Rachele Shaw wrote:
>> I really feel this was a great help in his allergies getting better and not
developing an allergy to soy.  I wish more pediatricians knew how to advice
parents with children with allergies.  I found reading and educating myself
was the best thing I ever did. <<

Yes, unfortunately doctors aren't taught much about breastfeeding in
medical school, and hospitals get financial incentives from formula
companies, so most parents are left in the dark in this area. I honestly
can't imagine any parent would knowingly deprive their child of the
benefits of breastmilk - so I think it's up to us to inform our friends.
Childhood allergies and asthma have spread like crazy in the last
few decades, as formula-feeding has become the norm.

Here are a few things to consider...

"Allergies are seven times less common in breastfed infants than in
infants fed on cow's milk preparations."
- Naomi Baumslag, _Milk, Money and Madness_

"The evidence that breastfeeding prevents allergic disease is based on
five factors. First, allergists such as Glaser, noted [...] a greater
prevalence
of allergies in infants brought up on formula than in those brought up
on the breast. Second, breastfed babies, after developing allergies when
given supplemental foods, recover from their allergies when these foods
are avoided. Third, babies on the breast alone may develop allergies
that subside as soon as the food to which the baby is sensitive is
eliminated from the mother's diet. Fourth, some babies - approximately
20 percent in our experience - grow out of their cow's milk allergy by
the age of 12 months. (Such babies, if brought up on breast milk and
not given cow's milk until the age of 12 months would not be expected
to develop cow's milk allergy.) Finally [...] babies with gastroenteritis
due to cow's milk allergy often develop normal gastrointestinal function
when given breast milk alone."
- Leche League, _The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding_

"[...] the incidence of allergies is closely related to the length of time a
baby is breastfed. Babies who were bottle fed from birth [...] developed the
highest percentage of allergies."
- Leche League, _The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding_

"The intestines are the body's nutritional gatekeeper, letting into the
blood the right proteins and keeping out of the blood proteins that may
harm the body - called allergenic proteins or allergens. In the early
months your baby's intestines are more porous [...] allowing foreign
proteins to get through. Around six months the intestines mature and
the gate begins to close, selecting some proteins and rejecting others
[...] Giving your baby only your milk until the intestines mature is the
safest way to keep potentially allergenic proteins out of baby's blood."
- William Sears, _The Baby Book_

And of course, apart from protection against milk and other allergies,
breastfeeding protects the mother against osteoporosis, breast/ovarian/
uterine cancers; and the baby against juvenile diabetes, diarrhea,
ear infections, SIDS, malocclusion (sp?), etc.

Please help spread the word! :)

Laura
------
Laura Marple, SAH Mommy to Pippa (27 Nov 96)
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