Over the past 20 years there have been many advances in the treatment and care of infants with congenital heart disease (CHD).  Despite successful surgery, about half of all infants with CHD fail to grow.  It is uncertain if infants with CHD have difficulty feeding or if they have added energy (calorie) needs.  Therefore this study was designed to objectively measure the feeding patterns and measure needs of infants with CHD during the first year of life.  We know that infants with CHD:

 ♥   Commonly have feeding problems

♥   Often require more calories to grow

♥   Often fail to gain weight despite successful surgery

To find out more about how the effect of nutrition on growth and development in infants with CHD differs from that of infants without CHD, this study will compare the growth and energy metabolism needs of infants with CHD with those of healthy full term infants.  To address these identified feeding and nutritional issues, this study can:

♥   Assess your infant’s energy (calories) needs

♥   Measure his or her feeding skills

♥   Monitor growth and development

Your infant will have important state-of-the-art measurements during the first year of life, which will include:

♥   Feeding ability, such as sucking and swallowing

♥   Energy expenditure when awake and while sleeping

♥   Growth and body composition measures

♥   Temperament, development and speech assessments

During the study, we will evaluate how many calories your child drinks and eats and how much his/her body uses while sleeping.  We would also like to determine how much he/she has grown, and his/her body composition (amount of muscle and fat).  By measuring these factors over a one-year period, we may identify changes in development associated with growth, resting or total energy expenditure, food intake, or body composition in children who were born with CHD.