Hi -

Since we have a milk allergy in my family, I had a long talk with my
pediatrician about how to deal with my son's feeding when he was born.
Here's the summary of that (and subsequent) conversations.  It should
be of interest to any of you who have babies.

1.  The single greatest risk factor for developing any food allergy
(including a milk allergy) is to have an immediate family member (parent,
sibling, grandparent) with that allergy.
2.  The best way to avoid developing that allergy in a baby is to avoid
the allergen COMPLETELY for at least one year, preferably two.  Therefore,
if your husband has, say, an allergy to soy, then the baby should not be
exposed to ANY soy (in formula, as an ingredient in processed food, etc)
until at LEAST her first birthday and preferably her second.  After that
you can try a small amount, preferably under a doctor's supervision, and
see how it goes.
3.  The next best thing you can do is breastfeed the baby rather than
offering any formula.  Since breastmilk is easy for the baby to digest,
this seems to allow the immature baby's gut the opportunity to strengthen
prior to exposure to the potential allergen.  BUT the lactating mother
should also completely avoid the allergen in her own diet, since some
allergens can get into the breastmilk and trigger a reaction in the baby.

I wondered how this worked for milk allergy.  Apparently milk allergy works
by the same rules.  Breastmilk is FAR better than any formula when you're
at risk for a food allergy, and the lactating mother should not have ANY
dairy products in her diet (including things like sodium caseinate in
processed food, etc.)  However, if the baby shows signs of an allergic
reaction even to breastmilk (rare, but it happens) then you'll have no
choice but to switch to a completely milk-free formula.  (Be careful about
reading the ingredients!  Soy-based isn't always the same as milk-free.)

Following this regimen won't ensure that your baby avoids a milk allergy,
but it will improve her odds.  And I'm sure everyone on this list understands
how difficult a food allergy can be to live with!

I've checked, and there is medical literature to back up my doctor's claims.
So I hope this is of interest, and I'd be eager to hear what other parents
have been told to do with respect to their infants' feeding.  (A lot of
doctors aren't up on food allergies, so I expect to hear some lively
discussion ...)

--Beth Kevles
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  http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic