Denise wrote:
<<the mother needs to hold the baby firmly at the breast and hold the
breast shaped throughout the feed for the baby to not slip back and just
suckle on the nipple.  Neither action am I happy with, but that is what is
necessary.  Do you think the palate is what is causing the 'stay-on'
problem - having problems achieving a negative pressure.  I know that
'habit' is also a factor.
Should I anticipate more problems with this palate - particularly as she
goes onto more breastfeeds?  Please share your experience with me.>>

I would like to comment that the breastfeeding of a child with special
needs often requires the finding of solutions for problems *and* the
redefining of normal. "Normal" even among healthy, full-term babies has a
spectrum (just look at all the thoughts expressed lately here on LACTNET
about what frequency of breastfeeding is "normal"!) When we get into the
realm of babies (and mothers) with special needs, concepts of "normal" can
change quite a bit. As I state in my article "Congenital Disorders:
Implications for Breastfeeding" (Good Mojab, C., LEAVEN, Vol. 35 No. 6,
December 1999-January 2000, pp. 123-28):

"While a baby may be unable to nurse in the usual way, he may be able to
fully or partially nurse in an unusual way. It is often helpful to redefine
normal to avoid imposing standards of behavior that are not helpful to the
exceptional mother-baby pair. The mother can be encouraged to clarify what
is normal for her baby. For example, it is normal for babies with
cardiovascular and respiratory system disorders to experience fatigue while
nursing, for babies with Down syndrome to have weak sucking reflexes, for
babies with cleft palate to have difficulty developing suction, and for
babies with phenylketonuria to have difficulty metabolizing all the
components of breast milk."

This entire article can be accessed from the publications page of my web
site, Ammawell at http://ammawell.homepage.com. It is included among the
many articles indexed in LLLI's website at http://www.lalecheleague.org. A
unit in LLLI's Lactation Consultant Series II regarding this topic (working
with mothers who are breastfeeding a child with a congenital disorder) is
in press.

Cynthia Good Mojab, MS Clinical Psychology
(Breastfeeding mother, advocate, independent researcher and author; LLL
Leader and researcher in the LLLI Publications Department; and former
psychotherapist currently busy nurturing her own little one.)
Ammawell
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web site: http://ammawell.homepage.com

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html