hypotonia and alcohol from breastmilk?

[Cameron's Mommy]

My son is about to turn 16 months old and we had him evaluated a week ago because he is not walking yet, can;t really stand on his own and is not talking... They said he had low muscle tone and has the language development of an 8 month old.. which when I looked it up sounds like hypotonia. He has not been diagnosed with anything yet but it sounds like him. seems lazy, lacks ambition to meet milestone, late with many milestones, has constipation issues, was a VERY late eater (solids) etc.. Now I am wondering what it is from and starting to feel very worried and guilty that it could be from drinking? I never touched a sip of alcohol while pregnant and didn't drink anything until he was about 6 or 7 months old when he was starting to space out his feedings. then I started to have a couple drinks a week, usually one a night, every 2 or 3 days. when he is sleeping but he does wake up and nurse before I go to sleep... I thought it was safe to nurse him an hour or two after having one drink now I don;t know.. and I;m really upset with myself. Breastfeeding is really important to me and he is still nursing, I thought it was the best thing in the world for him and now i;m worried... does anyone know if there is a connection? ... people always told me it was fine and that many women have a glass of wine a day or a beer a day to help with their milk!

[by-the-lake]

Hello
Cannot read and not post, but I really don't see any connection between drinking alcohol while nursing and your sons issues. I have no official title that allows me to say this, but, our lactation consultants at work say one drink will not affect a nursling, even if its one a day.
My son has many of your sons issues. Our neurologist says my sons hypotonia comes from depression in his central nervous system; he was born this way. Was your son he late on milestones before you started drinking at age 6-7 months? Probably. Don't be so hard on yourself.
Which type of specialist is seeing your son?
Hugs to you mama.

[Roar]

It is a really common and natural thing when kids have problems for moms to try to find a way to blame themselves. I've seen this over and over again on special needs lists. If we are responsible then we are in control. The reality is that there is lots of stuff that happens to kids that we can't predict, control, or even understand.

If your theory was correct then France, Italy, and a lot of other places where moderate drinking is common throughout pregnancy and nursing would be full of kids with hypotonia but that isn't the case. And, many people here, myself included lived pristine lives of organic goodness and still have kids with multiple problems. It happens.

So, no I don't think even a tiny bit that it is possible a few drinks while nursing made this happen. I would encourage you to skip the guilt trip because it is a waste of time and instead focus your energy on the here and now. Are you confident he's getting a good evaluation? Is he in therapies like occupational and physical therapy? Are you aware of some of the things you can do with him that may help his motor development?

[Cameron's Mommy]

Ladies thank you for responding I guess I do try to control alot of things and I do feel responsible for every aspect of his life being his mother. Roar I guess you are right about getting over the guilt trip but I just needed to be sure...plus I do read alot of conflicting things about alcohol and breastfeeding. I have not taken him to his primary care doctor yet to get an actual diagnoses because we are still waiting for the physical therapist to complete their eval. We just had a special instructor and a speech therapist evaluate him so far and they were confident that he has low muscle tone, normal range cognitively, and speech on the level somewhere between 7 and 9 months.

[devon]

My son has every of the same things you posted your son has (except for the speech) and some more things as well. He's 17 months old. I've never drank at all. He has a spontaneous genetic condition (meaning no one else in our family has it) that caused something called Noonan's Syndrome. THAT is the cause for the hypotonia, etc.

I wouldn't worry about the drinking part of it.

I highly suggest the PT, OT, etc. He's been receiving therapy since he was 8 months old and we ramped it up the last 3 months and he has made SUCH great gains. He is starting to crawl 4 point stance instead of army crawling, and has taken a few independent steps. I would not have said that I would see him doing those things so quickly if you had asked me 4 months ago.

Big hugs.

[Juvysen]

FWIW, I drank while nursing all three of mine and DD took her first steps at 7 months, Ds1 took his first steps before nine months and my 6 month old holds his weight on his legs (and has since 2 months) and is in the up-on-hands-and-knees rocking pre-crawler phase, so I would doubt it has anything to do with drinking while nursing

be gentle with yourself

[Cameron's Mommy]

Mamas thanks again for giving me your honest opinions of the situation, sometimes you just need to be reaffirmed i guess.. Now I cant wait to see what the doctor says I shall update later

[mrsfru]

No relation at all. You didn't cause the hypotonia. Both of my boys have hypotonia, and both developed it (or showed signs) before I started having a drink again here and there. You are born with the muscle tone you have--it doesn't really get better or worse in and of itself, although w/therapy and exercise you can make the muscles stronger and more able to sustain activity to make up for it. Hypotonia has many causes--prematurity, genetics, etc. My boys were both preemies, plus my hubby is a bit hypotonic himself. Muscle tone is genetic for some. Also, some disorders are associated w/hypotonia, but it can exist on it's own too. Treatment in Physical Therapy right now can be very, very helpful. You are doing the right thing--seek therapy for him and let yourself off the hook. You definitely did not cause him to have poor muscle tone!

Hugs

mrsfru

[seasiren]

Originally Posted by Juvysen

FWIW, I drank while nursing all three of mine and DD took her first steps at 7 months, Ds1 took his first steps before nine months and my 6 month old holds his weight on his legs (and has since 2 months) and is in the up-on-hands-and-knees rocking pre-crawler phase, so I would doubt it has anything to do with drinking while nursing

be gentle with yourself

ditto. Keep breastfeeding!!