Saw this on another board...

[MincePie]

"If your child has bloody diarrhea and stomach pains due to your breastmilk..........
would you continue breastfeeding even though you've tried eliminating every type of food from your diet? Do you believe that breastmilk, although it's giving your baby stomach cramps and bloody diarrhea, is more beneficial to your child than formula? The formula (alimentum or soy) would not give your baby cramps or bloody diarrhea but your doctor tells you the benefits of breastfeeding are more important than the discomfort of your baby..........

What do you do? This is true and happening with two of my friends now.

edited to add baby #1 is 3 months old and weighs 9 lbs. She's gaining the minimum to get by. Baby #2 is also gaining the minimum to get by."

What do you think? I always thought that a true allergy to breast milk was VERY rare, but the majority of the replies are 'crap, loads of people are allergic to breast milk, give them formula'. Is it very rare or overly diagnosed?

I'm really doubtful that this is the whole story, to be honest....

"The GI specialist ran all of the tests, baby #1 has reflux as well and is on a ton of meds for that condition. GI specialist said that it was a milk allergy and that she may outgrow it but that the discomfort was worth the benefits of the breastmilk. Alimentum worked well for this baby but GI doctor said breatmilk with discomfort and bloody diarrhea was better than alimentum with no symptoms.

Baby #2 hasn't been to the GI specialist as of yet and hasn't tried formula yet."

Was a follow up post...
I agree with you though oakie, I have never heard of breastmilk being the cause of such ills. Oh well I think I'm done banging my head against the wall trying to make this point with the other people though.

I tend to think that in this case there would be an underlying medical condition that requires investigation rather than a change of feeding. It would seem highly unlikely that a baby was allergic to breastmilk itself but there are metabolic disorders that mean babies cannot tolerate contituents of breast/or any other milk. In such cases a switch to regular formula is unlikely to be the answer - it may mean a switch to a specially formulated formula.
Weight gain itself does not signify a problem with breastmilk - many babies gain slowly on formula too. Poor weight gain may signify an actual health problem itself which should be ruled out. Babies are 'allowed' to be small without anything being wrong with them or the milk they are fed.

I also think that a baby that has problems as described may well be better staying on breastmilk for the overall benefits in order to prevent them contracting more serious illnesses. It is balancing the risks.

This is almost certainly from the US.

True allergy to breastmilk, though really rare, does exist - I know of one case personally - and this baby had multiple allergies and grew up with serious metabolism problems. Don't know what happened next. Formula is even worse for these babies.

Blood in the stools can also happen, and it may not even be serious, but the remains of a previous bout of gastroenteritis. Or it could be a side effect of the meds (US doctors tend to medicate far, far more readily than here). I would wonder about the diagnosis of stomach pains - babies cry for all sorts of reasons.

Yes its from the US how every did you guess

No matter how many people have posted that such an allergy is possible but rare and about the metabolic disorders, there are a frightening number of posters who have, or the children/partner a 'allergy' to breast milk...you'd think it were rampant there!

Oh well, I wanted to post this here as I was beginning to think that I was mad. Thanks!

I know someone whose baby is allergic to breastmilk, it took ages to diagnose and only after much changing of diet did the mother switch to formula. However it is a special prescription only formula infatril or somthing similar sounding.

She was told that it is very rare. The mother sucessfully breastfed all her other children.

I have a friend whose baby showed these symptoms and did have to come off breastmilk not cos of an allergy to breast milk but because they think he has allergic crones (??sp) disease and would have to limit mum's diet so incredibly - was put on nutramigen (?) then natracare(??). basically allergic to loads of things that he was getting through the breastmilk

Shame....Chron's disease is one of many where not bf increases the risk of it developing (For example: Scand J Gastroenterol. 1983 Oct;18(7):903-6)

Of course individual circumstances might have a different impact.