Hello all,
A mother of a 19 month old boy with hydrocephalus (with shunt in place) and
hypotonia, called with the following- He is still mostly nursing, very
little solids. He weighs over 13 kg-(26 lbs) and is healthy, besides his
chronic condition.
The occupational therapist and the speech clinician who are supposed to
give this child therapy , have told the mom that the child has no
motivation to learn to feed himself or to speak because of his "constant"
nursing. They threatened not to continue treating him, that it is wasted
time, as long as he keeps on asking to nurse during the sessions. They also
told the mom that she must see a psychologist because it is "obvious" that
she (mom) is the one who wants to continue nursing, that she has some
problem. They said that this mom must "sever" herself from her baby in
order for him to move foward developmentally----!!!!! The mom is pretty
secure in her nursing relationship and feels that this is the one aspect
that is completely positive and secure and gives them both so much strength
and health- The mom herself doesn't ned to be convinced of the benefits of
bfdg her baby, but feels helpless confronting these "professionals" who are
supposed to be helping her to help her baby.
Can anyone help me find references specific to this situation- something
that talks specifically about the benefits of continued bfdg in babies with
hypotonia and hydrocephalus? I would like to be able to send it to these
two people. The baby's pediatrician is relatively supportive, saying that
it's okay to continue bfdg, but that the baby really should be eating "real
food" already. The mom cannot at this point change therapists because of
her medical insurance coverage and her living in a relatively small area,
far from other major cities.
Thanks for your help.
Jennie in Israel

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