Linda:  I'm not a neuorologist, but I do know that myelinization takes
place at at the most rapid pace during the first two years and then at a
slower pace until age 6 or 7.  This is why it is so critcal that we NOT
limit fat intake in children under the age of two (and I question the
limitation in children under 4).  As most of you know, the myelin sheaths
are the insulation that wraps around the nerves and prevents cross-over
messages and nerve damage or dengeneration.  It is one of the suspects in
the causative factors of adult Alzheimer's disease.  Is it possible to sit
down and do a full diet analysis on both mom and child?  The mom's milk
should be providing a reasonable amount of fat as long as she bfs.  I would
also look into having a cremocrit and segmented fat analysis done on the
mother's milk, but be careful not to put the "blame" on the mother's milk.
There's just as much probability that this is some congenital problem as
her milk having been deficient.  Is the baby of "normal" wt and ht
parameters?  I'm wondering about the possibility of an absorption problem
with fat.  Ask her about the baby's stooling history.  If lots of fats are
passing straight through, then this child needs to be evaluated for a
variety of metabolic disorders.  Another possibility is deficiencies in the
vitamins and minerals that are essential to nerve production.  All sorts of
body functions are depended on vitamin C (for example, we can't make
collagen without it).  B-complex is another one.  Furthermore, if there IS
a fat absorption problem, this child is probably deficient in Vitamins A,
D, E, and K.  Vits A and E are believed to play vital roles in nerve
development.  If this is true in his case, then the child's vision should
also be checked.  Sorry for rambling...it's just that there are SO many
possibilities and I hate to see brst mlk get blamed without the others
being considered.

: )Chris Hafner-Eaton, PhD, MPH, CHES, IBCLC  email: [log in to unmask]   : )
: )HSR & Health Educational Consultant        voice/fax: 541 753 7340    : )
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