Breastfeeding infants with Down syndrome

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pawin Puapornpong

           Nowadays, women marry and have children later, with the age of marriage or childbearing rising. When a mother is over 35 years old, the risk of having a child with Down syndrome increases with age. Although Down syndrome can be diagnosed in the fetus during pregnancy, some mothers may choose to care for the baby even if the baby has Down syndrome. Babies in this group have reduced muscle tone, and suckling to stimulate milk from the breast is not done well.  Feeding at the breast may make them tire easily and not get enough milk. In addition, heart or kidney abnormalities may also be present. Therefore, for breastfeeding babies with Down syndrome, if the baby does not have enough strength to suck from the breast in the early period, a feeding aid may be needed, such as using a tube connected to a syringe filled with milk and squeezing to help the milk flow while the baby sucks. Once the baby has been trained to grow stronger and suck better, the baby can then be allowed to feed directly from the breast. The mother needs to stimulate her milk by hand expression or with a breast pump, because the baby cannot provide enough stimulation through sucking. Training the baby to suck together with holding the baby skin-to-skin will help improve nervous system development and muscle control. As the muscles grow stronger, the baby will be able to feed from the breast. Just as with the benefits of breast milk in normal babies, the benefits of breast milk in babies with Down syndrome are even more pronounced: in addition to helping with development and intelligence levels, breast milk also helps build immunity and reduces the severe complications that can arise from infections in babies with Down syndrome.

References

1. Cadwell K, Turner-Maffei C. Pocket guide for lactation management. 2nd ed. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning 2014.