Assessment of the technique of breastfeeding in babies with down syndrome

Objective: To evaluate the technique and duration of breastfeeding in healthy children and children with Down Syndrome (DS) using the breastfeeding observation form. Materials and methods: An observational study of a prospective cohort was carried out at the Clinical Hospital of Granada during 2015. The Study Group consisted of 40 children with DS and the control group was formed by each newborn with DS and a healthy new-born with the same characteristics of weight and gestational age was selected. The new-borns evaluated shared housing with the mother where the technique was valued during the first 5 days postpartum by a health professional. A bivariable analysis was performed to compare the groups using Student’s “T” test for numerical variables and chi-square for categorical variables. Results: Lactogenesis onset was earlier in the DS group (92.5 % in the first 24 hours vs 20 %; p <0.001). It was observed that 60 % of the healthy children were breastfed for more than three months while in the group of babies with DS this time period was 47.5 %. Conclusions: The results of this study reveal that the breastfeeding technique presented at the beginning more difficulties in mothers of children with DS and it has been shown that technical errors influence the onset and duration of breastfeeding in mothers of these children.