Hello all,

I haven't posted in a while, so I'll briefly re-introduce myself -- I'm a
LLLLeader from Brooklyn NY who volunteers one day a month to answer the City-
Wide phone hotline.

This a.m. I got a call from a mom that stumped me.  She has a son who is
nearly two.  She claims that she weaned the baby from the breast at a year
because the pediatrician blamed breastfeeding for the baby's lack of interest
in solids.  She also says that the doctor insisted that the boy *had* to have
cow's milk despite a family history of allergies, and continued to insist that
dairy is a necessary part of a healthy diet even after the mother reported
that the child seemed to be having problems with it.  (Please don't interpret
this as doctor-bashing -- I'm just reporting what the mom told me.)

The boy is now suffering from severe food allergies, as well as asthma which
is triggered by various airborne allergens.  While still breastfeeding he
wasn't showing any asthmatic or allergic symptoms, but they've developed over
the past year since he's been weaned.

The mother wants to know if breastmilk can help ameliorate the child's
symptoms and hopefully lessen the severity of his allergies in the future.
She's even willing to try relactating.

While I'm sure it won't hurt the toddler to get some of mom's milk, will it
help?

Now, I know that breastmilk helps to *prevent* allergies, but is there any
evidence that allergies, once established, can be helped by breastmilk?  I've
been unable to come up with any information on this and would deeply
appreciate it if anyone can point me in a productive direction.

Thanks!

Diane DiCarlo
LLL Leader
Brooklyn, NY