Dear Lactnetters,
       I have read the archives on this subject but still have to wonder....
For years US mothers have been told that eating gas producing foods will make
their babies fussy and gassy.  I wonder if we really know this to be true.
       We do know that babies are often gassy.  What if we believed that
eating potatoes caused gassiness in infants.  Would we then begin to
attribute the baby's gas to the potatoes mom ingested?  Do many nations
consume more fiber than we do, in the form of beans perhaps?  Are their
babies more gassy than ours?  I know the theory about the substance in mom's
bloodstream getting into her milk, but is this theoretical only, or has it
been found to be true?
       I thought that cruciferous vegetables often cause gas in whoever
ingests them because of the fiber fermenting in the intesting.  As the milk
has no fiber, I thought that Baby might not want to be in the room with
Mother, but was not likely to get gas from the broccoli she had for dinner.
Is it the sulfa that causes the gas, and thus can  upset the babies, or is it
the fiber in the intestines?
       Mom's always want to know this, so please, if we really KNOW that
certain foods in mom's diet are likely to cause gas in the baby, let us know.
   I tend to wonder if it's breastfeeding folklore.
       -Debi Page Ferrarello, RN, MS, IBCLC
PS-not to suggest that certain foods don't affect certain babies...

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