Can my diet cause an allergic reaction in my breastfed baby?

It is common for young breastfed babies to be fussy or have gas and it is not likely to be caused by the mother diet. In fact less than 5% of breastfed infants react to foods included in the mother’s diet, however the most common food found to causes a reaction in babies is cow’s milk.

When a mother eats a variety of foods, in moderation, their child is exposed to all the different flavour of these foods thus; the taste of breast milk can be changed by strongly flavoured foods. This is a good thing because a breastfeed baby can then recognise the taste of the food when it is given to them in solid form later in life and so are more likely to find the food acceptable.

In different cultures around the world, breastfeeding mothers are wrongly told to avoid particular foods as they are seen to cause colic, gas, diarrhoea or even rashes in a breastfed child! Examples include that Chinese and South Asian women are told to avoid cold liquid, Hispanic women are told to avoid pork, chili and tomatoes and African American women are told to avoid onions!

The truth is that there are no specific foods that should be avoided by all breastfeeding mothers, as reactions to a food in the mother diet are rare and varies from baby to baby. It is interesting to note that a baby is more likely to react to a food/drink that he is given directly than to a food consumed through the mother’s breast milk. When the offending food is given to the baby directly, it has a much stronger concentration that what you would find in the mothers breast milk. It is vital to first rule out that no-one (family member or other caregivers) is giving any food or liquid to the baby before assuming it is the mother’s diet. Medication should also be considered as a possible cause for a reaction as about 1% of a mother’s dose of medication can pass into the breast milk. If a medication or vitamin supplement may be the cause ask your medical professional who prescribed it if there is an alternative medication.

As stated above a food eaten by a breastfeeding mother is not likely to cause food hypersensitivity, intolerance or allergy but it can happen. Here are signs of food hypersensitivity, intolerance or allergy:

• Skin problems like eczema, dermatitis, hives or a rash
• Gastrointestinal problem; vomiting, diarrhoea, blood or mucus in the stool
• Respiratory problems, such as congestion, runny nose, wheezing or coughing
• Crying during or after the feeds (could also be caused by overabundant milk production or reflux disease)
• Difficulty going to sleep and staying asleep

A family history of allergy is common in babies that have hypersensitivity to food eaten by the mother. For example if one parent has allergies the infant has 20-40% risk of being allergic but if both parents have allergies then the baby has an increased risk of 50-80%.

Reaction to cow’s milk in the mother diet has the following symptoms: pain behaviour, gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms. The younger a baby is exposed to cow’s milk the higher the risk that the baby will develop a sensitization to the cow’s milk. In a Danish study of exclusively breastfed infants only 0.5% developed a cow’s milk allergy. All of those children were given formula on their first day of life (with or without the consent of the parents).

What is interesting to know that if a baby has a reaction to a particular food in the mother diet, the reaction should resolve within 24 hours after the offending food is eliminated from mom’s diet.

However if it is a food like milk, which is consumed on a regular basis, it may take longer for the baby to clear the milk protein out of their system and start to feel better. Some babies respond to a milk free diet within 2- 3 days but it can take up to 2- 3 weeks before their reaction subsides. Calcium supplement can be taken by a mother who is following a dairy free diet. However the decrease in consumption of dairy for a few months will not affect a mother’s bone health.

A reaction to cow’s milk may be outgrown at about 1 year of age. A test sample of cow’s milk should not be given to a baby before 1 year of age, the mother can introduce it to her diet at 6 month and see if there is a reaction.

Other foods that have protein that can cause reactions to the mother’s milk are: soy, egg white, peanuts, fish, wheat, nuts, corn or pork.

For more information and great dairy free recipes: www.cowsmilkproteinsupport.webs.com

Some common foods to avoid when on an elimination diet for a baby that suffers from Cow’s milk protein allergy:

• Cow’s milk (fresh/ UHT)
• Yogurt
• Cheese
• Butter
• Ghee
• Most margarine (except Canola and Blosson lite)
• Cream
• Ice cream
• Milk drinks
• Milk powder
• Evaporated/ condensed milk
• Fromage frais/ Crème frais

Hidden sources:

• Casein (curds)
• Hydroysed caseinates
• Whey/ whey solids
• Whey protein
• Hydrolysed whey
• Lactalbumin
• Milk sugar
• Lactose
• Lactoglobulin
• Lactose
• Skimmed milk powder
• Milk solids
• Milk protein
• Non-fat milk solids
• Butterfat
• Modified milk