Breastfeeding keeps my four-year-old's ADHD at bay, so I won't stop

Vickie Krevatin’s four-year-old son Jessy was at a party last week that left him uncontrollable with excitement. When Vickie’s attempts to stop him knocking over drinks, shouting and throwing toys failed, she took him to a quiet room, removed her blouse, lay him on top of her and let him suckle her breast.

Jessy may be a strapping 3ft 3ins tall and old enough to start school next month, but Vickie breastfeeds him five times a day because, she says, it alleviates his symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - the most commonly diagnosed behavioural disorder in children. “Every time he is offered ‘boobies’ he is calm,” says Vickie. “Breastfeeding is as effective as drugs for keeping his symptoms under control. I dread to think where we would be without breastmilk.”

Despite the well-known health benefits of breastfeeding, only one per cent of British women do so exclusively for the World Health Organisation’s recommended six months, while extended breastfeeding (the WHO recommends it is continued until the age of two) is so rare it is seen as a societal taboo. Earlier this month US mother Jessica Anne Colletti, 26, caused controversy when she posted a picture of herself breastfeeding her 16-month-old son and his 18-month-old friend on Facebook, with many claiming the boys, even at their age, were too old to be nursing.

“I know people don’t regard it as ‘normal’ but I don’t care,” says Vickie, 42, from Basingstoke, Hants. A devoted mother who quit her job as a financial crime auditor when Jessy was six months old and now works from home as a jeweller, she adds: “Jessy won’t be breastfeeding when he’s 18 but I have no intention of stopping until he’s ready.”

Breast milk contains naturally occurring chemicals called nucleotides that induce sleepiness

ADHD, whose main symptoms are hyperactivity and impulsive behaviour, is thought to be caused by underactivity of chemicals called neurotransmitters in the brain and a poorly developed prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain that controls “executive functions” including self-control).

Diagnoses have soared in recent years - the NHS estimates that between two and five per cent of school-age children suffer to some extent, although some experts believe the rise in diagnoses is due to other health complaints or a child’s natural exuberance being misdiagnosed.

While there is no cure, the most common treatment is methylphenidate, a stimulant drug most commonly known by the brand name Ritalin, which increases the activity of the neurotransmitters dopamine and noradrenaline. Figures released this month showed that prescriptions for Ritalin have more than doubled in a decade, reaching almost a million last year.

Jessy, diagnosed with ADHD this February, has been taking Equasym XL, another brand of methylphenidate, since March. “,” says Vickie. But, she maintains, breastfeeding is also vital in helping her son calm down.