Hi Mary
I was a bit behind with posts, but have noticed your plea for help. I
have found a few bits of information in a book called Feeding and
Swallowing Disorders in Infancy by Lynn wolf and Robin Glass (an
excellent reference book).
They mention stridor - a harsh raspy noise made on inspiration as
being caused sometimes by vocal cord paralysis, leading to increased
work of breathing and fatigue in the baby and poor feeding.
They also describe problems with coordinating swallowing and
breathing in some casese.
I have not dealt with a baby with this problem, but one of the
suggestions in this book relating to delayed swallowing/aspiration
related to vocal cord paralysis is the use of chilled feeds rather
than body temperature ones. This stimulates the swallowing reflex and
can help improve swallowing and reduce aspriation. Of course, doing
this for a breastfed baby is difficult.
If the problem is mainly one of stridor and respiratory problems
leading to fatigue, then maybe pumping and using the ebm as a
supplement might help.
 Do you have anyone local to you who is an
occupational therapist or similar with an interest in infant feeding.
There are some other lactnetters who may know more about this. Anyone
care to add to this???

Fiona



Fiona Coombes MBBS IBCLC               [log in to unmask]
Lactation Consultant, Family Physician
Perth Western Australia