This came across the wires today.....check out the study sponsor.

Kathy

Formula not linked to child allergies

NEW YORK, Jul 22 (Reuters) -- The consumption of cows' milk formula in
the first few days of life does not increase an infant's long-term
risk for allergic illness, according to a report.

The study findings are a step towards "dispelling the fears related to
the concept of 'the dangerous bottle,"' say a team of Dutch
researchers led by Dr. Marijke de Jong of the University of Amsterdam.
Their report appears in the current issue of Archives of Disease in
Childhood.

Infant formula made with cows' milk has come under fire in recent
years. Some nutritionists and pediatric health experts argue that the
consumption of cows' milk, even in small amounts, can weaken a child's
immune system and stimulate allergies.

In their recent study, de Jong and her colleagues tracked the 2-year
incidence of allergy sensitivity and illness in a group of over 1,500
healthy newborns. Half of the newborns were fed a formula containing
cow's milk during their first 3 days of life, while the other half
received a nutritionally-similar formula containing no cow's milk. All
of the infants were later breastfed for at least 6 weeks.

The authors conclude that "early and brief exposure to cows' milk in
breastfed children does not increase the risk of (allergic) disease in
the first 2 years." For example, they found that rates for allergic
reactions during the first year of life were similar among those
babies fed cow's milk (10%) and those fed the nondairy formula (9.3%).
This slight difference was deemed "not significant" by the researchers
and was in fact reversed during the second year, with 9.6% of
dairy-fed babies showing signs of allergy compared with 10.2% of the
nondairy-fed infants.

In an accompanying commentary published in the journal, Dr. Timothy
David of Booth Hall Children's Hospital in Manchester, UK, believes
the finding helps dispel "the received wisdom, more of a religious
belief than a scientific fact... that a single bottle of milk formula
is enough to totally destroy the delicate balance of the infant's
protective immune system."

Still, David notes that the Dutch study was funded by a European
formula manufacturer, Nutricia Nederland BV, of Zoetermeer, the
Netherlands. He believes that while occasional formula use might be
acceptable, the "desirability" of feeding newborns with a bottle
rather than the breast is "is quite another matter." SOURCE: Archives
of Disease in Childhood 1998;79:97-98, 126-130.