My baby has had a lot of problems nursing and has even passed bloody stools. My doctor says she is allergic to my breastmilk. I have never heard of such a thing! Is it possible for a baby to be allergic to her mother's breastmilk?
It is not really possible for your baby to be allergic to your breastmilk. Sometime, however, babies can be sensitive to proteins in the mother's milk from foods she has ingested. There have been some reports of bloody stools in infants who are sensitive to food in their mom's diet. The most common offender is cow's milk protein (Jakobsson I, et al 1985) (Odze et al 1996).
If your baby is sensitive to cow's milk protein in your milk, the only way to confirm this is by eliminating all cow's milk products from your diet for at least two weeks, or longer, to allow the bowel time to heal. Eliminating dairy products means you need to avoid milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream and packaged products that list the ingredient casein or whey protein.
Occasionally babies are sensitive to other foods in mom's diet, but again, the best way to confirm this is by a two week elimination of that food. If your baby has had formula or you have fed them a new food, this very likely could be the cause of your baby's sensitivity.
It is actually pretty uncommon for babies to be sensitive to food in mom's diet, so be cautious about eliminating too many foods. If you are severely restricting your diet and not seeing any result your baby is probably not sensitive to the foods in your diet.
There may be other concerns, such as breastmilk oversupply, which can sometimes cause bowel problems and occasionally even bloody stools (Andrusiak, F. Larose-Kuzenko, M 1987) (Woolridge & Fisher 1988).
Babies of mothers with oversupply frequently have bowel problems because the over production of milk causes the baby to get more foremilk ( the lower fat first milk) than hind milk. Hindmilk is the higher fat milk that comes later in the feeding. Because the fat in the milk helps to slow digestion, a baby who receives more foremilk than hind milk may experience very rapid digestion. This would allow some of the lactose, a milk sugar, into the bowel undigested. Once in the bowel, lactose creates irritation that often leads to gassiness and explosive, sometimes green bowel movements. Irritation also further inhibits the bowel's ability to manage the lactose, creating a situation that often gets progressively worse. This bowel irritation sometimes becomes so severe it can cause bloody stools.
Whatever the cause of your baby's bloody stools, breastmilk is usually the best choice for most babies experiencing a digestive disturbance. Breastmilk is better tolerated and easier to digest than artificial baby formula.
You did not say specifically what kind of breastfeeding problems your baby is having, but to be appropriately evaluated for intolerances to foods in mother's milk, breastmilk oversupply, or any breastfeeding concerns you should see a board certified lactation consultant who can work in collaboration with your physician to provide a complete evaluation and offer solutions.
I'm sure you are very worried about your baby experiencing such a scary symptom. I want to reassure you that I have worked with babies who have had a resolution of bloody stools after appropriately treating oversupply or intolerances to foods in mom's diet. Hopefully the cause of your baby's problem will be identified and remedied soon.
References
Andrusiak, F. Larose-Kuzenko, M, The effects of an overactive let-down reflex , Lactation Consultant Series. Unit 13 Garden City Park, NY: Avery Publishing 1987.
Jokobsson L et al: Dietary bovine beta-lactoglobulin is transferred to human milk, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 34:8 342 1985
Mohrbacher, N; & Stock, J. The Breastfeeding Answer Book, La Leche League International. Schaumburg IL, 1997 pp 281 282
Odze RD, et al: Allergic colitis in infants, Journal of Pediatrics, 126: 163-70 1995
Woolridge, MW and Fisher, C. "Overfeeding" and symptoms of lactose malabsorption in the breast-fed baby: a possible artifact of feed management? Lancet 2:382-4 1998.
