Just contemplating the idea of a feeding tube can feel very scary and stressful for many parents and caregivers. With these resources, support from your healthcare team, and practice, your child’s health and nutrition can improve and you can successfully integrate tube feeding into your family meal routine.

Here are a few comments from parents about life with tube feeding:

• “Without the tube, my baby would have had to stay in hospital for a long time. It was a hard choice at first. Tube feedings seemed scary to me. But I was tired of going to the hospital. My family was suffering because I was away from home for so long. Bringing my son home now meant coming home with the tube and the responsibility was ours. But we got used to it quickly and now we wished we had considered it sooner.”   

• “When they first told me that I should try putting my own tube in, I thought ‘no way!’ But then I realized that if I knew how to reinsert the tube, I could take the tube out when it was not being used.”     

• “Other people may look at you when you are walking in the mall with tubes held high in the air, but you will be surprised how many other parents will stop and say that they had to do that for their children too.  Forget about those who stare – sometimes a simple explanation is all that’s needed for understanding.”