Natalie Wilson asks for comments on the credibility of this diagnosis, which
has come up in a discussion group among Russian parents.

I'm with you, Natalie, that if the baby is healthy and thriving, there is no
reason to do cultures or anything else, just keep on keeping on.  Waste of
energy.

There is currently a declining birthrate in Russia, and many hospitals are
underused.  Low patient census over time means funding cuts.  Therefore,
health personnel may have an interest in 'finding' disease to treat.  We
have reports from Norwegian contacts with maternity care in Russia, that
babies are often moved to special care units for conditions we hardly react
to, like stuffy noses the first days after birth (usually milk or amniotic
fluid, and a transient, non-threatening, self-limiting condition) or
jaundice.  In the latter case, babies are in isolettes, under lights, and
are not allowed to feed, even if they are still in the same hospital as the
mother, which they frequently are not.

Can you try to find references from the medical literature showing how the
term dysbacteriosis first arose?  According to everything we know about gut
pathogens, the WORST thing one can do is stop breastfeeding!

cheers
Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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