<< Are we just desperately trying to help desperate mothers with normal
colicky/fussy babies?>>
I don't think there is 'normal' colick. I will clarify on my previous
statement though. I would agree with Harvey that the evening/regular
crying can be helped by techniques outlined in his book (though I have a
strong preference for avoiding pacifiers in virtually all instances).
That leaves the other crying. If the baby is being held, nursed and
nurtured, but is still having alot of unexplained crying and fussiness,
I think it's worth checking into food intolerances if the mom is
interested.
<< But to go to only rice, squash and turkey???????????Isn't that a lot
to ask?>>
Maybe. But some mothers are very very interested in getting to the root
of the problem. And in most cases, it's easier to go to a basic diet
for THREE days rather than do a tremendous amount of research and spend
a tremendous amount of time reading labels in the store to end up with
a likely result of still not avoiding the potential allergen since
decoding various allergens under unusual names is practically a full
time job.
Moms often tell me that they cut out soy, or dairy or wheat but when
they give me more information, I have yet to find *one* mom that
actually did. If one says "just eat rice, turkey and squash for a few
days" she's likely to look at you like you're from Mars. However, if
you say, to a desperate mom who's begging you to offer solutions "do you
think that you could make up a big pot of rice, bake a pan of chicken
and winter squash, and sautee some zucchini....and eat as much as you
want of that for a few days? That would give your body a chance to rid
itself of potential problem causers and give your baby's system a rest.
then you can add foods rather quickly based on groups of food.
This isn't something that I think anyone is recommending for a 'fussy'
baby, but for a mom who is at the end of her rope and ready to feed
formula.
<< And if the doctor tells her to go on formula, can't she just say
no? >>
Sure. But how often does she. I have more than a few acquaintances who
ended up doing a trial of alimentum/nutramigen/neocate/elecare b/c of
extreme colic/reflux/fussiness. None of them went back to breastfeeding
b/c they assumed the babies didn't do well on 'their milk'. No one ever
explained to them how they might even find out what it is in their diet
that was causing the problem to begin with.
<< How bad are these babies really?>>
Really bad. Almost constant fussing/crying, intestinal bleeding, very
little sleeping in many cases.
<< Are they physically compromised or is it more of a difficult
situation for the parents to put up with the crying>>
I don't think it matters. If the crying is hard for the parents,
imagine how the baby must feel. We have a responsibility as the parent
to do whatever we can to help them feel right in their world.
<< I have read that anything buy soy and dairy allergies are very rare,
yet now I read on lactnet that 11 foods can be culprits.>>
Just to clarify, any food can be a culprit, but the top 8 allergens are
responsible for 80% of food allergy reactions (IgE allergies). IgE
mediated allergies are fairly rare - 2-5% of the population. IgG
mediated food intolerances aren't as rare - some sources claim up to
45-60%. James Braly, author of _Food Allergy Relief_ and _Dangerous
Grains_ believes that: "If you completely eliminate the allergic [he's
talking about IgG mediated responses] foods for 3 to 6 months, you can
reintroduce most of them (approx. 86%) back into your diet and remain
symptom-free. "
I've read no hard stats wrt IgG sensitivities.
On a related note: "Previous studies have shown that about 1 in 250
people in Europe had celiac disease, but it was thought to affect fewer
individuals, about 1 in 5,000 in the United States. This study screened
1200 children aged 6 months to 20 years with blood tests and, in some
cases, small intestinal biopsy. The researchers reported that the
prevalence of celiac disease in these patients ranged from 1 in 57 to 1
in 33." Journal of Pediatrics January 2000 136:86-90
If they're right about that, then gluten intolerance (presence of IgA or
IgG antibodies without the intestinal damage) is far far more common.
And bloods miss about 20-50% of celiac anyway (IgA toward the 20% range
and tTG toward the 50% range since it's the last antibody to develop)
In short I think food intolerance is very common.
katherine, GF in atl
dx'ed the traditional way
mom to two little GF'ers, based on enterolab testing
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