To continue breastfeeding or not

[custardpies]

Hi

My 6 month old baby has really bad eczema and wind / reflux. I know that she is allergic / intolerant to dairy but I am not sure if she is intolerant to any other things or not. We are waiting for a referral to see a paed about the allergy / intolerance (she is already under dermatology care for eczema).

Basically, my question is should I continue breastfeeding or not? Would it be better for her to just be on a special formula eg nutramigen or neocate? Or should I continue breastfeeding when I don't really know what is it in my breastmilk that is causing her all these problems?

I would love to continue breastfeeding as it is so much easier than bottle feeding and also, for the antibodies etc. But if it is making her ill, should I really be continuing with it when there is an alternative?

Any words of advice would be kindly appreciated.

Hi Custard,

It sounds as if you've overcome a lot of struggles to BF for 6 months so a massive well done for that :) Have you been dairy-free or limited the whole time?

I really think you and your DD would benefit from one-to-one help from a breastfeeding counsellor so you can chat through everything that has happened and come up with some options. Try LLL or NCT- 0300 330 0771

There is some information here that you might find helpful, along with some stories from BF mothers of babies with allergies.

Let us know how it goes with the paed, I hope you will get a clearer idea of what is causing your DD's eczema and reflux.

Given her age, you might find the formulas a no go because of the taste (I was told this as by 6 months I'd hit a wall and felt crap about feeding DS when he had reflux).

However BM is the best thing as it's easy to digest. I found a simple diet for me and DS when on solids kept things under control. Also the emotional side of bf was important - especially when DS was ill/teething etc.

Have you cut any foods from your diet? Soya can cause similar problems as can other animal milks (eg goats), so be careful there. Some say spicy foods are also an issue (I had chilli last night and DD was very windy afterwards!)

Are you 100% sure it's via BM that is causing the skin problems? DS's flares up in winter (central heating) and we have to avoid certain chemicals in his shampoo etc.

Thanks for your replies, Eau and Iggly.

I have stopped taking dairy for a few weeks now. Her reflux / wind is a lot better. But every so often, she would have the same screaming fits / windiness that suggests to me she is still intolerant / allergic to something. I don't know what it is though. I am keeping a food dairy but it is still difficult to pinpoint what it could be.

I asked the gp to prescribe some nutramigen recently as I wanted to use it in her food. She is taking that with no problems. And that's why I started thinking maybe I should totally switch to it. However, I don't want to stop breastfeeding if it wouldn't make a differance to her eczema / reflux. Hard to tell though, isn't it?

Thanks for the suggestion of ringing a breastfeeding counsellor, Eau. I think I will do that.