Fiona:
was the blood red or brown? if the blood is red it is my understanding
that it must come from a place in the body after the intestines...as you
correctly identified one site is anal fissures, there are a number of benign
growths that can also bleed....if the blood is brown then it came from a
section of the body before the stomach...in this case, if the mother had
bllod from the nipple it would exit the child as brown.
i know of no liturature that sustanciates weaning or blood as a common
occurance with breastfed infant...you have not missed anything.
can the mother ask the md for the reference to support his
recommendation?
she might seek a opinion from a pediatric gastrointestinal
specialist.....
good luck... what other assist can i offer...
(ps: my second child passed both types of blood...the brown was from
a esphogeal bleed the red blood was from a to date unknown origin....)
patricia