Patient's question:
Are all mentally disabled infants difficult to breastfeed? How difficult is it? My baby also finds breastfeeding difficult. When he was just born, as soon as his mouth was near the nipple, he started crying. It took comforting to get him to suck. After coming home, there wasn't enough milk, and the bottle was also hard to drink. It took some time before he started sucking. Is this considered breastfeeding difficulty? It's definitely not because he's mentally disabled, right?Doctor's answer:
It is for children with congenital Down syndrome who have feeding difficulties, as they may not know how to suck and have poor sucking ability. Therefore, for the situation you mentioned, it is necessary to first rule out whether the child has Down syndrome. Normal children will have a natural instinct to seek food and will suck the bottle when hungry; they will never refuse to eat indefinitely.Your child was previously able to suck breast milk, which is normal. The issue is just that they are not accustomed to the new bottle, which is a common problem and should be considered a normal occurrence. Generally, it is recommended to express breast milk into the bottle and carefully observe whether there is stability. It is not necessarily a sign of intellectual disability. The harm of intellectual disability to a child is significant. Once family members notice the child's symptoms, they should promptly take them to a regular hospital for diagnosis. At the same time, they should pay close attention to the child's dietary issues.