Hi Karen and others,

I'm always interested in the connection between exclusively breastfed babies
and development of food allergies and sensitivities, since this is a hugely
temporal topic in my own parenting journey as well as in my practice helping
mothers and their babies.

I've spent the last few months geeking myself out a bit on immunology texts
and studies, and this one, while not exactly on the topic of discussion,
really catches my interest:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Does%20low%20IgA%20in%20human%20milk%20predispose
Does low IgA in human milk predispose the infant to development of cow's
milk allergy?

It bears mentioning that the moms with low or absence of IgA also may
experience recurrent plugged ducts and mastitis:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19086829

My immunologist told me today that IgA deficiency is found in approximately
1 in 300 caucasians (higher in specific ethnic groups, much, much lower in
others), and if these mothers with IgA deficient are exclusively
breastfeeding and their milk doesn't (or does?  Do we know this?) have IgA
... would it then be feasible that their babies might be
colicky/super-reactive to allergens from the maternal diet?

Food for thought, perhaps.  I'm feeling a burning desire to conduct a study,
but I'm more than a little daunted by the process involved and I'd need a
mentor, an institutional review, etc. before I could collect and analyze the
data that would be necessary for this ... I'm plugging along in my master of
public health degree and am hopeful I might have a thesis opportunity or
something that will allow me to explore this a bit more scientifically.

Anyway ... I hope this provides you with a little bit of interesting
reading.

--Diana Cassar-Uhl, IBCLC in upstate NY

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