Home > Child health > Tube feeding for children >

Overview of tube feeding for babies and children

Mō te whāngai ki te ngongo mā ngā tamariki

Tube feeding is a way of providing nutrition to your tamaiti (child). It is also called enteral nutrition.

Your tamaiti might need to tube feed if they have a condition or illness that means they cannot eat or drink. They might also need to tube feed if they cannot eat or drink enough to grow.

Your tamaiti is tube fed with a special liquid formula (also called feed). The formula goes through a feeding tube into their stomach or small intestine. The formula provides all the nutrients they need to stay healthy and grow.

The feeding tube

Illustration showing nasogastric and nasojejunal feeding tubes going through the nose into the stomach and jejunum respectively and a gastrostomy tube going through the stomach wall Tubes can go to different places along your child's digestive tract.

A nasogastric tube (NG tube) goes up their nose and down into their stomach.
A nasojejunal tube (NJ tube) goes up their nose, down through their stomach, and into their jejunum. The jejunum is part of the small intestine.
A gastrostomy tube (G-tube) goes directly into their stomach. It goes through a hole in their abdominal wall called a stoma.
There are two types of gastrostomy tubes used in tamariki (children). PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) is one. PEG-J (percutaneous endoscopic gastrojejunostomy) is the other.
Your doctor will decide which type of feeding tube is best for your tamaiti.

The feed

There are different types of feed. Your dietitian will select one that best meets your child's nutrition needs. They will also decide how much your tamaiti needs to have each day.

Your dietitian will prescribe the feed and arrange to have it delivered to you. The feed is fully subsidised but you may have to pay a prescription fee. There is a charge for delivery.

For pēpi (babies), standard infant formula from the supermarket is often the best choice. You will need to pay for this but once your pēpi is 12 months old, the formula is fully subsidised.

Feeding

There are 3 methods of tube feeding. These are gravity feeding, bolus feeding and pump feeding. A syringe is used to deliver the feed for bolus and gravity feeding.

Your dietitian and nurse will give you all the equipment you need. They will also teach you how to tube feed your tamaiti and look after their feeding tube.

The following pages have more details about the types of feeding:

You can learn more about using a pump for tube feeding by watching these pump feeding videos.

Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed September 2024.

Sources

The information in this section comes from the following sources, some of which may be clinically complex or not available to the general public

Bowers, S. (2000). All about tubes. Your guide to enteral feeding devices. Nursing 2000. 30, 12: 4147.

O’Brien, B., Sarah, D. & Erwin-Toth, P. (1999). Gastrostomy tube site care: A practical guide. R. N. 62, 5.

Rollins, H. (2000). Hypergranulation tissue at gastrostomy sites. Journal of Wound Care. 9, 3.

Frang, J., Lynch, C. (2004). Prevention and Management of Complications of Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) Tubes. Practical Gastroenterology, 66-75.

Selan, M. (2012) A multidisciplinary approach to gastrostomy management. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 66, 1374. Doi: 10.1038/ejcn, 2012,144.

Kurien, M., McAlindon, M., Westaby, D., Sanders, D., (2010). Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) feeding. BMJ 2010; 340:c2414. Doi:10.1136/bmj.c2414.

Lippincott Procedures. Enteral tube feeding, duodenal and jejunal (http://procedures.lww.com/lnp/view.do?pId=729755&hits=tube,feeding,tubes,feedings,feed&a=false&ad=false). Nov 2017. Retrieved February 2018.

Lippincott Procedures. Nasogastric tube irrigation (http://procedures.lww.com/lnp/view.do?pId=729411&hits=tube,tubes,feedings,feeding&a=false&ad=false). Nov 2017. Retrieved February 2018.

Loser, C., Aschl, G., Hebuterne, X., Mathus-Vliegen, E., Muscaritoli, M., Niv, Y., Rollins, H., Skelly, R., (2005). ESPEN guidelines on artificial enteral nutrition – Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG). Clinical Nutrition 24, 848-861. Doi:10.1016/j.cinu.2005.06.013.

NICE Guidelines. Nutrition support for adults: oral nutrition support, enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition. August 2017. Retrieved February 2018.

Image and embedded video sources

Illustration of various types of feeding tube provided by Medical Illustrations, Te Whatu Ora Waitaha. March 2018.

Images of adults with a PEG feeding tube and a RIG feeding tube from Medical Illustrations, Te Whatu Ora Waitaha. March 2018.

Images of children with a PEG feeding tube and a MIC-KEY button with extension set from Medical Illustrations, Te Whatu Ora Waitaha. September 2023.

Page reference: 1145148

Review key: HITUB-482880