Abstract
The purpose of this study was to analyse problems during weaning based on the results from the questionaires to the mothers of children with Down syndrome (DS).
We also discussed the contents of the nutritional instruction by the nutritionist at the first session. The subjects were divided into 2 groups, one was a group of 52 children with DS many of whom had congenital heart disease and the other was a group of 143 controls who had no disease.
We obtained the following results.
1. At the beginning and the during weaning, the anxiety toward weaning on the past of the mothers of children with DS was statistically more remarkable than that of the control group.
2. At the beginning of weaning, the anxiety of mothers for the time of the start of weaning was more noticeable in the DS group with congenital heart disease (CHD) than that without CHD. As the weaning progressed, the anxiety for the volume of milk and the method of imparting food became more remarkable.
3. The DS group with CHD surgery started weaning the latest, followed by the group with CHD observation, and the third group without CHD. The control group started the earliest.
4. As for the nutritional instruction by the nutritionist, the largest portion of the instructions was devuted to how to cook in the initial stage of weaning, nutritional problems in the middle stage and other various problems.
