Specialist bottles

Some babies on Butterfly may need specialist feeding teats or bottles to help them feed. These bottles are often recommended by our Speech Pathologists following a clinical assessment of feeding. 

Feeding care plans

If your baby has a feeding care plan, they are written and displayed near your baby's cot. They tell our staff how your baby is fed and the types of strategies that are used to help your baby to feed safely and well.

They are updated regularly as your baby changes and grows, and also in response to changes in feeding as a result of illness, surgery or other medical interventions.

Oral aversion

Oral aversion is when your baby dislikes being touched around the face or mouth. This can occur for a number of reasons, including but not limited to, repeated, intrusive/negative but necessary interventions around their face or mouth. This can happen when babies have needed a breathing or feeding tube for a while or if they need a lot of suctioning of their mouths.

Feeding aversion

Babies may be happy to take a dummy or allow things into their mouths but still refuse a feed. This may be because they have developed feeding aversion rather than complete oral aversion. A feeding aversion can develop due to repeated negative experiences related to feeding, for example, not responding to their cues, or occasionally pain associated with acid reflux.

If you baby develops either of these issues, our Speech Pathologists can work with you and your baby to develop a management plan to overcome these issues with time and patience.