Trying to give myself a breastfeeding holiday - that is only breastfeeding
my daughter and NOT hanging around Lactnet, Ref Manager and Medline.
Obviously it isn't working, so here's an interesting abstract of a new Dutch
study!

1: Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2003 Jun;14(3):156-62.
Fatty acids in breast milk of allergic and non-allergic mothers: The PIAMA
birth
cohort study.

Wijga A, Houwelingen AC, Smit HA, Kerkhof M, Vos AP, Neijens HJ, Brunekreef
B;
The PIAMA Birth Cohort Study.
National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the
Netherlands. [log in to unmask]
Fatty acid composition was studied in breast milk of allergic and
non-allergic mothers, focusing in particular on concentrations of the n-6
and n-3 long-chain polyunsaturates (LCP) in relation to maternal allergy.
Milk samples were obtained from 168 mothers with asthma or inhalant
allergies and 107 mothers without asthma and inhalant allergies, between 2
and 35 weeks after delivery. Mean values of fatty acid concentration
(weight% of total fatty acids) were estimated for individual fatty acids,
for groups of fatty acids and for the metabolic index (the ratio between the
sum of n-6 polyunsaturates and linoleic acid). For the most relevant fatty
acids, the association with maternal allergy was subsequently analyzed in
more detail using multiple regression analysis. The metabolic index in
breast milk was significantly lower in the allergic than in the non-allergic
mothers, but no significant differences were observed in the concentrations
of any of the n-6 fatty acids. Also concentrations of the n-3
fatty acids and nearly all other fatty acids were similar in allergic and
non-allergic mothers' breast milk. No differences in fatty acid
concentrations were observed between mothers with asthma and mothers with
single or with multiple inhalant allergies. Our data suggest that
differences in fatty acid composition between breast milk of allergic and
non-allergic mothers are small
and are unlikely to be responsible for the differential effects of
breastfeeding by allergic and non-allergic mothers that have been observed
in some studies.

groetjes

Sara Bernard
The Netherlands

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