Oh Wise Ones,

I received a call today from a mom whose third baby is experiencing what
her pediatrician calls "lactose intolerance".  This was diagnosed on the
basis of many green stools per day in a 3 month old who up to this time
has nursed without difficulty.  STools were sent to a lab (not done with
clinitest tabs) and came back Heme + and +3 for reducing substances.

Her ped is perplexed and has consulted with others about this.  Mom is
well read, is an ER nurse at Childrens Hosp. of Phila and has
successfully nursed two other children for long periods of time, no
supplements.

Baby was born at 9lbs 9oz and at 12 wks was 13 lbs 13 oz, so there is no
concern about FTT.  Mom theorizes that at 6 weeks of age, baby began the
green stools after the whole family had a flu with vomiting, diarrhea
and fever.

Mom's main concern is if she is harming the baby in any way by
continuing to breastfeed.  Is she contributing to the GI bleeding,
irritation? Or is this due to somethng else entirely? She is not as
worried about green stools as she is about the Hem + and possible
malabsorbtion. congrats to her pediatrician who is still encouraging
breastfeeding while researching the cause further.

I await your comments.  Thanks from both of us.

Mary Alice Tinari, MSN, IBCLC
from cold, rainy, but not flooding Philadelphia