Center for Feeding & Nutrition

The Center for Feeding & Nutrition provides multidisciplinary care for children with a variety of feeding difficulties. We bring together experts from multiple specialties to support your child’s unique needs, all in one coordinated visit.

Families meet with a team that includes a pediatric gastroenterology or nurse practitioner, a speech-language pathologist with advanced training in feeding, a registered dietitian, an occupational therapist, and a feeding psychologist. We tailor the members of the team to your child and family’s specific needs.

Feeding difficulties are more common than many people realize—affecting roughly 1 in 4 children. Among children with developmental delays, the rates are even higher, with 8 out of 10 experiencing feeding challenges. Research shows that children with feeding difficulties have the best outcomes when cared for by a multidisciplinary team. Yet, very few programs like ours exist across the country, making access to this kind of comprehensive care critically important for families.

We partner with the Innovate for Pediatric Nutrition Research Lab to advance prevention and treatment for children and families affected by nutrition, obesity, and feeding.

What happens at an appointment?

During your visit, the entire team meets with you and your child together to evaluate feeding skills and develop a family-centered treatment plan.

At your appointment, we will:

• Ask detailed questions about your child's health, development, and eating habits
• Observe your child eating
• Assess your child’s diet and growth patterns
• Ensure appropriate medical evaluations are performed
• Create a personalized, family-centered treatment plan

Before each appointment, we will ask you to complete a health and eating questionnaire and a food log to help us better understand your child’s needs.

We also offer one-on-one feeding therapy when needed, based on your child's progress and goals.

Who are the children we serve?

We care for infants, children, and adolescents with a wide range of feeding challenges, including:

• Food refusal
• Dependence on enteral tubes (NG, G-tube, G-J tube, J-tube) or IV nutrition
• Restricted eating patterns
• Difficulty with certain textures
• Oral aversion
• Poor weight gain
• Food allergies
• GI dysmotility
• Short gut syndrome
• Premature infants
• Autism spectrum disorder
• Down syndrome
• Cerebral palsy
• Children with genetic, anatomical, or neurological disorders

Schedule an In-Person or Virtual Visit

We offer both in-person and virtual visits to make accessing care as easy and comfortable as possible.

In-person visits take place at the Mass General Brigham for Children Center for Feeding & Nutrition, where your child can meet face-to-face with our multidisciplinary care team. Virtual visits offer the same high-quality care from the convenience of your home. Using a secure, video-based connection through your computer, laptop, or tablet, you and your child can meet with your care team to discuss symptoms, review progress, and adjust treatment plans.

To schedule an appointment, please call 617-726-9615.

Innovative Research

Our research program, the Innovate for Pediatric Nutrition Lab, is committed to advancing prevention and treatment for children and families affected by nutrition, obesity, and feeding. We focus on improving treatment for feeding difficulties, addressing food insecurity, and using “food is medicine” approaches to promote better health outcomes.

Learn more about the INNOVATE Lab

Meet Our Clinical Staff

Pediatric gastroenterologists

• Lauren Fiechtner, MD, MPH, Director of Nutrition
• Victoria Martin, MD, MPH
• Navneet Virk Hundal, MD
• Theresa Schnorr, NP

Speech-language pathologists (specialists in feeding and swallowing)

• Rebecca Baars, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC
• Ani Harlan, MS, CCC-SLP
• Cheryl Hersh, MA, CCC-SLP
• Tessa Kennedy MS, CCC-SLP
• Sarah Sally, MS, CCC-SLP
• Jessica Sorbo, MS, CCC-SLP

Dietitians

• Meaghan Alexander, MS, RD, LDN
• Simona Lourekas-MS, RD, LDN, CHES
• Kaitlin Shruhan, MS, RD, LDN

Occupational therapist

• Sarah Jones, OTR

Feeding psychologist

• Sarah Shea, PhD

Patient Resources

The Pediatric Nutrition Center at has developed a variety of resources for children with feeding and nutrition disorders and their families. View the full resource list.