Allergy to breast milk — Myth or fact?

Allergy to breast milk — Myth or fact?

Can a baby be allergic to breast milk?

Allergy to breast milk – how far is it true?

Mother’s milk is the most natural nutritious and easily digestible food that the baby’s immature digestive system can handle. It has all the natural proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins in the right quantities. Babies cannot be allergic to their mother’s breast milk.

So, what does it mean when there are signs of allergy in breastfeeding babies? Food that the mother eats breaks down into carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and micronutrients and is transferred to the breast through the blood. The so-called ‘breast milk allergy’ could be an allergy to something which has been passed on to the baby through mother’s breast milk. Weaning the baby is not the solution. Eliminating the offending foods from the mother’s diet can help but doing so can be challenging and frustrating to the new mother.

Though babies cannot be allergic to their mother’s breast milk, they can, in general, be allergic to human milk 1. Babies deprived of their mother’s milk for whatever reasons may be wet-nursed or fed breast milk from human milk banks. Such babies may develop an allergy to the breast milk.

Lactose intolerancein babies may sometimes be mistaken for breast milk allergy. It occurs due to deficiency of the lactose-digesting enzyme (lactase) in the small intestine. Congenital alactasia (congenital lactase deficiency) is a rare genetic disorder in which babies are unable to break down lactose in breast milk due to lack of lactase at birth.

Reference:

1. Schulmeister U, Swoboda I, Quirce S, de la Hoz B, Ollert M, Pauli G, Valenta R, Spitzauer S. Sensitization to human milk. Clin Exp Allergy. 2008 Jan;38(1):60-8. Epub 2007 Oct 29. PubMed PMID: 17970780.

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