Most care, including diaper changes, feedings and baths, will be done while your baby is lying on the tummy. Occasionally, surgery is required in order to bring the tongue forward in the mouth to relieve the obstruction. The most difficult airway problems require an operation called a tracheostomy which places a breathing tube in the baby's neck to bypass the obstructing tongue. The oxygen in your baby's blood will be monitored, and the choice of breathing support measures will depend on your baby's condition. Again, only a small number of babies with this condition will need this kind of treatment.
Some infants have only mild breathing problems while eating.
However, while your baby has difficulty breathing, he or she does not have energy to spare for eating from a bottle. For infants with moderate to severe breathing problems, we will pass a soft plastic feeding tube into your baby's stomach for good nutrition, weight gain, and conservation of energy. When your baby is gaining weight, and when he or she can tolerate having the bottle in the mouth, we will begin a plan of feeding that is very conservative and based on the tolerance of the baby. The feeding tube will give us the opportunity to help your baby grow while allowing adequate rest. As the baby's strength increases and obstruction problems decrease, we will give your baby more and more bottle feedings until the tube is no longer needed.