Breastfeeding problems in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in mothers’ opinion

Abstract

Introduction: The paper presents the analysis of lactation process in the early childhood in children diagnosed with autism spectrum. A structured, detailed interview of mothers and an original survey containing questions concerning lactation and nutrition in the neonatal and infant periods were carried out. Mothers of children with a subsequent autism diagnosis were also asked about worrying symptoms that occurred while breastfeeding. Material and methods: The sample material was obtained from mothers with several children whereas the child diagnosed with autism was in most cases the second one and had healthy siblings. Most surveyed mothers fed children in a natural way at the same time having lactation and nutrition problems in newborns and infants. The paper also presents developmental difficulties at a very early stage reported by mothers in spite of the fact that the full diagnosis of developmental disorders was made at the age of 4 on average. Results: Non-neurotypical symptoms observed by mothers cover the whole range of sometimes very subtle manifestations – from encephalitic scream, sleep disorders, breastfeeding problems, atypical responses, lack of emotional reciprocity to the disorders of sensory processing as well as motor and neurological problems. Conclusions: The study draws attention to the issue of integral child’s development in the neonatal and infant period, the significance of discreet irregularities in the development at a very early stage, which, when combined with the simple screening methods assessing the risk of autism, may be of key importance for timely diagnosis and initiation of adequate forms of therapy. Keywords: breastfeeding and risk of autism, autism spectrum, early symptoms of autism