Dear Wise ones,
I am quoting with permission from a mom, and would love any information or 
comments you all have to give.  Please email me off and on the list.
Jessica Billowitz, IBCLC
Israel

"   My three-year-old son, who I nursed until he was almost two years
old, has just been diagnosed with ASD.  I am still nursing my
almost-one-year-old daughter, and have reason to believe that she is also at
risk for ASD (although she is too young for a formal diagnosis).   Given
current research at the M.I.N.D. Institute suggesting the
likelihood of an environmental trigger(s) for genetically susceptible kids
on the ASD spectrum, I have wondered whether my breastmilk could in any way
be heightening my daughter's risk.  My two chief concerns have been: (1)
that my breastmilk may contain the same sort of "maternal antibodies" to
fetal brain tissue that has been found by Judy Van de Water and other
scientists to be in the blood of some moms with autistic kids; and/or (2)
despite my attempts to minimize environmental toxins, eat organic foods,
etc., my breastmilk may be relatively high in metals, POPs, etc., that may
have helped to set both of my kids on the ASD trajectory.

The reason I am hoping to answer these questions is because although I am of
course deeply committed to breastfeeding - have never given my kids a drop
of formula and have been lucky enough to have a very large milk supply, much
of which I have donated to other babies - it could be that beyond one year,
the risk for my daughter (in terms of setting off genetic "triggers" for
ASD) could outweigh the marginal benefits.   I don't want to discount the
possibility that it would be best to stop nursing her at that point because
of her likely genetic susceptibility.

I have somewhat allayed the first concern by speaking to Tom Anderson, the
CEO of Pediatric Bioscience (the company marketing the maternal antibody
tests), who assured me that according to Dr. Van de Water, it is unlikely
that the maternal antibodies - even if they are in breastmilk - can cross
the blood-brain barrier postnatally.  This seems somewhat reassuring.

The problem is that I am not sure how to address the second concern.  I have
tried, so far in vain, to find some way to get my breastmilk analyzed
for various sorts of toxins that are known to be dangerous to kids.  All of
the research studies I have identified so far seem to have been conducted by
university labs, so I am uncertain how to proceed.  I did find one study
which suggested that the likely concentration of some contaminants declines
after the first child, and with the age of the child. (I think the idea is
that toxins are released from the fat tissue each time you nurse, and
therefore, the concentration tends to decline with nursing "experience".)
This suggests that most of the damage, if any, has probably already been
done, so there may be little harm in continuing to nurse.  On the other
hand, so little is known about the environmental/dietary triggers of ASD
that I would still be reluctant to continue nursing if I knew that
my milk contained (for whatever reason) high levels of harmful
contaminants.

I would really appreciate your advice on any of these issues!  It is so hard
to know where to turn for advice on this, since there is no one, to my
knowledge, who is really looking at the connection, if any, between ASD and
nursing in a detailed way.  At the very least, I would love to figure out
some way to get my breastmilk analyzed so I can get some idea of what level
of toxins/contaminants it may contain.  La Leche, as I would expect, argues
on its website that "breast is best" and it is probably best to nurse babies
who are at risk for ASD (such as younger sibs), which seems like sensible
advice.  However, that doesn't really address my situation since I have
already nursed my daughter for a full year now.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer, and for all you are doing
to improve knowledge on lactation-related issues!"

             ***********************************************

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