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Pediatric Feeding & Swallowing

Your child's ability to eat and swallow is crucial to their health, and difficulties can affect children of all ages. We are here to evaluate your child.

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Who we are

Children of all ages can experience feeding and swallowing problems. Some of the causes could include premature birth, birth defects, genetic disorders, food aversions, gastrointestinal issues, respiratory problems, trauma, or behavioral changes.

Our team provides specialized care by combining the expertise of pediatric gastroenterologists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, speech-language pathologists, and dieticians. By coming together with a group of care professionals, we will address feeding and swallowing challenges for your child, at any age.

US News and World Report Gastroenterology

What sets us apart

We provide multiple clinics for various feeding and swallowing disorders. Within these multidisciplinary clinics, your child will receive a customized care plan. We also maintain close contact with your child's primary care team to provide consultative services and updates. 

Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, in partnership with University of Utah Health, has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation’s best children’s hospitals in all 11 pediatric specialties for 2024, including Gastroenterology.

Specialty clinics offered

We offer several types of clinics:

The HEFT team supports former NICU babies who go home with a feeding tube (NG or GT), for supplemental nutrition or thickened feeds. 

Our goal is to help your baby transition from the NICU to home and assist in their nutrition and oral feeds. Because each baby's feeding and tube weaning needs are unique, we use an individualized process to continually support your baby's progress and success. We help to coordinate care plans with your pediatrician and home care teams for prescriptions, referrals, and home health needs. 

Our data shows that most babies will discharge their feeding tubes within 90 days of discharge from the NICU.

Find a HEFT clinic

FSC clinic specializes in helping infants and children up to 3 years of age with feeding difficulties. We address concerns about safety, nutrition, and growth. 

Our well-rounded team includes a pediatric gastroenterologist, speech therapist, and a dietician. Together, they will provide an evaluation for your young child. To meet with our team, a referral is required from your child's physician or current feeding therapists.

Conditions for evaluation:

  • Coughing, choking, gagging with feeding
  • Slow feeding
  • Bottle refusal
  • Poor growth
  • Feeding tube dependency

Referrals can be faxed to 801-442-0459.

CAFE clinic specializes in helping children 3-18 years with either a pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) and/or avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) get evaluated for more intensive-based services and care. 

For those that qualify through CAFE clinic, patients may enter an intensive multi-weekly co-treatment sessions with a behavioral health specialist and feeding therapists directed toward PFD and ARFID patients to help overcome their disorder. 

IntAC is an intestinal rehabilitation program (IRP) providing comprehensive support and long-term care for infants and children who are missing part of their intestines or who have problems with their intestines absorbing properly. These children need specialized care as they cannot absorb all the necessary nutrients or fluid from their gastrointestinal tract. They often require intravenous (IV) nutrition support through total parenteral nutrition (TPN), feeding tubes, and specialized enteral nutrition. 

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Featured locations

Home Enteral Feeding Transitions (HEFT) Clinic - SLC

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