PREVENTING FOOD SENSITIVITY FOR BOTTLE-FED BABY
A bottle-fed baby, or one that receives solids before three months of age, is exposed to large quantities of ‘foreign’ proteins entering the bloodstream, and there is ample evidence that these can cause allergic reactions. Even a baby that is never bottle-fed is not entirely safe. Proteins from the mother’s food can be absorbed intact from her gut and pass into her breast milk. Although the quantities involved are small, there is little doubt that these can sensitize an atopic child. In fact, the most violent reactions to cow’s milk are seen in children who have been sensitized via breast milk, rather than those that have been bottle-fed from birth. This might seem like a good argument for bottle-feeding, on the face of it, but bear in mind that these violent reactions are rare, whereas the less acute but very troublesome symptoms that might result from bottle-feeding are far more widespread.
The advice generally given to parents of high-risk babies is to feed the baby on nothing but breast milk for the first four to six months of life. Weaning should then be conducted at a very gradual pace, with breast-feeding continuing until the child is a year old if possible. If breast milk is still supplying most of the baby’s food needs, then the amount of solid food eaten can be much less.
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