Here is some of my letter to Life, thanks to Dr. Newman and whoever posted about the Peds article. Laurie Wheeler, Rnc, mn, ibclc I am writing in response to the cover story for LIFE May 1997 entitled "An epidemic of sneezing and wheezing" by Dowling and Hollister (p. 76 in the Discovery section). The article is about asthma and allergies and mostly discusses the impact it has on children. Have your researchers looked into the association between artificial (formula) feeding and allergies/asthma? Your article states that "scientists have learned that both asthma and allergies are caused by hyperactive immune systems that in turn cause inflammation (p. 82)". Did you know that many researchers and physicians consider breastfeeding as part of the human immune system in children under 4 or 5 years of age? One could describe the artificially fed infant as being immune deficient, since he is not getting breastmilk. A recent PEDIATRICS IN REVIEW article (April 97) entitled "Breastfeeding Update 1: Immunology, Nutrition, and Advocacy" by Wendelin Slusser and Nancy Powers discusses in depth the human immune system and the differences in human milk and bovine milk. Notably, bovine or soy milks are foreign proteins and antimicrobial factors, anti-inflammatory agents, and immunomodulating factors are only present in human milk. Babies prematurely weaned from human milk to other milks (some after just a few weeks or months) are being sensitized by artificial feeding. Your article also states that "after genetic predisposition, the strongest predictor of asthma is poverty. Crowding, indoor and outdoor pollution, and inadequate healthcare are likely factors (p. 89)". You point out that the rate of asthma is 22% higher in African Americans than whites. If you check breastfeeding rates and statistics, you will find that lower breastfeeding rates correlate with lower socioeconomic status and education. Laurie Wheeler, RNC, MN, IBCLC Louisiana Breastfeeding MediaWatch Campaign