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Breastfeeding Babies and Infant Allergies |
 While it is natural for new parents to worry about the health of their new baby, there is a question about whether there is a concern about food allergies when your baby is still nursing. However, it is not at all uncommon for a newborn child to exhibit gassy symptoms that one could associate with a milk allergy. If your breastfeeding baby seems to have strange digestive systems after feeding such as crying or gas that causes her to feel bad, it is never a bad idea to talk to your infant's pediatrician about it.
It is easy to think that if your baby is having severe stomach problems even while nursing that the problem is colic. But it is best not to jump to conclusions and get a solid diagnosis from your baby's doctor. The symptoms of a milk allergy could resemble colic in many respects but the treatment for each of these two infant digestive problems are very different.
One way to measure if your nursing infant is exhibiting symptoms of a milk allergy is to look for other symptoms of an allergic reaction to diary. Those symptoms might include wheezing during or after she eats, blood in the child's stool and an allergic rash. If the problem is just simple gas, these other symptoms will not be present.
If your infant is developing a lactose intolerance problem the gassiness may be followed with diarrhea and throwing up. Again, the treatment for lactose intolerance in an infant is very different from how you handle a milk allergy. So it pays to get a diagnosis on the problem that you can depend on.
Your little one's pediatrician may determine that the gassiness your infant is having is not a milk allergy or a result of lactose intolerance. In that case, there are some adjustments to the diet of your child that you can do to reduce the uncomfortable gassiness she is going through.
The gassiness may be the outcome of a problem the newborn is having with foods that have complex proteins in them that mom consumes. By adjusting mom's diet or the types of infant formula you use, you can often reduce the instance of gassy discomfort in your baby significantly.
It is not out of line you to suspect that your nursing baby is showing signs of a milk allergy. It might take some time for the baby's doctor to draw that same conclusion. It is an easy step in the right direction to simply eliminate dairy from the diet of the mother or from the diet of a baby on formula to see if that eliminates the problem.
Just keep in mind that if you switch to a soy formula, those substitutes may not provide your child with the same nutritional value that cow's milk gives her. Also, infants who are prone to allergies can develop an allergy to soy products. So talk to your pediatrician about short term solutions such as these as well.
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