Re: breastfeeding and apraxia

[Guest guest]

<I also breastfed my son and he has

apraxia. I wonder if it has anything to do with the

mother not getting enough EFA to pass through to the

child.>

YES!! This is exactly what happened to us!

In researching my son's condition, I learned that 60%

of Americans eat diets deficient in EFAs. Vegetarians

are particularly at risk. So are mothers, because a

mother's stores of EFAs will go to building her baby's

brain during pregnancy and breastfeeding. With our

deficient diets, our EFA levels do not recover after

pregnancy and nursing, so we go into subsequent

pregnancies with " less to give " , so to speak. I

believe this is what happened to us--my first

child is precociously verbal, my second is apraxic.

There is scientific support for this idea--in one study,

breastfeeding mothers were supplemented with DHA and their

babies showed cognitive gains.

I don't blame the folks who urged me to breastfeed. If my

son had been artificially fed he'd have gotten no EFAs at

all. I blame obstetricians and pediatricians who assured

me that as long as I ate a " healthy diet " and took my pre-

natal vitamins, everything would be fine. I'm a poster child

for the FDA food pyramid, and still my son has what I'm

convinced is a deficiency disease.

in southern California

Keenan, 26 mo, oral-verbal apraxia and sensory integration disorder

[Guest guest]

,

What follows is almost correct. Except that what pregnant women are

deficient in are the omega-3s and not EFAs in general. We already

know that EFA is a term for both the omega-6 (n-6) and the omega-3 (n-

3) fatty acids. There is usually sufficient omega-6 fatty acid (FA)

intake from vegetable oil such as corn, safflower and soybean oils

(linoleic acid, LA, 18 carbon atom chain and 2 double bonds)) and red

meats (arachidonic acid, AA, 20 carbon atom chain and 4 double

bonds). The problem is usually with the n-3 family which is more

difficult to find and consume. People eat far less fish than they

should. For example the American Heart Association recommends that

every person eat fish (preferably fatty fish) twice a week. A

pregnant women should eat even more, at least one extra meal of

fish. Why? Because during the third semester of pregnancy the

developing embryo's brain requires a daily 80 milligrams of DHA (the

most unsaturated n-3 FA with six double bonds and a 22 carbon atom

chain). This need persists during the post-partum growth period of

the newborn when the DHA is required for brain and vision development

and AA (arachidonic acid) is required for growth. Since DHA is not

provided through formula feeding (because new formulas that will

supplement both DHA and AA are not yet available in the US market it

has to be provided through breast milk.

How does one deal with the dangers of methyl mercury in fish? By

consuming salmon, pacific herring, anchovy, mackerel (not king

mackerel), sardines, sablefish, lake whitefish and bluefish. Even

100 grams of shrimp can contain as much as 400 mg of omega-3FAs.

If fish is not available, one can take supplements. During pregnancy

and after birth the mother can take two to three 1.0 gram

capsules/day of high quality fish oil capsules each with a total EPA

+DHA content of about 600-900 mgs with more DHA than EPA. Such an

intake will suffice for both the mother and the fetus or newborn

during pregnancy and breast feeding.

I think it is important to realize that the relatively new scientific

findings regarding the physiological roles of essential fatty acids

for brain and eye development take time to get recognized and

accepted. Therefore, I don't think that we can throw around blame

for past oversight by medical professionals. However, from now on,

with the FDA approving formula supplementation with DHA and AA, the

time is ripe to undertake wide scale, continuing medical education

courses in this area. Once it validates the therapeutic role of

omega-3 FAs in verbal apraxia through a clinical trial, the CHERAB

Foundation can pioneer in undertaking this educational task.

Katz, Ph.D.

EFA Director of Research CHERAB Foundation

Managing Director, Consortium for Brain Fatty Acids (CFBFA) Omega-3

Research Institute, Inc.

Bethesda, land

http://www.omega3ri.org

>

> <I also breastfed my son and he has

> apraxia. I wonder if it has anything to do with the

> mother not getting enough EFA to pass through to the

> child.>

>

>

> YES!! This is exactly what happened to us!

>

> In researching my son's condition, I learned that 60%

> of Americans eat diets deficient in EFAs. Vegetarians

> are particularly at risk. So are mothers, because a

> mother's stores of EFAs will go to building her baby's

> brain during pregnancy and breastfeeding. With our

> deficient diets, our EFA levels do not recover after

> pregnancy and nursing, so we go into subsequent

> pregnancies with " less to give " , so to speak. I

> believe this is what happened to us--my first

> child is precociously verbal, my second is apraxic.

>

> There is scientific support for this idea--in one study,

> breastfeeding mothers were supplemented with DHA and their

> babies showed cognitive gains.

>

> I don't blame the folks who urged me to breastfeed. If my

> son had been artificially fed he'd have gotten no EFAs at

> all. I blame obstetricians and pediatricians who assured

> me that as long as I ate a " healthy diet " and took my pre-

> natal vitamins, everything would be fine. I'm a poster child

> for the FDA food pyramid, and still my son has what I'm

> convinced is a deficiency disease.

>

> in southern California

> Keenan, 26 mo, oral-verbal apraxia and sensory integration disorder