Word for word, a message from a colleague:

"A staff member that is currently nursing her nine month old was told
today by an infectious disease researcher that babies that are breastfed
beyond six months are at a disadvantage because they are not given the
opportunity to devleop their own antibodies, due to the antibodies they
get from the mother's breastmilk."

Duh, hello!  What sort of an infectious disease expert is that?  Doesn't
s/he know that the antibodies in breastmilk are Secretory IGA and are
probably *not* absorbed into the baby's systemic circulation.  That the
protection given by breastfeeding is not incompatible with forming your
own antibodies.  Doesn't s/he realize that the function of immunity is
*not* to prevent infection, but to prevent illness?  That breastfed
babies still get infected, but are likely to get less sick or not sick
at all (like when a child gets an immunization), but that this does
*not* prevent them from developing their own antibodies?

What are they teaching them now in infectious diseases school, anyhow?
Any immunology?

Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC