I received the following question privately today regarding the infant of a
mother with IDDM.
--
Hi,
> I got your e-mail address off the internet and I am trying to research
>a problem - I was wondering if you had any knowledge of the answer. I
>am an insulin dependent diabetic - my onset was around 25 which is
>associated more with autoimmune problems (which I do have) - I just had
>a baby 6 1/2 weeks ago and I am breastfeeding him especially since I
>know early onset IDDM has been correlated with cow milk protein
>ingestion. My question is whether my drinking milk would cause
>significant cow milk proteins to be in my breast milk.
> I hope you don't mind my asking the question - it is ok if you don;t
>have an answer - I am just not sure where to ask...
----------------------------------------
I received the following reply....to my rather cursory response that
firstly, I didn't usually respond to this type of ? via the internet for
legal reasons, and that it is my understanding that milk proteins go through
breastmilk unchanged...I do not know if the protein from cow milk that a mom
drinks can then sensitize a baby who is already prone to IDDM (mom is
insulin dependent diabetic with other autoimmune problems...unnamed to me.)
----------------------------------------
Hi,
> Thank you so much - actually - I have tried my endocrinologist, my
ob/gyn, and the baby's pediatrician as well as my regular doctor.
Unfortunately, it is a kind of specialized question - most of them were not
even aware of the potential link between juvenile diabetes and cow's milk.
While they were all in favor of breastfeeding - that was not one of the
reasons...
> I have been going to lactation consultants (actually we have seen four
different ones - all were very good!) - more because since my baby was
slightly premature and had low blood sugars for several days (and was forced
formula and sugar water) I had a terrible time getting him to breast feed
(so I am hoping the damage is not already done...). With their help, he has
been doing nothing but breast feeding for the last month - which makes me
feel great - but again - they did not know very much about my question.
> This is why I appreciate any responses. Thank you for taking the time to
return a reply - I felt bad sending out my request to people who I knew
would probably get huge volumes of mail - but I was feeling kind of
desperate for an answer...
> Thanks Again,
------------------------------------------------
My response to her note was..
"The Lactation Consultant Series pamphlet/booklet re: Diabetes and BF is
available from LLLI..see address below. You might want to get it...it is
full of good info. A good reference book where this type of thing is
discussed in great detail is
Ruth Lawrence's book Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession. I
have it , and so may other LCs. I find it pretty depressing that none of
your health care practitioners realized there is a connection between
diabetes and bf..ie that bf decreases chances of children getting DM. Sigh.
OH well. : /
I take this from a letter from the president of ILCA to Hilary Clinton:
"IDDM- A protein in cow's milk that is ingested in infance may trigger
insultin-dep. diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in susceptible people. The
diabetogenic triggering even t occurs early in life. Exclusive breastfeeding
with delayed exposure to infant formula based on cow's milk significantly
reduces the risk of IDDM. (Virtanen S, Rasanen L, Aro A, et al. Infant
feeding in Finnish children < 7 yr of age with newly diagnosed IDDM,
Diabetes Care 14:415-417, 1991). Fourteen percent of IDDM occurring in the
Colorado population could be attributed to lack of breastfeeding. When other
sutdies were analyzed, the amount of disease in the population attributable
to not breastfeeding could range from 2-26 %. (Mayer E, Hamman R. Gay E, et
al. Reduced risk of IDDM among breastfed children: the Colorado IDDM
registry. Diabetes 37:1625-1632, 1988).
In 1990, 13,171 new cases of IDDm occurred in the age group of 0-19 years.
$25.7 billion was spent in direct medical costs and lost productivity in
1990 on IDDM, 26% of $25.7 billion is $6.6 billion potential savings.
15/100,000 in the US develop IDDM. In Polynesia, where women breastfeed
exclusively for several months, the incidence is 2/100,000, a 7.5 fold
difference. Exclusive bf for 3 months of longer allows gut closure and a
decreased likelihood of this autoimmune-driven event.""
Wow. That was a lot to type. As for the question of whether or not protein
from cow's milk that a mother ingests goes into her breastmilk and then
sensitizes the infant that way, I am not sure.
I am forwarding this to the list that I associate with, and will look for
responses .
-----
Above you see the interchange, but I am hoping that someone can shed light
on this. If a mother who is IDDM drinks milk...can she sensitize her infant
and make him/her more prone to developing IDDM? This is not covered in Ruth
Lawrence's text. Thanks.
Kathleen
My response...
Kathleen B. Bruce, BSN, IBCLC co-owner Lactnet, Independent Consultant
LACTNET WWW site: http://www.mcs.com/~auerbach/lactation.html
LACTNET archives http://library.ummed.edu/lsv/archives/lactnet.html
"The truth shall make you free, but first it will make you miserable." : )
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