Hi everyone

I am a mum with 3 children - 7,4 and 2yrs. In my single days I worked as a
registered paediatric nurse, cardio thorasic nurse and geriatic nurse.  Now
I am a voluntary breastfeeding counsellor with Nursing Mothers in Australia.

The thread about sickness strengthening the immune system has me baffled.
Firstly if being sick strengthens the immune system why does breastfeeding
reduce the amount of sickness that a child has to endure?  In my
understanding the gastrointestinal tract matures with age and preventing
damage caused by various proteins and pathogens so why is it that people use
the argument that sickness strengthens the immune system?  I wonder if this
is another of those falacies that we believe in so that we can feel better
about watching our littles struggle with illness.

Does anyone out there have a detailed scientific, researched base of the
process of maturity that the immune system goes through?  Is it like the
nervous system which matures with age and is not linked with disease at
all - after all there are diseases around which actually distroys the bodies
ability to respond the infection?  I was once talking to a GP about
immunisation and she was saying that it is documented that breastfeed babies
immune systems mature much faster and they get better immune response from
their immunisations that formula fed babies.  This comment made me think
that maturity of the immune system has nothing to do with getting sick with
ear infections, influenza, colds sore throats and gastros but more to do
with age and some yet to be discovered nutrient or transfer factor or other
component of breastmilk (a bit like the growth and maturity of the nerves is
better due to the omega-3 in breastmilk).   Would love some sound basic
knowledge on this or is this a PhD thesis waiting for someone to take up?

Regards

Ruth Fiedler
NMAA Counsellor

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