie,

I’m so sorry to hear about Carter. The poor little guy has been through so much already. I’ll be praying for him. Keep us updated or PM me if you ever need a shoulder to lean on.

HUGS.

[Anonymous]

I don’t see how they can’t sometimes – I mean my baby screamed nonstop for the first 3 months of her life and never slept so how could she learn to do the stuff she was supposed to be? Plus, she was at a doctor’s office like every other day and in hte hospital, etc. And who wants to babble and coo when your chest and throat are on fire? Reflux pisses me off. Sorry – I’m in a bad mood tonight.

Karen

[Author]

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