Poor Suck

What is poor suck?

A poor suck is an inadequate sucking reflex, resulting in the difficulty of newborns to be breast-fed. While it is possible for premature infants to have poor sucking reflexes, older infants and children should have already developed this reflex.

Children with sucking problems that do not gain the reflex itself may be indicating significant neurological or developmental problems.

Understanding muscle-related symptoms and features.

Symptoms may affect multiple parts of the body. Understanding which part of the body a symptom affects, can help us to better understand the potential underlying causes of a symptom, including a rare disease or genetic syndrome.

The muscular system contains three muscle types: cardiac, smooth and skeletal. The muscular system affects multiple parts and functions of the body including: movement, balance, stability and posture, circulation, respiration, digestion, urination and childbirth.

Symptoms affecting the muscles can not for the most part be seen with the naked eye. Diagnosing a muscle related symptom may involve different tests and assessments, both subjective and objective.

Symptoms relating to the muscles may affect their function and tone. They may also affect the structure of the muscles, regardless of how big or small (macro and/or microscopically) this change in the structure might be.

What should I do next?

In some instances, poor suck may be one of the features of a rare disease or genetic syndrome. To find out if someone with Poor Suck, may be due to a genetic syndrome, it is important to have a consultation and evaluation with a clinical genetic specialist. Specialists may also suggest specific genetic testing or other types of tests to help reach a diagnosis. FDNA’s AI technology can help speed up the diagnostic process by analyzing facial features and other health information.