Karleen

Have you read Maureen Minchin's books, Nursing Matters and Food for 
Thought?  And I believe there will be another one out soon which I'm 
_very eager_ to read....

Just very crudely, I understand that the infant gut is porous for the 
first 4 months of life, and if exposed to "foreign" proteins 
(anything other than breastmilk) then these proteins can be absorbed 
into the bloodstream where they can set up a sensitivity which can 
last for life.  If such an infant grows up to be a nursing mother who 
is herself sensitive to a particular kind of protein - say - peanuts 
- she can then secrete peanut proteins in her milk where they can 
sensitize the baby.  If, however, she eliminates peanuts from her 
diet, particularly before the baby's own gut closure would normally 
occur, at about 16-17 weeks, then the baby will not be exposed, and 
will not show sensitivity to the same proteins as an adult.  The 
protein that we in the western world are so over-exposed to too early 
is of course cow's milk, because so few of us have been exclusively 
breastfed for the recommended period of the first 6 months of 
life.  I think I read that Maureen believes that a sensitivity to 
bovine proteins could be eliminated in two generations if a mother 
exclusively breastfeeds her daughter, and that daughter exclusively 
breastfeeds her own daughter.

Of course, this could be a completely off-the-wall mish-mash of 
misunderstanding!  And I too would welcome a really technical 
explanation, with refs :-)

Pamela Morrison IBCLC
Rustington, England


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