Don't flame me, but there is a formula for infants with severe allergies
that is not made of intact protein at all.  It is called Neocate and is
produced in a lab from free amino acids so that there is really no risk of
any reaction to portions of small peptides that were not adequately
hydrolyzed.  There can be an allergic reaction with the other so called
hydrolyzed protein formulas which are not really elemental at all.

We see breastfed babies are have bloody stools that are allergic to
cow's milk.  Often the babies have received several bottles of formula.  I
also see moms who drank gallons of milk all during pregnancy and
lactation so the babies are probably already sensitized.  Sometimes it
works to have the moms totally eliminate dairy from their diets.
Sometimes the kids continue with bloody stools.  Sometimes the moms
are scared and want to wean (they obviously have been swayed by the
gastroenterologist's opinion).  These kids usually do very well with
weight gain and tolerance to feeds on Neocate (if they'll drink it - it tastes
awful).

We do not use donor milk here, but if the donor milk contains traces of
cow's milk protein antigen, it won't help the baby, will it?

Don't misunderstand me.  I fight for continued breastfeeding with the
docs all the time and will always advocate for the moms, but I just want
to say that I have seen cases of severe allergies where the breast milk
just wasn't working.

Rachelle Lessen,RD, IBCLC
Philadelphia, PA  USA     mailto:[log in to unmask]