Breastfeeding

[madmooch]

Hi all , I was wondering, for those of you whose little ones were obviously asd from birth, if you breastfed or tried to?

I tried to breastfeed H for 3 weeks but it was a total nightmare, he couldn't latch on properly and i was in agony.

 

The midwives made me feel like a bad mother when i gave up - now i know why he had problems!

 

 

Clare

[CarerQuie]

I breastfed all my children,including the ASD child.xx

[noogsy]

hi madmooch,i breast fed my wee boy for ten months.the only problem he was so demanding i couldnt get him off.my gp suggested i stop.i was 14 stone the night before i had my baby due to pre eclampsia and all sorts.and when i stoped feeding i was 7 stone.my baby fed 2 hourly for 10 months.the final straw was when he bit me....really badly....he was on solids so from then on he got a cup.no bottles.and he was fine.he eats anything.and lots of things he shouldnt...lol...i do think breast feeding is technic and having midwives who instill confidence.it was not your fault.that your babe didnt latch properly.you are a good mother sweetie.love noogsy...xxxxxx

[mossgrove]

All our children were breast fed, including both the children with ASD's

 

Simon

[Jericho]

My eldest boy was a complete nightmare when it came to feeding. I tried to breastfeed him while still on the postnatal ward but he absolutely refused. The midwives just kept telling me that he would feed when he was hungry and did nothing at all to help. By the 3rd day he still hadn't had a single drop of liquid. When he was eventually checked he was found to be quite badly dehydrated but refused even a bottle of formula milk. He spent the rest of that week in the SCBU being tube fed with expressed breastmilk. He never really took to breastfeeding at all and after 6 weeks I started doing mixed feeding.

 

My second boy (also ASD) took to breastfeeding straight away and carried on for 6 months. My technique was no different to the one I'd used for my eldest but even in the delivery room he fed for well over half an hour.

 

I suspect that my eldest son's mouth was extremely sensitive and that perhaps a rubber teat was somehow easier to tolerate.

[Lynden]

I never even attempted to breastfeed Logan because I'd had such a horrendous time breastfeeding Leona. I'd decided long before he came along he'd have the first few feeds in hospital and then have bottles. As it happened they did my anasthetic wrong and I was frozen from the neck down so kept throwing up as it was wearing off so couldn't even give him teh first few feeds like I'd planned.

 

To be honest seeing his reliance on the dummy for comfort I'm kind of glad I didn't bf him.

 

Lynne x

[della]

I breast fed all mine.It's true it isn't as easy as you'd think. You need a lot of support. I had my last child in hospital and they took her away and gave her a bottle as soon as she was born, despite my saying I wanted to hold her. I had a terrible time breast feeding after that. With a bottle the milk comes straight away and she didn't "understand" that results weren't immediate on the breast.

 

I have one child with, I think aspergers (out of 7). The difference between his way of breast feeding was really noticeable. He sucked very very hard - my nipple was squahed completely flat by the time he came off. And he refused all solids until 10 months. Even then he was showing signs.............

[Kathryn]

I tried to breastfeed H for 3 weeks but it was a total nightmare, he couldn't latch on properly and i was in agony.

 

The midwives made me feel like a bad mother when i gave up - now i know why he had problems!

 

I had a similar experience to this, except I only lasted a week before stopping - thanks to a very supportive midwife who could see the effect sleepless nights and a constantly screaming hungry baby was having on us.

After the switch to formula L was immediately happier and so was I, apart from the feelings of inadequacy and guilt induced by being the only person bottlefeeding in all the post natal groups I went to.

 

I tried again with my son many years later. This time it worked I think because I was so relaxed about it - I had the bottles standing by just in case! He also just seemed to take to it better.

 

I don't know if there have been any studies into AS and breastfeeding difficulties. It would be interesting to see if there is a significant link.

 

K x

[Bullet]

I breastfed Tom for seven weeks, however, by the fifth or sixth week it was getting noticeably harder. He just started refusing and getting distressed. We were both much happier when he switched to the bottles, though I would have liked to continue breastfeeding him for a bit longer.

However, my mum breastfed me until I was 1 with no problems. I actually refused to take a bottle and went straight to a cup after.

Edited October 15, 2006 by Bullet

[board]

i breastfeed all 5 of mine the 4 boys 8 to 9 months my dd6 aspergers i feed her untill she was 2 yers 6 months she wont come off the breast and wont take food thats the only diffrents between them so i wonder if it was becouse she had aspergers dont know but do wonder all the best jill

[madmooch]

I have one child with, I think aspergers (out of 7). The difference between his way of breast feeding was really noticeable. He sucked very very hard - my nipple was squahed completely flat by the time he came off. And he refused all solids until 10 months. Even then he was showing signs.............

 

H used to do that, i had to use all avent bottles because they were the only ones that didn't flatten and stop the milk coming out.

 

I had the midwives showing me all the time how to breastfeed and i was doing it properly but he just couldn't stay on - he would suck alittle then come off - suck again then come off, and when i put him on the bottle he fed liitle and often, every hour and half - i was knackered!

 

In a way i'm pleased he didn't take to breastfeeding as he still likes his bottles - 1 for brakfast and 1 for bed

 

No matter what those everything natural mam's say - i couldn't breastfeed a 5 yr old and he has very strong teeth!

 

When Cara was born - because she was very poorly - i had to express for her and the pain came back so i had to stop, so maybe i dont have very good nipples

 

 

 

Clare

[butterfingersbimbo]

I breast fed el for the first twelve weeks but it was a nightmare.....she had oral thrush so it must have been horrible for her to feed, and no one ever really taught me how to do it properly, as you know its not just a case of stick them on and thats it.... I really wanted to do it for longer but after eight weeks she didnt put any weight on so had to put her onto bottles. I felt like a total failure that my milk was no good but at the same time it was also a relief!

[LizK]

My breasts were my son's first obsession I think I breastfed DS1 until he was 2.5 yrs old. Initially it was hard work as he came a little early and had reflux (seems to be some loose association between ASD and reflux?) and nearly jacked it in when he was a few weeks old but managed to persevere. Breastfeeding was very important to Adam, found it emotionally suffocating when he was a toddler at times and still so dependent upon me but now in retrospect I am SO glad I fed him for that long as breastfeeding was his only way he would accept physical comfort from me and feeds were the only times really when we could have a nice snuggly cuddle . I have lots of fond memories of feeding Adam

 

We first noticed something not being quite right with him when he was 3mths old. Probably coincidence but this coincided with me giving him the odd formula top up. We now know that DS1 is intolerant to casein (ina conventional as well as anASD way) and his concentration and hyperactivity have improved lots since stopping it. I have the odd moment when I torture myself wondering if I hadn't given him formula whether we would have prevented problems . I am not aware of any research linking ASD with formula though, I guess it's easy to look back and try to blame something though I suppose the increase in incidence of ASD would fit with the decrease in the numbers of breastfed babies? Anyway try not to think about this too much.

 

 

DS2 was breastfed until 18mths but never so obsessed as his elder brother and less of an emotional experience for me. Had no difficulties feeding him, he came out knowing what to do whereas the world seemed a mysterious place to Adam. Remember Adam as a little baby crying for milk, rooting around but turning his head into thin air in the opposite direction to my breasts Should have known then

 

Lx

[chriss]

I breast fed for 2 years 3 months. I couldn't get him off! He used me as a dummy, basically, and that became tied up with his awful sleeping habits. If you are only getting 3 hours of broken sleep a night but breastfeeding helps settle them, then you will do it. It was a nightmare at first and I was really sore but he would gag every time I tried him with a bottle. Even now he won't put things in his mouth and only uses teaspoons to eat food.

I read somewhere that it is harder to wean autistic kids off the breast, bottles and dummies as they are so inflexible and creatures of habit.

 

By the way , I lost some weight the first year I fed him, then nothing the second year, then piled on 3 stones when I stopped feeding him. To this day my metabolism hasn't recovered and neither has my figure!

[BusyLizzie100]

Oh, I have a right old saga with breastfeeding! I was determined not to use formula or a bottle, but read on and you'll see that I relaxed a lot by the time DS3 came along!

 

DS1 was nine days early and v difficult to get breastfeeding - very sleepy, just kept stopping. I stayed in hospital a week because he just couldn't do it. Finally he did and from there it was a very positive experience (despite several bouts of mastitis) and I fed him up to 15 months (he had a sippy cup for water from about 10 months and then cow's milk the same way). He slept through the night from 10 wks old, so mainly caught up on all his feeds during the day.

 

DS2 was three weeks early and just didn't learn how to feed. He was also born with a hole in his heart, so he was whisked off to Harefield for tests and back to the maternity ward so we put his initial difficulty down to all the disturbances etc. The midwives were really dismissive, along the line of 'oh come along, dear, you've done it before' and we went home. I felt so rubbish about finding feeding him difficult and felt like such an inadequate, bad mother.

 

Right up until the health visitor came on day 10, I expressed concern to the visiting midwives about him - he hadn't pooed, he wasn't weeing, he seemed so scrawny etc - and they totally missed the fact that he has lost a quarter of his birth weight. He was whisked off to hospital in an ambulance, we thought it was his heart failing but in fact he was severely deydrated. The paed said he'd never seen anything like it in this country, it was something you might find in the Third World.

 

He was tube fed for 10 days, I expressed like mad but lost my milk anyway and it was only through medication that my breast milk was 'turned on' again. He went home the day before his due date and at that point was able to breastfeed, although he was rubbish at it and I had blisters on my nipples for five months and bled frequently. I was just determined that he had has such a bad start in life and breastmilk would be the best thing for him. I fed him for 15 months, too. It took him ages to use a sippy cup and even today he prefers a sippy cup and has difficulty with chewing etc.

 

I can look back and say that his early feeding difficulties were definitely down to his ASD. In fact a few months ago his OT lent me a copy of a book that described the suck/swallow/breath synchrony - Out Of The Mouths Of Babes: Discovering The Developmental Significance Of The Mouth and that was a real eye-opener. It even explained things like why he was over a year old before he cut his first tooth and why so much else about his development is delayed, including late crawling and walking etc - and why he is fixated with my mouth!!

 

Anyway, moving on, DS3 came along and took to feeding in the delivery suite, no problems. I had mastitis once a month with him (don't know why, just bad positioning I think) and by this time had absolutely no qualms about giving him formula at 8 months, from a bottle with soft spout rather than a teet, just comfort breastfeeding him at bedtime. He is my best eater of the three, the other two are appalling.

 

Sorry for the long, long saga! It's just that your topic and the subsequent posts struck such a chord with a me and I believe that, in my case, there is a definite link between breastfeeding problems and ASDs. So, for all those who had difficulties, it's not your fault!!!

 

Lizzie x

[Vix]

I breastfed all mine. I didn't notice any difference with DS2 (although it was 4 years ago) He was a whingier baby, but he had no problems with breastfeeding and putting weight on. It was weaning him on to solids that was the problem, I wish I'd never listened to the HV who told me to start weaning as he hadn't put weight on for a couple of weeks (hadn't lost any, just stayed the same, he was 4months old) He hated solid food, to begin with he was ok with the mushy pureed stuff, but as soon as he had lumps he would throw up everywhere. He was well over a year old before he could chew food without being sick. He was also quite sicky as a baby, especially after he'd gone onto formula milk. I'm sure I spent most of his first year mopping up sick!

 

He is fine at eating now, no problems (apart from not using cutlery!) and he's not even that fussy. In some ways I wish I'd breastfed him for longer, but in other ways I'm glad I didn't as he still has a bottle of milk before bed and he's 4.5 now.

 

Vicky

 

xx

[madmooch]

I always had to mush food up for H as he never chewed he swallowed things whole - sitting mushing food up in a cafe for an 18mnth old

 

I always took him to a toddler group and there babies 6 mnth younger than him would be feeding themselves with Bisciuts, crisps, sippy cups - not H i had feed him everything - break bisciuts up for him and pop them in his mouth, tear sandwiches up, put the bottle to his mouth and feed him like a baby - we didn't know what was wrong with him then, just knew there was something different - he didn't start feeding himself finger food until he was 2 - i must have looked like a overbearing mother - not allowing him indepenndance:lol:

 

 

Clare

[Kathrynh]

My DS was given a bottle straight after birth as he was a bit floppy and I always thought this was the reason I never got the hang of breast feeding. That and the fact that the midwives were always too busy or too uninterested to help. Maybe it was cos he is ASD. I kept trying but gave up at 6 weeks cos just wsn't managing and he much preferred the botle. At the age of 5 he still has a bedtime bottle. I dont think he would go to sleep without it. Has to have rice milk though cos intolerant of cow and soya milk.

[LizK]

I always had to mush food up for H as he never chewed he swallowed things whole - sitting mushing food up in a cafe for an 18mnth old

 

I always took him to a toddler group and there babies 6 mnth younger than him would be feeding themselves with Bisciuts, crisps, sippy cups - not H i had feed him everything - break bisciuts up for him and pop them in his mouth, tear sandwiches up, put the bottle to his mouth and feed him like a baby - we didn't know what was wrong with him then, just knew there was something different - he didn't start feeding himself finger food until he was 2 - i must have looked like a overbearing mother - not allowing him indepenndance:lol:

Clare

 

I had similar problems with DS1. He was a good eater in that he ate decent amounts but he struggled getting onto lumpy food and would often gag on a small piece and vomit the whole lot back. I put that down to his reflux but wonder if it was a sign of his general developmental immaturity. He took ages getting the hang of finger foods, friends babys were merrily picking up pices of toast or rice cakes and he just didn't have a clue. If he got it to his mouth he would take a bit bite and swallow without chewing. Remember several occasions when he had those baby biscuits shaped like a dog bone and him choking on it as he tried to swallow half the biscuit He didn't self feed with a spoon until he was 27mths old and even now he'd let me feed him if he could! His fine motor control and coordination still is immature and I guess this was just a reflection of it.

 

DS2 is a completely different kettle of fish. Weaned him later which may have helped onto finger foods and mashed food and he soon learned to use a spoon. He has good hand control and a more mature pen grip than his big brother. He is viciously independent and refuses to let me feed him any food at all to the point now where I am starting to worry as he now gets extremely distressed if I dare move a morsel of food around his plate !!!

 

Lx

[Vix]

I always had to mush food up for H as he never chewed he swallowed things whole - sitting mushing food up in a cafe for an 18mnth old

 

I always took him to a toddler group and there babies 6 mnth younger than him would be feeding themselves with Bisciuts, crisps, sippy cups - not H i had feed him everything - break bisciuts up for him and pop them in his mouth, tear sandwiches up, put the bottle to his mouth and feed him like a baby - we didn't know what was wrong with him then, just knew there was something different - he didn't start feeding himself finger food until he was 2 - i must have looked like a overbearing mother - not allowing him indepenndance:lol:

Clare

 

Do you know I'd forgotten about that! DS2 was exactly the same, I had to feed him till he was around 2 as well, breaking up sandwiches for him etc! I was so worried as DS3&4 were due and I was panicking about trying to feed all 3 of them at once! Luckily he got the hang of it just before they were born. Now I can't stop him eating! He also couldn't figure out the non leaking sippy cups like Anyway up cups, he could only use free flowing ones. He's only just learned to use a straw as well, whereas DS3 & 4 learned months ago (they are just over 2)

[bid]

Have to say my son breast-fed like a dream, weaned with no problems and has never been a picky eater at all!!

 

I had more difficulties with the subsequent three!

 

I loved breast-feeding..nothing beats that lovely cuddley feeling

 

Bid

[madmooch]

Do you know I'd forgotten about that! DS2 was exactly the same, I had to feed him till he was around 2 as well, breaking up sandwiches for him etc! I was so worried as DS3&4 were due and I was panicking about trying to feed all 3 of them at once! Luckily he got the hang of it just before they were born. Now I can't stop him eating! He also couldn't figure out the non leaking sippy cups like Anyway up cups, he could only use free flowing ones. He's only just learned to use a straw as well, whereas DS3 & 4 learned months ago (they are just over 2)

H couldn't use the anyway up cups and he has only just started being able to use a straw, he wouldn't have a dummy either - i think it was the fact that no food came out - he thought whats the point when no food comes out He has always been a very good eater aswell - he'll eat almost anything - only yoghurt with friut bits in he has problems with and chewing meat - so we still have to mush meat for him

 

 

Clare

[bramblebrae]

I wasn't too hung up on breast feeding as my sister had really wanted to and then just couldn't get it too work and became really upset over the whole thing. Anyway I gave it a go and DS took to it very well and very often. His father my ex was very distant from DS and I wanted him to take more part in everything and I wanted to be able to go somewhere without having to be with baby all the time so at about 6 weeks I tried getting DS to have a bottle omg he just wanted nothing to do with it at all he never took a bottle ever. At about 3-4mths he was weaned onto mushy solids and was slow at eating but seemed to enjoy it. I quite liked breastfeeding in the end and was enjoying the weight maintenance effect of it when literally overnight at about 9mths old DS just refused any more breastfeeding(I continued to eat as normal and put on loads of weight:() he was having none of it. I was soaking wet with leaking for ages because of this mind you I pretty much was the whole time it was all such a messy business the whole time really as though he got plenty of milk alot escaped too. Anyway at about 18/20 mths I don't know what happened he did the same with most foods and has been very limited food wise ever since. This week at last I've found a new food he likes cashew nuts only to be told by him 2 days later that he dosen't like his chicken pops anymore so that leaves cereal or porridge now for dinner oh or of course cashew nuts but I think too many of them will be just as bad as his chocolate and pringles obession. On saying all this he is a solid little guy but not over or under weight and above average for height.

 

Lorraine

[keyholekate]

Breat fed both mine. Youngest until two. I had a flat chest for 10 years until I gave up smoking over a year ago.

 

Now I have a cleavage!!!!!!!

and a belly and hips and cellulite.

[venus]

my son was born 4 weeks early and could not suck on my breast or on a bottle.He was tube fed for a week and then started to suck, i did try to breast feed him but couldnot relax as they expected me to feed him in the special care unit which had five other babies in and anybody could come and visit their babies at any time so i gave up .My son has major problems with food, he still only eats pureed food and still has some baby jars that i can mix mashed potato and carrots in, he can eat dry food such as biscuits and crisps but only eats about ten different things, school packed lunches are a nightmare as he will not eat bread or fruit .My son is now five and a half and i think it is due to his autism , when he was a baby he never put anything in his mouth or chewed books like my 2nd son did

[dooday24]

I tried 2 breastfeed reece but he wouldnt suckle was made 2 feel like a failer but then found out he had breathing problems so thats why he didnt suckle i really wanted 2 breastfeed shan but we were spending alot of time in hosp with reece just after she was born and it wouldnt be viable i still feel guilty

[av16]

I breastfed all 3 of mine, A my youngest (Asperger's) fed every 2 hours day and night for the first 61/2 months. It took a lot of work to cut out the night feeds- hours screaming and reassuring comments that it would only take a week, 2 at the most for him to settle. I gradually got it down to 1 feed in the evening by the time he was 11 months, then I got a tummy bug and ddue to dehydration had no milk. A went ballistic and screamed and screamed for hours, DH tried cups bottles juice water to no avail. next evening I tried to feed him but he refused to have anything to do with it and never breastfed again. I should have realised then how different he was going to be.

 

I am very interested in the rate of breastfeeding of cchildren with ASD's, I did train as a breastfeeding supporter with the BfN. I know for some mothers it can be very hard to get started - maybe an early indicator of ASD?

 

AV

[jlp]

I breastfed G until he was 13months. Looking back he had the occasional bottle from 5-6 months old (he started nursery 1 1/2 days a week as I went back to work) and I couldn't express enough for that time. From then he developed severe eczema, then it was mainly facial, and has had it ever since. He also started projectile vomiting when I introduced food and was due to get a tube down his throat to check for problems as he couldn't tolerate lumps or solids and would choke frequently (luckily he stopped doing that in time). He did like bf and was an easy feeder after a nightmare start when I could have quite easily put him on the bottle.

 

L (nt) was b/f until he was 2 1/4 and was a very fussy feeder on and off but totally addicted and I had real problems getting him off the boob unlike his brother who switched to bottles of cows milk easily. He had a milk intolerance, which he seems to have outgrown although he still refuses actual mik) so never had formula.

 

Edited to add - wish i'd know more about allergies and intolerances etc with G as in hindsight it seems so obvious the introduction of formula and food triggered something - maybe not his AS but certainly something with regard to his eczema.

Edited October 16, 2006 by jlp

[LizK]

This thread has been fascinating. Breastfeeding is one of my other interests in life aside from ASD I think some of the hardest and loveliest times breastfeeding Adam have been realted to his ASD. I'm sure his birth difficulties - coming 3 weeks early, waters going early in labour, cord round neck- could be due to his ASD, that he didn't know how to be born properly and I wonder if some of his early feeding difficulties were in part due to immaturity secondary to ASD . Equally some of the closest loveliest moments have been when breastfeeding him and the fact it gave me an opportunity to have close physical contact with him when I couldn't at any other .

 

Post above reminded me though that I was breastfeeding Adam at night until he was over two years of age to the horror of most people who profesied all sorts of dreadful things happening Certainly wasn't by choice, we tried to sleep trian him out of feeding at night on several occasions as an older baby or toddler and could never ditch the 4am int he morning feed. Even saw a sleep specialist when he was 23mths old, tried modified controlled crying again and we were her only failure In the end just had to go with him and he gave up his night feeds when hewas 27mths old. From what I've read since sleep training works in most babies and toddlers unles they have a neurodevelopmental disorder so all makes sense really

 

Lx

[Valiant_Skylark]

I beastfed both mine as I was worried about introducing cow's milk and allergies. HOWEVER... ASD son had practically ALL the problems mentioned above and it was a nightmarish period of my life which I would never want to repeat.

 

If the figures are correct that there is some 50% overlap between people with ASD and dyspraxia then say half the babies might be expected to show these sorts of co-ordination problems with sucking, chewing, swallowing etc? My son scored below the second centlie for most areas to do with sensory integration and praxis, including "oral praxis".

 

I did a first aid course last week and impressed those running it by expertly clearing the blockage from my "baby" with one well-aimed thwack. "Years of practice with a dyspraxic baby", was my dry comment - we had quite a chat after that!

 

I'd STRONGLY recommed that parents with babies (or children)like mine do a paediatric first aid course ASAP; It will boost your confidence in dealing with the inevitable choking and if ever your baby stops breathing you will be a bit better placed to cope.

 

It was our OTs too that seemed best to understand about the feeding issues. Our health visitor was totally ignorant and blamed me for his difficulties with breastfeeding, drinking from anything, choking on anything which wasn't a puree, difficulties sucking...

 

All the "fixation" on the breast issues were there, and perhaps because feeding/sucking was so effortful and tiring for him, he fed every half hour or so.

 

Ahhh, happy, happy days...NOT.

 

vs xx

[butterfingersbimbo]

i forgot about the nightmare of trying to introduce food too.....its only recently that el has started to eat yogs with bits in.......

[Devon mum]

Hi

I breast fed all of my children, but the boys were too lazy - probably my fault as I gave them both dummies.

I got loads of problems with both of them, due to having more supply than demand!!

Then with my daughter, I fed her every time she cried (or should I say nearly drowned her in the first few months?) she had no dummy and I fed her until she was 18 months old. She was never a big feeder though.

 

Keiran had the biggest trouble when weaning, it turned out that rice in premade foods made him constipated, so I had to make his food fresh.

 

Martyn has had to be very careful with additives, we seem to be coming out of the other side of that now as he gets older.

 

None of my children will eat yoghurts with bits in apart from the corner yoghurts with the biscuit bits.

[Nic m]

Hi Clare my daughter also struggled with feeding and food has remained an issue ever since. I had a quick but very painful labour and hayley slept for the three days we spent in the hospital afterwards. the midwives kept trying to get her to latch on but she barely opened her eyes! Midwives said her sleepiness was due to after effects of pain relief i was given and she would be fine when we got home. No such luck by day 5 she was on a bottle and took ages to take any milk.Best bottles we found were avent but it still took an hour for her to take 2oz.Hayley is nearly 10 and food has always been an issue she has an allergy to sobium benzoate and this is in loads of things and now that she is older she can tell me she doesnt like the feeling of certain foods in her mouth.Looking back this helps me make sense of the things she avoided and i believe is a very early sign.Despite all the probems latching on and sucking Hayley has always sucked her thumb so i think it may be connected to co-ordination.

[madmooch]

Cara was tube fed when she was born and when in hospital they tried to force a dummy on her ( probably so they didn't have to work ) when i got her home she took to her thumb instead and is still sucking when she's tired, I thuoght it was the tube feeding that maybe affected her not feeding well but we're waiting for her to be assessed for Aspergers so it may be that - even now she prefers her bottles to eating! If i didn't give her bottles of milk with Vitamins in she'd be a bag of bones!

 

Clare