Are bf help lines impartial?

[Catsu]

I'm trying to decide whether it will be better for my baby's health to carry on bf'ing or stop due to the situation with her health...
I don't kbow if I'm doing the right thing or if hormones are clouding my judgement. If I phone a helpline will they give objective advice or if I'm wavering will they encourage me to bf regardless?
Who can I get advice from who knows about bf'ing but is impartial?!

When I called they were very circumspect

Asked lots of questions and made no judgements

What is wrong with your baby's health that you think you need to stop feeding?

All the helplines are good IME - their advice is just that - advi e and you can choose to take it or not

Yes, they are impartial IMHO. They are happy to help you continue feeding, but if you want to stop they can help you cut/down and stop in a way that will reduce the likelihood of you getting blocked ducts etc.

If you just want to talk through your concerns they will listen and perhaps make some suggestions or give you some ideas of ways to manage the issue. They do not give medical advice though.

Lots of people here who may be able to help too?

Bfing help lines are impartial - the bfcs are trained to help support mothers to continue bfing and also how to help support mothers when they need/want to stop bfing. The counselling part of the training means they can help you to work out what you want to do and provide you with evidenced based ways to achieve that (how to stop/make bfing easier/up milk supply/whatever is applicable to the mother calling).

Yes they are impartial. It's about giving you information so you can make an informed decision. Based on what is best for you and your family.

I'm all in a flood of hormones snd can't think straight at the moment!
She is 10 months, Seemed ok until 6 months when she started on food. SInce then has had quite a few allergic reactions, probably to dairy snd wheat but not sure on any others.
She has slept very badly since then also.
She sees a dietician who advises on food plans for her, and still waiting for blood tests to see exactly what allergies snd how severe.
She eats very little food as really isn't keen on eating (perhaps through association of it making her ill)
At the weekend she had a bad allergic reaction. I had eaten dairy that day snd so stopped bf'ing dd from sat pm to give her a chance to get clear of allergens.
48 hours of no bf'ing and the pros are that
She slept really well both nights
Her stomach has gone down, no bloating
She's showed nonsigns of a reaction

The cons are
She has still eaten barely any food
She has had hardly any of the prescription formula (average 3oz each day)
She is clearly missing the comfort of bf'ing

Just not sure what to do!!

Can't get through to the 2 lines I've tried so far

Has the dietician talked through an elimination diet for you or explained that what you eat may end up in your milk (damaged maternal gut theory)?

I am wheat free because DD3 is mildly allergic to wheat and a friend of mine (also posts on here) went egg and dairy free for her DC so it is possible plus a few others I can think of that are XX free because their BF children are allergic.

On the other hand you may not want/be able to maintain a diet if it's hundreds of things she is allergic too.

Perhaps if you started a thread asking about bfing and allergies in baby you might get some more sensible replies than mine (I am just a beginner in allergies & bfing).

I don't eat dairy snd I tried cutting out wheat too for a few weeks but didn't notice much difference and found it too hard to maintain (with no sleep and other children too!) so I am just off dairy now.
I only ate dairy at the weekend at a wedding as no other option!

I've tried to call the dietician but can't get hold of her as yet...

And thank you for uour reply :-)

I have actually given in snd bf'd her just now as she was getting so unhappy and hadn't had any milk or food all morning
She is happy and singing now (and I feel less stressed!) but we will see what tonight brings ...

I don't know which helplines you've tried, or whether you still want to talk to a BFC, but I believe on the NCT one, if you don't get through you can leave a message and be called back. This may be true for some of the others too- I don't know.

I can vouch for the nct bf line - you can leave a message and get a call back and no one judges you....the bfc answers your questions, shares information, and supports you whatever your decision. They can't do any medical stuff - if you've been told baby is truly allergic/intolerant to something in your breastmilk then the bfc can't help you decide if that's the case, but they might be able to signpost to a second opinion and help you work out questions to ask.

Given your baby deffo still needs milk at 10 mths, switching to formula is surely the worst thing to do if you think she is allergic to dairy...the other option would be to have a dairy-free prescription milk for her if fixing your diet is hard (and of course it is - doing without dairy, wheat and soya if you end up with that as a prospect is a right royal PITA).

Catsu how are you getting on?

The helplines run by NCT and the Breastfeeding Network are impartial (i.e. no involvement with formula companies) but as tiktok says, serious allergies and intolerances are out of their remit and they are likely to signpost you to a medical professional.

My own DS has multiple food allergies, and I do know that it can be very difficult to get impartial breastfeeding advice in our situation

The current NHS/NICE guidelines recommend that breastfed children who have allergies should continue to be breastfed if possible, and that their mums should be given information about exclusion diets. However, in practice, this information is rarely given. Most 'frontline' medical professionals simply do not get enough training about allergies.

I found that a number of HVs, two GPs, the hospital dietitian and a paediatrian specialising in allergies all assumed that I would not be able or willing to cut all the offending foods out of my diet. I was offered hypo-allergenic formula for my DS countless times, and when I insisted that I preferred to breastfeed, I was twice encouraged to take free samples of Neocate away with me for when I changed my mind!

It's worth noting that many of the leading medical professionals in the allergy field give lecture tours which are funded by the companies which manufacture the hypo-allergenic formulas... no wonder that so many medical professionals see specialist formulas as the 'answer' to feeding allergic babies...

It is perfectly possible to breastfeed a baby with allergies - I have done it! I do find it very hard to control my own diet, but I see this as good practice for balancing my DS's diet. Have you thought about keeping a 'food diary' with details of what you and your baby eat, along with any symptoms that she develops? This might help you to pinpoint what she is reacting to.

I've just read through what I wrote earlier and realised that I am not coming across as very impartial As a part-trained breastfeeding supporter, I really ought to try harder, so here are some pros and cons of breastfeeding a baby wth allergies:

PROS

• Breastfeeding is comforting - it is more than just food.
• Breastmilk is a 'complete' food, and your body will rob itself if necessary to provide a balanced diet for your baby. This can be very reassuring when your baby has food restrictions. Hypo-allergenic formula is nowhere near so nutritionally adequate as breastmilk (and not even so nutritionally adequate as standard formula).
• Breastmilk strengthens the immune system in various ways, which is perhaps particularly important for children with allergies. Children with food allergies are more likely to develop asthma and hayfever - breastfeeding is known to protect against asthma and I think there is also some limited evidence that breastfeeding might help to slow the 'allergic march'.
• Hypo-allergenic formula tastes nasty and it can be extremely difficult to make older babies accept it.
• Dealing with the food restrictions in your own diet can help to prepare you for providing nutritionally adequate food for your baby as she gets older, and you get to practice some recipes.

CONS

• It can be really, really hard to control your own diet, and there is a risk that your own nutrition may be compromised. Looking after a child with allergies is stressful enough without getting sick and run-down yourself.
• Some mums report that their babies' eczema, gassiness and other symptoms cleared up immediately when they started using hypo-allergenic formula instead of breastmilk. This is probably because they had not identified all of the allergens in their own diet which were passing into their breastmilk.
• Some babies react to lots of different foods in their mothers' diet, and it can be difficult to identify the offending foods, even using a diary. (For example, dairy, eggs, nuts and wheat are obvious culprits, but if a baby is reacting to peas, onions, bananas etc. this might take a bit longer to work out).
• Most non-allergic babies are able to drink cows milk from about 1 year old. If you are not breastfeeding, then hypo-allergenic formula is a much better substitute for this than soya milk, rice milk or oat milk etc.

I hope some of this helps a little bit. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Green bananas thank you :-) that is very helpful information and has given me lots to think about. Thanks for taking the time to pass on so much info!
After going 48 hours with neocate, I decided to go bsck to bf'ing dd on Tuesday. Although she definitely seems better on neocate in terms of less gassy, more comfortable at night and sleeping better, I felt that the comfort and nutrition aspects of bf'ing outweighs that (for now)
So far over the last few days I am very pleased I made this decision.
I managed to speak to the dietician at the hospital and she advised that she would recommend to carry on bf'ing too so I feel happy that I'm doing the right thing for now :-)
Dietician has also arranged for dd to have blood tests in next 2 weeks to check exactly what she reacts to and to what extent, so that will be a big help in knowing what to cut out for both of us