Breastfeeding and Infant Formulas
Breastfeeding provides optimal nutrition for babies and can also help prevent certain infections in babies. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life. Normally babies will not develop allergic symptoms while being exclusively breastfed.
However, very sensitive babies can have immunological reactions.
This is not allergy to breast milk itself. It is an allergic reaction to small amounts of dietary proteins (e.g. cow milk protein, egg protein, etc) that pass from mother to baby in the breast milk.
When allergic symptoms arise despite exclusive breastfeeding, the ideal solution is to eliminate these symptoms but still maintain breastfeeding.
If a maternal elimination diet proves too difficult or ineffective, cessation of breastfeeding and the introduction of an alternative infant formula may need to be considered. This is a sensitive matter, which needs to be discussed between the mother and her doctor.
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