I've just come across this amazing story on the LLLI website showing yet again how wonderful breastfeeding is and how we as breastfeeding mothers and supporters must not allow ourselves to be bullied into quitting.
The story fascinated me particularly as my eldest daughter suffers from allergies and was recently diagnosed with a severe grass pollen allergy for which she was prescribed a treatment called Grazax and which she must continue for the next three years.
Having suffered allergies to grass and house dust for most of my own life I knew it was likely my children would also suffer and that was just one of the reasons I chose to breastfeed. However, after speaking to my daughter's allergy consultant he informed me that since hayfever is a genetic condition, no amount of breastfeeding would have prevented it - although I had hoped it would lessen the chances of it being so severe. Sadly Tara's allergies are much worse than my own ever were but I still feel that by drinking my milk hopefully her allergies will never be as bad as they might otherwise have been!
The story below goes to show that a breastfeeding mother can make big differences to her baby's allergy experiences by looking at her own diet and taking the necessary actions when required rather than just stopping altogether.
I live in Kamnik, a little town under the Alps in the small country of Slovenia in Europe. I work at a big hospital in our capital city Ljubljana as a computer engineer, and I am also a mother of two: son Luka (he'll be 4 in May) and daughter Naja (14 months). I breastfed Luka for 13 months, until the time he lost interest. I had many problems at the beginning of breastfeeding. He slept a lot and was a poor eater. At 14 days of age, he got his first bottle of formula and at the age of one month, he was about 90 percent bottlefed. I desperately wanted to breastfeed him, but I couldn't find any help, since at that time there was no LLL in Slovenia. At my first postpartum exam, I told my gynecologist about my disappointment with breastfeeding and she helped me to start on an upward path. I always offered Luka my breast first and then I pumped my milk and gave it to him in the bottle. At the age of two months, he was completely breastfed again! We needed no more bottles.
By the time my daughter was born, the first LLL Group had formed in Slovenia and I immediately joined. Soon I decided that I'd like to help new mothers with problems because I knew very well how hard it is if there's nobody who can help you.
I'd like to tell you how breastfeeding saved my little girl. Almost immediately after birth we found out that Naja was highly allergic. She suffered a lot, her skin was full of lesions, and she was very itchy. At the age of two months, she was in such bad condition that we had to go to the hospital. Fortunately, in Slovenia a breastfeeding mother can stay with her child in the hospital. At that time they found out that Naja was highly allergic to cow's milk and eggs.
The doctor told me that I should stop breastfeeding and give my baby a special formula. I didn't agree because I have always been convinced that mother's milk was the best for the baby, so I decided to put myself on a rigorous diet. I stopped consuming all milk products, eggs, red meat, chocolate, canned food and food with additives and preservatives, cocoa, nuts, many kinds of fruit, and fish. I read many books about nutrition and I called my vegetarian friends to find out how to replace the food I was avoiding with other healthful foods. At that time, I lost 16 kg. of weight, and I was still successfully breastfeeding my little girl. It was never hard for me to completely change my eating habits. When I saw my little girl suffer, I was convinced of what I needed to do. At first, her skin became better but then her condition worsened. The doctor again tried to persuade me to stop breastfeeding, but I requested new allergy tests. Those showed that she's highly allergic to flowers and grass pollen (it was May) and dust mites. But her skin condition was still very bad. At that time, my doctor again accused me of not supporting my daughter's treatment because I wouldn't stop breastfeeding. I told her that she must prove to me that my milk was not good for my girl. I gave her a copy of the LLLI BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK and tried to convince her that breastfeeding is best for the allergic child.
Read more at: www.llli.org
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