Mardrey Swenson wrote:
>We have to remember  that not all breastfeeding mothers have the same amount
>of antibodies and that our IgA  or our ability to produce IgA is influenced
>by not only genetics [individual variation]  but also things such as stress
>and diet.

Years ago when I worked as  Medical Technologist at a Blood Transfusion
Service, one of the other staff was working on a project on IgA deficient
normal blood donors. This is a reasonably common (not sure exactly what
incidence) genetic IgA deficiency, and the blood donors and their family
members who were studied seemed to be perfectly normal. This thread has got
me wondering if some of the allergy-prone babies and families we see are in
fact genetically IgA deficient. It is fairly easily tested for. This would
make an interesting study, including the effect of breastfeeding vs ABM
feeding in these individuals.

Joy Anderson IBCLC, NMAA Breastfeeding Counsellor,
Perth, Western Australia
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