Laryngomalacia

Laryngomalacia. What is it? Well it's the medical term for a floppy larynx. My daughter was born with it. It means her voice box is even more immature than a normal baby's.

 

The tissues of the larynx collapse into the airway when the child breathes in which is what causes the noisy breathing sound they make. It is usually present at birth and gets better as the child gets older. It can take up to the age of 2 for a child to recover from laryngomalacia. Sometimes the child can be older.

 

There is no precise cause of laryngomalacia. It is all unknown. All different babies will present with different symptoms for this as no baby is same. I was fobbed off by my hospital and GP that my daughter just had mucus on her chest after delivery, despite the fact she stops breathing in her sleep, can't sleep on her back and has reflux which is more common in babies with lm.

Some symptoms include:

Noisy breathing which becomes worse with agitation, crying, excitement, feeding, the position they sleep in. 

Poor weight gain

Difficulty feeding

Vomiting or spitting up

Choking on food

Stops breathing 

Chest/Neck retractions

Turning blue

Gastroesophageal Reflux

There's a lot of support groups for parents of children with LM. Some are on facebook and there's also a few forums. If you can't find them don't hesitate to contact me by clicking on the contact me page.