{"id":815,"date":"2015-12-09T16:27:50","date_gmt":"2015-12-09T08:27:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/?p=815"},"modified":"2015-12-15T12:38:52","modified_gmt":"2015-12-15T04:38:52","slug":"tips-for-parents-of-down-syndrome-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/tips-for-parents-of-down-syndrome-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for parents of Down Syndrome children"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_816\" style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/ezura-550x367.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-816\" class=\"size-full wp-image-816\" src=\"http:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/ezura-550x367.jpg\" alt=\"Dr Ezura Madiana Md Monoto : \u2018Sometimes they don\u2019t readily suckle when you offer the breast because they are too tired to suck. What you can do is stimulate your let-down reflex by expressing a bit of the milk onto the nipple and that will encourage the baby to suck.\u2019\" width=\"550\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/ezura-550x367.jpg 550w, https:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/ezura-550x367-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/ezura-550x367-360x240.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-816\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr Ezura Madiana Md Monoto : \u2018Sometimes they don\u2019t readily suckle when you offer the breast because they are too tired to suck. What you can do is stimulate your let-down reflex by expressing a bit of the milk onto the nipple and that will encourage the baby to suck.\u2019<\/p><\/div>\n<p>DOWN Syndrome children are just like other children. They are not happy all the time \u2013 this is a myth. And, it is not a mental disorder; Down Syndrome (DS) is a chromosomal disorder.<\/p>\n<p>These are some of the facts presented by Dr Ezura Madiana Md Monoto, lecturer and family medicine specialist at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, at the recent PRISMA 2015 conference.<\/p>\n<p>Her workshop, \u201cThe Upside of Down \u2013 Supporting Parents of Babies with Down Syndrome\u201d, proved to be eye-opening to those not so familiar with this disorder.<\/p>\n<p>She said it is important to support breastfeeding mothers because DS infants have these challenges:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>low muscle tone<\/li>\n<li>non-rhythmic sucking<\/li>\n<li>arching of the body<\/li>\n<li>over-sensitivity to stimulation<\/li>\n<li>weak reflexes for sucking and swallowing and gagging<\/li>\n<li>may tire more easily and not nurse long enough to get the hind milk, which is high in calories, resulting in poor weight gain<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cWhat are we going to do to help these mothers? Suggest they get help from healthcare professionals, lactation consultants and counsellors, doctors, paediatricians, lactation nurses \u2013 they might be able to help offer support.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA baby with low muscle tone usually sucks better when the head and bottom are level. So, we can suggest that they hold the baby in a modified cradle hold and support with a pillow so that the body is aligned. If the baby tends to arch the body, try to hold the body flat, with knees bent and spine rounded. You can use a swaddling blanket or modify it to a football hold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes DS babies don\u2019t readily suckle when you offer the breast because they are too tired to suck. What you can do is stimulate your let-down reflex by expressing a bit of the milk onto the nipple and that will encourage the baby to suck. Look for jaw, ear and temple movement, and use the dancer hand position to support the infant\u2019s chin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis will help your baby press the nipple and areola between the gums,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>Dr Ezura also offered some tips about the OKU (<i>orang kurang upaya<\/i> or disabled person) card.<\/p>\n<p>She pointed out that any paediatrician at a government hospital can sign the form for parents to apply for the OKU card as the signs for DS are very obvious. There is no need to go for any tests.<\/p>\n<p>The OKU card provides some benefits to the holder, such as discounts when travelling on public transport (MAS, KTM \u2013 counter sales only for both), free passport and MyKad replacement.<\/p>\n<p>There is also the RM150 allowance each month. However, Dr Ezura informed that there are certain criteria that need to be complied with in order to get the allowance.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the child must attend the PDK (Pusat Pemulihan Dalam Komuniti or Rehabilitation Centre by government and NGO) eight times a month. This is because the allowance will be channelled to the parents through the PDK.<\/p>\n<p>However, Dr Ezura reminded parents that not all the PDK centres are involved in this programme, so do check before registering your child.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAttending eight times a month sounds easy, but it is not so when your child is prone to seizures or if your child tires easily and the centre keeps sending him home,\u201d said Dr Ezura.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a9 2015 <a href=\"http:\/\/thotsntots.com\/\">Thots N Tots<\/a><\/strong>. <strong>IMPORTANT<\/strong>: This article was faithfully reproduced from<a href=\"http:\/\/thotsntots.com\/tips-for-parents-of-down-syndrome-children\/\"> Thots N Tots website<\/a>, with the permission of the owner. To view the original article on Thots N Tots\u2019s website, please visit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/thotsntots.com\/tips-for-parents-of-down-syndrome-children\/\">http:\/\/thotsntots.com\/tips-for-parents-of-down-syndrome-children\/<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DOWN Syndrome children are just like other children. They are not happy all the time \u2013 this is a myth. And, it is not a mental disorder; Down Syndrome (DS) is a chromosomal disorder. These are some of the facts presented by Dr Ezura Madiana Md Monoto, lecturer and family medicine specialist at Universiti Kebangsaan [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,37],"tags":[39,47,48,49,50,51],"class_list":["post-815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-liputan","tag-breastfeeding","tag-down-syndrome","tag-dr-ezura-madiana-md-monoto","tag-lactation","tag-oku","tag-oku-card"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=815"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":817,"href":"https:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815\/revisions\/817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysianbfpc.org\/prisma2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}