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 [log in to unmask] http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic