"We've had plenty of people tell us that kids will not starve themselves, that if we would just let him starve, he would eat," said Callahan, 36, of Troy, Mich., who gave birth to both her children prematurely because of preeclampsia - high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy. "We laughed and said, 'Thanks for your input.'"
There are several reasons why children use feeding tubes. Some use them because they are so sick they can't eat. Some use them because they are premature babies or have cerebral palsy and have difficulty feeding themselves or swallowing on their own.
But there is a downside to using a feeding tube long-term. Children don't learn how to swallow, and they can refuse to eat, which means they end up using the feeding tube longer.
Wanting to connect with others who have faced the same issues, Callahan joined the Feeding Tube Awareness Foundation, a New York City- based organization.
"Easily there are more than 100,000 children who are tube feeding or who have recently been tube fed," said Traci Nagy, who founded the organization in 2010.
"Socially, it is really hard. We live in a society that revolves around food. Every major holiday, party or gathering involves a meal," she said. "It can be really challenging . Tube feeding isn't the easy way out for picky eaters. This is way beyond that.
"At the core of being a parent is the ability to feed your child. When you are struggling to feed your child, it is incredibly stressful. It is so foreign to us that infants and children may have conditions that prevent them from eating. If a child had difficulty breathing on their own, no one would question the need for medical intervention. But it isn't the same with eating even though there are many medical reasons kids aren't able to eat enough, and we need food and water to live."
