DEAR Fiona, I have had a handful of cases of streaky blood in the stools of very well nourished breastfeeding babies. I have to admit that I have not seen it in artificially fed babies,...but largely my patients breastfeed!! Anyway, each time it happens, I usually cover myself by talking to a peds GI (this reassures the parents too) each time, and never ever did a peds GI specialist suggest weaning! The most common explanation is that the lymphoid tissue just beneath the intestinal mucosa (peyer's patches) sometimes become hypertrophied (enlarged), and erode into the lining of the mucosa, causing a limited amount of bleeding. I have found that by decreasing mom's dairy (cow) intake, it may help,but generally this is a self-limiting problem. It seems to last about 3-5 days. Again, I must stress that I am not a peds gastroenterologist, and therefore each situation I feel more comfortable reviewing with a specialist, as there can be other pathology, such as a meckels diverticulum, a polyp, an infection, etc... I would suggest that the parents push the FP for a full explanation as to why breastfeeding causes blood in the stool...and if he/she cannot provide it, its the FP's responsibility to seek more information for the patient! Anne Eglash, MD