Rob,
>IMHO is this really a neccessary med for mom? It has been associated with liver
>disease. There are many other options for treating ADHD, other meds and
>behavioral management. People with ADHD are known to hyperfocus at times. Maybe
>this mom can hyperfocus on her baby.

As a mum and a sufferer of ADHD, I think you are absolutely correct. It
is my belief (although I cannot prove it) that babies born to ADHD
parents *need* breastmilk more than other babies. My reasoning is that
they have apparently discovered a deficiency in certain long chain
phospho-lipids in the brains of ADHD individuals (in fact, they are
heavily promoting nutritional supplements to ADHDers in Britain for this
reason). Unfortunately, for us adults, it's all a bit too late since our
brains are fully developed, but in a baby... The LCPs concerned are
found in large quantities in breastmilk (so I hear) so consequently, the
potentially ADHD baby has an even greater need for breastmilk than many
babies.

Suffering ADHD is a bit of a pain at times (although mainly for those
around us rather than ourselves). OTOH, it does have advantages. But
ADHDers are not maniacs. We are not irrational. We are not crazy. Coping
with some of the behaviors can be difficult, especially with the strain
of trying to cope with children, but kids are pretty flexible and tend
to adapt to the parents :-)

I find it hard to sit down to breastfeed, so I often wander about while
nursing! My babies have both been really fast, efficient nursers which
might be luck or an adaption. Either way, there are ways to cope other
than taking drugs. Drugs for ADHD are not a "cure" anyway, and a couple
of years off them won't kill anybody. If depression is a factor, the
ADHDer can take various anti-depressants if they really feel they need
to. Exercise can really help burn off some of that excess energy and
help focussing. Sorry if I am basing everything on my own experience,
but I find people who don't have ADHD are too terrified to suggest to a
sufferer that maybe, at this time, the drugs risks outweigh the possible
benefits. Be warned however, when counselling an ADHDer - we are
impulsive and decisions like weaning should not be made on the spur of
the moment. Encourage the person to think through all the pros and cons.

As for your suggestion that the mother can "hyperfocus on the baby",
that is actually quite a good one, although I think hyperfocussing on
the actual baby might not be sufficient. You could get them interested
in breastfeeding as a subject, however, and they can hyperfocus on that
quite happily! :-)
--
Anna (Mummy to Emma, born 17th Jan 1995, Alice, born 11th Sept 1996,
??? due 18th April 1998)
Email: [log in to unmask]  Web Page: http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/anna