Dr. Nirmala C, Consultant OBG & Gynaec Oncology at BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital.

A newborn’s primary source of nutrition for the first few months of life is the breast milk that mothers naturally produce. Your breast milk is specially formulated for your kid and includes the nutrients that are required for healthy and complete development.

• Short-Term Health Benefits
• Faster recovery from pregnancy and childbirth
• Faster loss of pregnancy weight
• Greater sleep at night!
• Long-Term Health Benefits
• Lower risk of breast cancer
• Lower risk of ovarian cancer
• Lower risk of Type 2 diabetes
• Lower blood pressure
• Lower risk of cardiovascular disease past menopause

Benefits of breastfeeding for the infants

• Provides superior nutrition for optimum growth.
• Provides adequate water for hydration.
• Protects against infection and allergies.
• Promotes bonding and development
Due to the infant’s inability to digest specific components of the mother’s milk, it is occasionally discovered that the infant develops an allergy to breast milk. Breast milk allergies happen when a child’s immune system mistakes a foreign material for an allergen present in breast milk, which is often a cow’s milk protein ingested by the mother and filtered into the breast milk. An allergic reaction results from the body of the child releasing histamine and other substances in response to this.
The symptoms of breast milk allergy include:

1. inconsolable crying for long periods and showing irritability because of abdominal pain especially after feeding
2. Vomiting
3. Spitting up frequently
4. allergic skin reaction causing localized redness, swelling, and itching
5. Coughing, wheezing, and difficulty in breathing like asthma
6. Cold-like symptoms
7. Lack of weight gain
8. Green stool with mucus or blood
9. Intestinal problems
10. Itchy rashes on the skin
The symptoms may not appear for four to twenty-four hours after feeding, even if the response occurs as soon as the infant is fed.

What Is Breast Milk Intolerance?

The inability of the infant’s digestive system to create enough lactase to effectively digest breast milk results in breast milk intolerance. Breast milk intolerance is typically thought to be a transient ailment. Between the ages of 6 and 18 months, many infants recover from this intolerance.

The following are a few signs of breast milk intolerance:
1. Bloated stomach
2. Infant eczema
3. Failure to thrive and gain weight
4. Gaseousous distention
5. Diarrhoea
6. Crying inconsolably for a longer period
7. Resistance to being fed

How to Diagnose Allergenic Food in Breast Milk?

Eliminating the suspected food for at least a month will allow you to determine whether the youngster is indeed having problems with it. Within a week of discontinuing the troublesome meal, the infant starts to show indications of improvement. After identifying the problematic food, wait for a period of time, and reintroduce the food in the diet. If the child doesn’t react in the same way as before, the food identified may not be the cause of the symptoms. But if he shows the same reaction, then one should eliminate that food from the diet of the mother.