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"