Down Syndrome and Breastfeeding (Resources)

Print resources

Genna, Catherine Watson, editor. Supporting Sucking Skills, Second Edition. Woodhaven, NY: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2013.

La Leche League International. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding Eighth edition. New York, NY: Ballantine, 2010. pp. 369-70.

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Mohrbacher, N. Breastfeeding Answers Made Simple, Amarillo, TX: Hale Publishing L.P., 2010. pp. 302-04.

Naseef, R. Special Children, Challenged Parents: The Struggles and Rewards of Raising a Child With a Disability. Carol Publishing Group, 1997, ISBN 1559723777. The author, a psychologist and father of a child with autism, helps parents come to terms with their own feelings surrounding their special needs children and explains the need for nurturing and loving guidance for these children. The joys and frustrations of life with a disabled child are candidly and realistically portrayed. Includes a long list of resources and a bibliography.

Rosenfeld-Johnson S. Preventing Oral-Motor Problems in Down Syndrome. Advance for Speech-Language Pathologist and Audiologists 4 August 1997. This article recommends that during breastfeeding the mother hold the child in a position in which his or her mouth is lower than the ears (with baby’s chin tucked slightly) in order to improve long-term oral-motor skill levels.

Sears, W. and Sears, M. The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby – From Birth to Age Two. Little Brown & Company, 1993, ISBN 0316779059. The authors, parents of a child with Down Syndrome, discuss breastfeeding babies with Down Syndrome (pp 181-182) and the special challenges and rewards of parenting these children (pp 395-400).

Sears, M. and Sears, W. The Breastfeeding Book. Little Brown & Co., 2000, ISBN 0316779245. pp. 213-214.

Stray-Gunderson, Karen, editor. Babies With Down Syndrome. Woodbine House, 1995, ISBN 0933149646.

Internet resources

Breastfeeding a baby with Down Syndrome

Welcome To Holland by Emily Perl Kingsley

Helping Babies Who Have Down Syndrome Learn To Breastfeed by J. Renee Toth

Breastfeeding an infant with Down Syndrome from Children’s Hospitals and Clinics Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN

Breastfeeding the Hypotonic Infant – Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Clinical Protocol #16. BREASTFEEDING MEDICINE. Volume 2, Number 2, 2007.

Breastfeeding Your Baby with Down Syndrome from the New Zealand Down Syndrome Association

Breastfeeding Babies with Special Needs. La Leche League International FAQ.

Breastfeeding a Baby with Down Syndrome. La Leche League International FAQ.

General Information

Down Syndrome: Health Issues by Dr. Len Leshin, MD, FAAP. This website, created by a pediatrician who has a son with Down Syndrome, is an excellent source of information and resources.

Down Syndrome by William Sears, MD. Parenting experts William and Martha Sears have a son with Down Syndrome. This is the portion of their parenting site that discusses Down Syndrome.

Welcoming Babies with Down Syndrome by Pam Wilson

Growth Charts for Children with Down Syndrome by Greg Richards

Health Supervision for Children With Down Syndrome Pediatrics February 2001, volume 107 / issue 2