I attended a workshop with Michel Odent this weekend, and he referred to a study showing that tooth decay in very young children correlates to a stressful event during gestation (he's referring to a major life stressor - a death or traumatic incident, not general job stress). I don't have the reference but can get it...just thought it was interesting in light of this discussion. I agree that it can't be all dairy, since we aren't designed to drink dairy... Morgan Kennedy Henderson LLL Leader Independent Childbirth Educator Wellesley, MA USA >A word of caution about REDUCING dairy products during pregnancy. In >Harry Torney's research (Prolonged, on-demand breastfeeding and dental >caries--an investigation. Tormey PH. 1992. M Dent Sc Thesis. Trinity >College, Dublin, Ireland) which has been mentioned on Lactnet before, one >of the factors for an increased incidence of dental decay was a reduction >of the amount of dairy consumed during pregnancy because of a concern >about allergies. >There must be another factor involved here, as most of the world, both >prehistorically and today, does not drink milk in adulthood -- including >during pregnancy, and most of the world's children (prehistorically and >today) do NOT have the dental decay problems we see in children in "modern" >countries today. >Thanks to all who sent references and leads! >Kathy D. >mailto:[log in to unmask]