Kathy D asked: <<< Have there been any research studies done that would prove that drinking a lot of cows' milk during pregnancy could sensitize a baby so that it would respond negatively to its first exposure to cows' milk after birth?>>> I have no refs but recently heard a case that interested me. A mother avoided cow's milk during pregnany to prevent allergy symptoms in the child. She drunk goat's milk instead. She stopped doing this at 3 days postpartum. the child came out to be allergic to goat's milk. Of course we don't know if this baby is sensitivized during pregnancy or during those 3 days after birth. I'm thinking about the theory behind this. I'm not sure I'm correct in this, but I think I've read that during the pregnancy things in the mother's bloodstream pass easily to the baby, since the placenta hardly filters it. That's the reason people are so carefull with drugs for pregnant moms. On the other hand, the milk ducts (once developed fully, after about 7 - 10 days) do filter a lot. Eg, only an average of 1 % of drugs does enter the milk. If this is true, then it is more likely to sensitivize a baby during pregnancy then during lactation. IMO the question however is: how many of these cow milk's protein does enter the bloodstream of the mother? If everything is well, the protein chains would be broken down in the intestines, before entering the bloodstream. I think it is more likely to happen in mothers who are allergic themselves, either known or hidden. How many times we don't hear about mothers who feel much better after going on a dairy free diet for their child? Eg, someone reported here a few days ago that a mothers acne disappeared after going on a dairy free diet. I might be terrible wrong in this, just my no medical thoughts... ps. I cc-ed this to Maureen Minchin. -- Annelies Bon http://www.flnet.nl/~0bon01/bfbronnen.html bf counsellor in training of the Dutch bf org "Borstvoeding Natuurlijk"