There is work in the child neurology field that does link identification of
early infant feeding problems with subsequent problems.  (Ramsey,M and
Gisel,E:  Neonatal Sucking and Maternal Feeding Practices, Dev Med and Child
Neurol 1996, 38:34-47.)   That inability to feed robustly is a symptom is
certainly my own belief, and it is the reason why I am so careful in trying
to identify the factors that contribute to poor feeding ability in the
infants I work with.  There are many reasons a baby might fail to feed
robustly, and most are temporary and can be assisted with gentle
intervention that has the goal of a return to exclusive breastfeeding.  I
feel relief when I can identify a reason or combination of factors.  I can
relax when my intervention works.  I feel a lot more concerned for the
future of the baby when the reason for poor feeding remains a mystery or
unsettled unhappiness persists.

I posted two years ago about a baby of an acquaintance who was thriving at
breast (tremendous weight gain) yet cried incessantly for 6 weeks.  I had
the mother and son spend a morning with me so I could, myself, monitor his
crying, her responses, and concluded that the baby (in spite of the
pediatrician's dismissal) had some sort of organic problem and was crying in
pain.  I referred her to a diff. ped, and she dx a painful hydrocele in his
testical.  He was a diff. baby after that in terms of general affect, but
two years later has not yet begun to talk and has poor eye contact.  He was
just dx with a mild form of autism.  I wonder what 6 weeks of pain and
stress does to the developing brain.  I accept that there are multiple
causes for autism and that it remains mysterious, but I will never accept
that it is just or humane to ignore the distress of an infant.  Crying is a
stress cue, and, like poor feeding, should never be dismissed without
further investigation.

Barbara Wilson-Clay BSEd, IBCLC
Austin Lactation Associates
http://www.lactnews.com

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