Does BF help already existing allergies?

[Comma2]

DD almost 9 months has allergies to nuts, soy, milk, eggs, peas, sesame and salmon and god knows what else.

I'm still nursing, but I would like to stop for several reasons (would like to take some medication, not be tied down so much, as went pretty much without pause from older dd to this one...you know the shtick. Oh yes- would like to be able to eat more than chicken and toast, this is stressful).

BUT, if it helps her at all dealing or overcoming her food allergies, I would never stop. Neither allergist nor ped has any idea. I know it supposingly helps to prevent allergies, but looks like that train has sailed.

Does anybody know about bf and already existing allergies?

it doesnt really help with the cure or control of allergies, but does help with protection from general infection.

how is babies general health?
if she has eczema is this under control?

i fed my allergic child until he was 15 months old, his skin improved at first, mainly because we didnt have the full list of allergies.....but, once i stopped feeding him, he went from infection to infection, needed months of antibiotics, for ears/chest/skin etc etc.

as baby increases food intake, breastfeeding does drop a little anyway. but you can certainly be able to find a safe formula, neocate for instance, or simply combine a little of both !

however if you are finding it difficult to maintain breastfeeding because of your own health, through cutting out too many foods in your diet, well, your health comes first. as you are caring for your children.
so , again would recommend a safe allergy formula from your gp.

I'm in a similar situation. Ds CMP and random other less serious and easier to avoid allergies is 13 months and thriving on a mix of breastmilk and neocate. We are trying to gradually cut out the breastfeeds but I am terrified to stop completely.

Our dietician and allergy consultant are both keen that he continues breastmilk but understand that I have my reasons for cutting back ? stopping. They still see it as the best option for him though. I haven't asked the reasoning. The difference perhaps for us is that he had minimal reaction to my CMP intake i.e. when I cut it out he got less snotty and chesty but we hadn't really seen those as symptoms of the problem before that.

Hi Comma2. I?m very pro-breastfeeding but don't know of any research that is specific to multiple food allergies. I?ll try to find out. Although it?s true that breastfeeding can?t exactly ?cure? allergies?, there are ongoing benefits and the train has not necessarily sailed.

Here are just a few of my own personal reasons for continuing to breastfeed. Apologies if this isn?t helpful - please disregard the whole list if you really do want to formula feed...

1. Although my DS does already have severe multiple food allergies, I think breastfeeding might prevent them from getting worse. I strongly suspect that breastfeeding might help to slow or even halt the ?allergic march? of hay fever, asthma etc.

1. It's hard to make sure that DS gets a balanced diet, because he is allergic to so many things. I feel happier knowing that my body will make sure (by ?robbing itself? if necessary!) that DS gets iron, calcium and the other nutrients that he needs.

1. Breastfeeding gives some protection from the ?ordinary? ills of childhood, such as ear infections and tummy bugs. If DS does get sick, sometimes breast milk is the only thing he can keep down, and it comforts him and stops him from being dehydrated.

1. Breastfeeding has forced me to exclude all DS?s allergens from my own diet, but I actually see this as positive ? partly because I don?t want him to be the only one to suffer and would rather join in with him, and partly because it?s really good practice for feeding him a balanced diet when he is finally weaned.

Lots of mums who post on here have had success with the special formulas, and there are also lots who have continued to breastfeed. Perhaps best not to stop breastfeeding unless you are absolutely sure it is what you want to do, because it?s a difficult decision to reverse.

I wanted to post exactly the same question today!

DD (allergic to eggs and cows milk) is almost 10 months and I'm still BFing.
I would fully agree with greenbananas above.
I understand that some mothers cannot BF "forever" and I consider myself lucky I don't have to go back to work immediately, but I also think that Neocate is such an artificial, synthetic product with no special benefits apart from filling up their tummy that I prefer to BF and exclude her allergens from my own diet.
But it's my personal view.

Also we just had new allergy tests today and it appears that her cows milk allergy isn't that strong anymore. Maybe a coincidence, but it strengthened my belief in the benefits of breastmilk...!

Thanks everybody!
I fully agree with everything you say, Greenbananas. Plus, dd is nowhere near willing to go without bf.
But for how long does everybody nurse? It has to stop sometime, doesn't it (pleeeeaaase)?
A lovely girl on another thread here said she'd nurse for 18 months. Will go back and ask if her ped recommended that.

As Ds was CMP allergic, if I had given up bfing before he was 2, I was advised to give him a specialist formula as oat/soy/rice milk aren't nutritionally as suitable as cow's milk which non allergic babies can go onto instead of formula.

I therefore bf him until he was 2 at which point he then had oat milk as a main drink. the formula was disgusting and he wouldn't drink it and I felt it was such an artificial thing that I preferred to keep bfing him. It also became a lot easier as I bf him just morning and before bed after he was one and I was too lazy to clean bottles etc.

I have no idea if it helped his allergies in any way, but he has grown out of a few of them, soya, sesame and chickpeas.