Anyway, final point - as I like to reflect on whether I am being fair or not, and tbh, just out of interest, I had a look at the relationship between breastfeeding and allergies in my coffee break this morning?
Basically, the consensus seems to be that a generation of bottlefeeding mums in the 1960s and 1970s is a contributary factor to the big rises in food allergies. Makes sense to me, because what you have is basically mums introducing a highly processed artificial food to the babys' immature little gut from birth. It also says, if you want to protect a child from allergies, breastfeed. And in particular, if you have a child who is at a higher risk of food allergies, then you should be breastfeeding them as long as poss, and certainly for the first year, whilst mum limits her diet appropriatley.
I know posters will be interested, so here's some cut and paste from the sites... and some links:
· Dramatic increases in the number of food allergies have been linked to falling breastfeeding rates in the 1960s and 1970s and the rise of convenience foods and early weaning;
· Breastfeeding is wonderful for babies with food allergies. If possible, breast-feed your baby until they are at least 1 year old. Other advice is to just breastfeed as long as possible, as bf-ing limits gives the child the best chance against not developing long-standing allergies. The breast-feeding mother of an allergy-prone child should avoid eating or drinking milk products, peanuts, and eggs during this time.
· The allergy-prone child should not have any solid foods until the age of 6 months, and wait longer before trying particularly allergic foods.
· Breastfeeding can prevent many food allergies. This is especially true if the mother forgoes some of the most allergic foods (especially peanuts and perhaps milk or eggs). On a positive note, mothers who eat beneficial bacteria, as in yogurt, while pregnant and nursing may help prevent food allergies.
www.drgreene.com/21_1093.html www.bipolarfocus.org/1libr/pa/pa_food 2all_hhg.htm
www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T041800.asp
www.nutramed.com/children/inf ant.htm
Then I looked to see how hard it is to have a lactose free diet ? Doesn't look that hard if you're prepared to do some basic cooking. There are lots of menu planners, e.g. on Tesco site and Sainsburys.
On the whole, I conclude I am not being unreasonable to think that not bf-ing a child with allergies is very much a choice. I have to say, with the strength of evidence available ? if I had a baby with food allergies, I would consider it well worth the hassle?. Would miss my decaf lattes though?.