 Dr.
Jane Morton,
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University School
of Medicine, is an expert on nursing premature infants as well
as a
member of the Breastfeeding.com medical advisory board. Dr.
Morton has answered many of your breastfeeding questions.
Dr. Morton works one-on-one with new mothers at the
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University,
teaching moms how to breastfeed successfully. In 1997, Focus
Magazine named Dr. Morton one of the "Best Doctors in the
Bay Area," and she was again selected by her peers as one
of "Silicon Valley's Best Physicians" as reported in
The Sane Jose Magazine in 1999.
 Will formula cause allergies
later in life?
| NAME: |
Sylvia
|
| BABY'S NAME: |
Tom |
| BABY'S AGE: |
4 1/2 months |
|
BIRTH WEIGHT: |
3450 gr |
|
CURRENT WEIGHT: |
7500 gr |
Hi.
I have a very desperate question. I am currently breastfeeding
my son. Because of allergies (eczema) I would like to give him
breastmilk only until he is 6 months old, but since about 1
month he is becoming more hungry - asking for food about every
two hours, also at night. Needles to say, I am exhausted!
I have
asked for help and it was suggested that I pump the milk and try
to get him back on feeding every four hours. Now here is my
problem, I pumped milk and only got 50 ml. total out of my
breasts, so probably he is really hungry! So now it was
suggested that I give him some formula next to the breastmilk,
but I am so worried about doing this! I am in desperate need of
some rest, but I would also want to do what is right for him.
Could giving him some formula cause him to have allergic
problems later in life? Or is it really OK to give him this
right now, so we can both get some rest and so that I can get my
supply back up? I hope you can help me! Thank you.
Dear Sylvia,
I understand your concern and I would take all of the reasonable
measures to augment your production. But, the most
important thing is to make sure that Tom is getting the calories
that he needs. If you are concerned about allergies, this
might be helpful. The most allergenic formulas are the
cow's protein formulas - namely Enfamil, Similac, and SMA.
One step less allergenic would be the soy-based formulas, such as
Isomil, Soyalac, Prosoybe, etc. Then, still one step less
allergenic would be Good Start formula. Finally, the least
allergenic formulas are Nutramigen, Alimentum, and Pregestamil.
These last three are expensive, not easy to find, and smell like
wallpaper glue. Most babies older than three months don't
like the taste. But, you could try. (Goats milk is
not a safe option as it contains too little folate).
Another possibility is to begin low allergenic foods, such as
rice cereal. In Tom's case, I would definitely defer
introducing the most allergenic foods until he is 12 months or
older. These would include dairy product such as yogurt,
chocolate, peanuts (peanut butter), citrus (including tomatoes),
fish (particularly shell fish), egg whites, and berries. The
older the baby the more capable he will
be of handling large allergenic proteins. Usually, by one year
even babies with parents with allergies will be more likely to
handle these allergenic foods without difficulty. But you are
absolutely right, eczema can be a sign of intolerance to a food
and can be worsened by early introduction of allergenic foods.
Hope this is helpful.
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