Soya whilst breastfeeding 6m with cows milk allergy?

[ALS17081982]

Hi,

My doctor said it should be ok for me to drink soya whilst breastfeeding my son who has a suspected cows milk allergy because he is 6 months old. Does this agree with advice you have had?

Thanks!

You can drink soya milk if breastfeeding as long as the baby isn’t also allergic to soya - apparently the proteins are similar so about half of CMPA babies can’t tolerate soya. Age of the baby isn’t relevant so you could have had it from his birth (though he might not have been diagnosed with CMPA so early). It’s really important to make sure you are getting enough calcium if breastfeeding so check that it is fortified. I preferred coconut milk to soya personally. If you are weaning, you can also use soya milk in cooking etc from 6 months, and as a main drink from 12 months.

My DS had CMPA and was also allergic to soya, I ended up using Oatly as a substitute alongside using calcium tablets.

Have you been referred to the paediatricians at the hospital to look after your little one and take them through the milk ladder eventually? They have some great suggestions on alternatives and dairy free cooking etc...

Thanks @Blueroses99 my baby had a reaction to cows milk when I fed him a purée mixed with a little bit of milk. Hes EBF And has never shown allergy signs prior to weaning e.g. rash/swelling/blood in poo (apart from colic which could be unrelated. Or not!). The consultant said I don't really need to cut out milk because he's only ever reacted to being fed cows milk directly but said I could try it to see if it helps with the colic. So when I asked if I could substitute cows milk for soya milk he said I could on the basis the baby is over 6m (and something to do with the body treating the cows and/or soya proteins differently by this point?). I'm not challenging you at all, just trying to understand (I probably know less than anyone on the subject!) but he is a consultant is paediatric gastroenterology at Addenbrookes so there must be something in it? Regardless, it seems like cows milk and soya milk allergies go hand in hand? So I guess replacing the cows milk I drink with soya milk (that I've never had before), is probably not that helpful in case he reacts to that too?

But then your suggestion about adding a little soya milk to a purée for him - that would tell me if he's ok with it or not? I wonder if that's a sensible thing to do? His reaction to cows milk was 'moderate' and only a rash that appeared within a couple of mins and was gone in 20 mins...

Thanks @UghFletcher

We've been referred to a dietician now. Was your baby's allergy to soya less/more/the same in severity as his allergy to soya?

How did you realise he was allergic to soya? I don't have much soya product in my diet so I think I would need to give him a little bit to see if he is allergic, but not sure if that's a safe thing to do?!

I was feeding him and cut out the dairy / used soya but his reactions were still the same after around 6 weeks. Completely cut out all soya as well and he was a completely different baby. The eczema, distended tummy, bad nappies disappeared so quickly.

Also skin prick tests by the hospital confirmed as well.

Ah I didn’t realise you were only getting reactions directly. My DD was very sensitive and did react through breast milk so I gave up dairy while I was feeding her. The colic could be a sign of a reaction though, my DD had reflux and colic too in the early days. My DD has been allergy tested and is non-IGE (which used to be called an intolerance) as her symptoms are not immediate. We are doing the milk ladder and she can tolerate baked milk only. An immediate rash sounds like it might be IGE so I would cut dairy out of your diet for 3 weeks and see if there is any change in him. It’s a good idea to try soya directly before you make the switch. There’s a really good Facebook group for CMPA, a main group and subgroups for Breastfeeding and Weaning, amongst others. I’m finding people very knowledgeable and helpful in there. Might be worth a look.

@Blueroses99 hope the milk ladder goes well. We started at 18 months once we had been given the ok by paeds and at 2yrs 2months can now tolerate everything except 'raw' milk (for want of a better description) life is so much easier!!

Thank so much both of you for the comments! Will look up that Facebook group definitely!

Thank you @UghFletcher. We started the milk ladder at 15 months on the dieticians advise and sailed through the baked/cooked milk stages but have stalled at milk chocolate, and failed the higher steps of the ladder. Nursery accidentally gave her the dairy yoghurt 😣 She is 20 months now and has other illnesses recently so we have taken a break from reintroducing milk. I can imagine it being much easier being able to tolerate milk, from being DF myself I realised how little awareness there is of products that contain milk. Eg Is it dairy free? No it contains eggs. Does it contain milk? No, it has xyz and butter/cream/cheese, so no milk. Do you have a dairy free menu? Yep here’s our gluten free menu 🤦🏽‍♀️

Oh yes, I tend to forget that cows lay eggs too! 🙈

Did either of you use soya formula or another formula at any point? Do you have any recommendations or things to consider when choosing?

My dietician recommended SMA Alfamino which was then prescribed by my GP. I was exclusively expressing (premature baby) but had to get rid of my freezer stocks once I became dairy free. At that time, I was expressing the same amount that she needed each day so there was no surplus to freeze and I was worried about having no safe back up. So she was on EBM with Alfamino top ups for about 5 months, Alfamino only for about 5 months and Soya growing up milk since she turned 15 months (12 months corrected).

There aware 2 types of formula suitable for CMPA - hydrolysed, and amino acid. The latter is prescribed in severe cases, as some babies can tolerate hydrolysed. We didn’t try any others as we knew she reacted through EBM.

@Blueroses99 are prescribed formulas free?

@ALS17081982 yes, prescription formula is free

@ALS17081982 we ended up on prescription neocate as I couldn't express enough to leave for him at nursery.

All free on prescription