A MOTHER whose son was born with a rare illness stopping him from swallowing is now raising awareness of the condition.

Little Arash Javadi, who lives with his mum Pauline Trentham in Worcester, was born with Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula and/or Oesophageal Atresia (tof/oa) – a condition which meant he couldn't swallow.

Minutes after he was born, Miss Trentham noticed her baby was struggling to breathe and it was soon found his trachea and oesophagus were joined.

Arash's oesophagus ended in a pouch, which prevented food getting to his stomach, and he was also suffering with tracheomalacia – causing the wall of his windpipe – or trachea – to become floppy and collapse when breathing.

Miss Trentham, who lives in Warndon, said: "He literally couldn't swallow. If they hadn't noticed straight away it would have started coming out of his mouth and it would have gone down into his lungs."

The newborn – who is now two – was put on a ventilator and taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital for surgery to separate the two tubes.

He spent the first six weeks of his life in hospital, returning when he was around two months old for further surgery.

And he has undergone procedures to stretch his oesophagus, to help food travel down to his stomach.

But Miss Trentham, who also has two daughters, says he is coping well.

However, she has to keep a close eye on him at mealtimes, in case food gets stuck in his throat.

"Food gets stuck because there is always going to be that slight narrowing where the oesophagus is stuck together," she explained.

"Food takes longer to get down so he has to eat slower then a normal child.

"At weaning time I was scared to death – food is a scary thing for him. It is a lifelong condition."

To coincide with TOFS awareness week, which runs until Saturday, April 1, she is spreading the word about the condition – which affects one in 3,500 babies.

"The fact is hardly anybody knows about it," said Miss Trentham. "Parents of TOF children they are the only ones that know about it, they live with it every day."

While some children born with the condition experience few problems, others will have to go through many procedures throughout their young lives and into adulthood.

A spokesman for the TOFS charity said: "The journey can be a difficult one for the children, their parents and families, and this is where the charity TOFS comes in.

"TOF/OA is a relatively rare condition, and most people – including many health professionals – have never heard of it.

"From the first moment that parents find out that their child has TOF/OA, TOFS is there to support them through the everyday challenges they face from birth onwards.

"The charity relies on fundraising and donations to enable them to carry out this vital work.

"TOFS members organise and participate in a wide variety of fundraising activities and are constantly looking for new ways to support the TOF/OA community."

For more information visit tofs.org.co.uk