Clinical Nutrition and Lactation Services

Adequate and proper nutrition is important for a child’s normal growth and development. CHOC Clinical Nutrition and Lactation Services aims to be a reliable source of nutrition and lactation information for our patients, families and community.

We are here to help patients with growth and development, while giving them a foundation for lifelong health and wellness. We provide family-centered and culturally sensitive nutrition services on both an outpatient and inpatient basis, depending on our patients’ needs, using evidence-based techniques and best practices with a multidisciplinary approach.

What to Expect: Your First Visit

During your first consultation, you will meet with a registered dietician. Registered dietitians are nutrition experts who have completed their bachelor’s degree followed by an internship and national registration exam. Meeting with a pediatric registered one-on-one is a valuable opportunity to discuss your nutrition concerns. There will likely be multiple visits, as most nutrition interventions take time to address & monitor. The first visit will allow you, your child and the RD get to know each other.

Your registered dietician will gather information about your child and will address feeding concerns. Your RD will also assess your child’s weight, height, and growth. They may ask you or your child for a diet history – where you describe what your child typically eats and drinks over a certain time period. Your RD will also ask about cultural food traditions and food preferences. They may also ask about your child’s health history or family’s health history. Your RD will address any questions you have and provide specific nutrition and/or diet recommendations for your child

Outpatient Nutrition Counseling

Our pediatric Registered Dietitians (RDs) are experts in nutrition and provide medical nutrition therapy for infants to young adults. The goal is to optimize nutrition, growth and overall health. Our pediatric RDs cater the nutrition consultation to the individual & family – which often includes a nutrition and growth assessment, meal planning and child/family nutrition education.

One-on-one nutrition counseling with a pediatric RD is available with a physician’s referral. Common reasons for a referral include:

• Weight issues
• Malnutrition
• Feeding difficulties
• Autism
• Food intolerances and allergies
• Tube feeding
• Special diets
• Nutrition education

Along with one-on-one outpatient nutrition services, our RDs provide nutrition services as part of a team center care (TCC) approach in many CHOC clinics and programs. Families should check with their child’s insurance provider to determine insurance benefits.

Learn more about what you need to do or bring before your outpatient visit with a registered dietitian. Prepárese para la cita con su dietista.

Inpatient Nutrition Services

Our dietitians are an important part of a child’s care team while he or she is staying with us in the hospital. We provide comprehensive nutrition services for patients of all ages according to medical need. These services include:

• Screening all patients for nutritional risks based on diagnosis, nutrition history and growth trend
• Assessing nutritional needs and making recommendations on how to meet them which may include oral diet, parenteral (IV nutrition), or enteral (tube feeding)
• Providing nutrition education to patients and families

Healthy Lifestyle Classes

Nutrition, physical activity and behavior choices are very important when it comes to a child’s health. At CHOC, we work closely with children and their families to develop healthy lifestyles and prevent serious conditions such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Learn more about our nutrition and lifestyle classes.

About Our Team

• Multidisciplinary. Our team is made up of more than 50 members, including registered dietitians (RDs), lactation consultants, diet technicians and support staff.
• An emphasis on leading-edge research. Annually, our team does over 40 presentations and publications for the community and for medical professionals, ensuring we are always up-to-date on the latest treatments.
• Ensures specialized care. 80 percent of our team carries an additional specialty certification, making us as qualified as possible to deliver care for your child’s unique nutrition needs across all departments and conditions.