<< These tremors have happened 4 =
or 5 times, all within the last two weeks. Only happen when the baby is =
sleeping and being nursed. And I should note that the cradle position =
is how the baby is being held. Mom has not observed the tremors in any =
other sleeping situations with the baby, only while be held and nursing. =
And breathing seems to be just fine while the tremors occur.>>
Melisa, a few general questions and thoughts:
1) Have you observed this tremor? Can you arrange to try to do so?
2) Does the mother practice baby wearing or is the baby regularly laid down
and/or carried not in contact with the mother's body. I imagine that
different childrearing practices would naturally lead to different
opportunities for observation... In other words, might these tremors be
more likely to be noticed when nursing, rather than more likely to occur
during nursing? Could the baby be exposed to something during breastfeeding
to which it is reacting (the position being used, an allergen, ...)?
3) What about hypocalcemia (which can cause tetany)? Though hypocalcemia is
rare in the breastfed baby (and vitamin D deficiency is not common either),
most mothers are probably not reporting tremors in their breastfed babies,
so the unusual should be considered. One result of vitamin D deficiency is
the excretion of calcium. So does the mother-baby pair have any risk
factors for vitamin D deficiency? What is the mother's diet like now and
what was it like during pregnancy (where does she get her vitamin D--sun?
what food sources? Is she vegan or vegetarian?)? What is the mother's and
baby's sun exposure like? Any sun exposure without sunscreen? How much UV
radiation is available where they live (less UV available in northern
climates, areas with lots of smog)? Does the latitude at which they are
currently living mismatch the evolutionary history of their skin
pigmentation (i.e., are they darkly pigmented but living in northern
climates)? What are their clothing practices (skin much covered?)? Does the
mother have safe and convenient areas to take the baby outside for play,
walks, ...? If the baby is another's care during daylight hours, do/can
they take the baby outside for play, walks, ...? The mother could always
have a chat with a pediatric nutritionist (one who is, of course,
supportive and knowledgeable about breastfeeding!) if diet/lifestyle seem
to include any risk factors.
4) What about a neurodevelopmental evaluation?
5) Any time a mother is worried, she deserves to have her concerns heard
and to have assistance figuring out where to go from here.
I'm sure others will have more thoughts to ponder. Being a nursing mother
who is vegan, very sensitive to sun exposure, living in the Northwestern US
(with low UV exposure), etc., vitamin D is a topic I have read up on (about
30 articles, to be more precise)... See Breastfeeding and Human Lactation
by Riordan and Auerbach for the basics of calcium and vitamin D in regard
to breastfeeding.
Cynthia
Cynthia Good Mojab, MS Clinical Psychology
(Breastfeeding mother, advocate, independent [cross-cultural] researcher
and author; freelance writer; LLL Leader and Research Associate 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
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