Breastfeeding, length of breastfeeding as a child, cow's milk and cfs

[undcvr]

I would like to know about your stories of being breastfed as a baby, especially if you have cfs or other chronic illness. So far it seems that many pple with cfs were

- breastfed for a very short time (less than 6 months)
- mothers drank cow's milk while breastfeeding
- gave cow's milk to the baby very soon after birth
- mother drank cow's milk while baby was in the womb

there seem to be a pattern here ...

 

[SOC]

I would like to know about your stories of being breastfed as a baby, especially if you have cfs or other chronic illness. So far it seems that many pple with cfs were

- breastfed for a very short time (less than 6 months)
- mothers drank cow's milk while breastfeeding
- gave cow's milk to the baby very soon after birth

there seem to be a pattern here ...

All are true for me. None are true for my daughter. We both have ME/CFS.

 

[undcvr]

wud u say her symptoms are less severe ? How were you able to avoid such important steps with her anyway ? I mean usually the mother would just repeat the steps and take advice from her own mother.

 

[ukxmrv]

I've already asked my mother as this question comes up in forums every few years. No pattern has been identified before as patients have had different experiences

1. Breastfed for 9 months and then tapered off
2. No early exposure to cows milk in any excessive way
3. My mother didn't drink very much cows milk

Just as a note, we don't like cows milk very much in my family. When I was 5 and went to school we were given school milk each day - which I hated.

Did over a year of "no dairy" early on in my ME and there was no difference to my symptoms.

 

[heapsreal]

When I was a kid growing up it was common practice for kids to be breast fed less than 6 months. During the 70s and before im sure baby formulas to make bottle milk weren't as common as they are now. In Australia many families need 2 incomes to live on so many kids now arent breast fed very long as many mother's return to work before 6 months. Cost of living and especially house prices I know are alot higher in australia than the usa.

I will correct myself about australians needed double incomes as its probably been the last 20yrs where cost of living has required this.

I could be totally wrong but if there is a difference between usa and australia in reguards to being able to breast feed longer due to different economic climates than one country would have high rates of cfs/than the other.

Another thought, mastitis is a common cause for stopping breast feeding. If breast feeding is related to cfs than there should be a correlation between women with mastitis and cfs rates in their children. Dont think there would be many studies looking into this though. Migjt be worth checking??

 

[rosie26]

I have just asked mum. I was born in 63.


- I was put straight on to cows milk ! No breast milk. (I didn't know that until now ) I am a big milk drinker. Love milk.

I have ME

 

[Little Bluestem]

I was breastfed. I obviously cannot remember how long. Mom has Alzheimer's disease, so I cannot ask. I grew up in a rural area where breastfeeding was just what was done. I think there was almost always my Mom, an aunt, or a cousin nursing a baby. I would guess that I was breastfed more than 6 months.

I think that my Mom was drinking raw cow's milk when she was breastfeeding me. I would have been given raw cow's milk once I was weaned.

 

[undcvr]

I've already asked my mother as this question comes up in forums every few years. No pattern has been identified before as patients have had different experiences

1. Breastfed for 9 months and then tapered off
2. No early exposure to cows milk in any excessive way
3. My mother didn't drink very much cows milk

Just as a note, we don't like cows milk very much in my family. When I was 5 and went to school we were given school milk each day - which I hated.

Did over a year of "no dairy" early on in my ME and there was no difference to my symptoms.

I am guessing you have ME symptoms rather different from the rest of us, or we belong to different sub groups of ME. Also going no dairy when you were older would not have helped much by then becos the effect happens when you are in your developmental stage and is already part of you.

Also what do you mean by 'in any excessive way' ? That is subjective, especially to a newborn baby just developing.

 

[Plum]

There is an extra question to add to this: who was born by natural childbirth?

Having a C section birth reduces good bacteria in yr gut - leads to more health problems.

I was breast fed for more than 6 months.
My Mum drank skimmed milk.
I would've been put onto a cow's milk bottle after breast milk.
I was born via C section

My ME fluctuates between 10 and 40% functioning.

More info on gut/C section/breast feeding

http://chriskresser.com/natural-childbirth-vii-c-section-risks-and-complications
'But perhaps one of the most significant and lasting risks for babies delivered via cesarean is the alteration of the of gut flora. Studies have consistently shown that cesarean babies have altered fecal microbiota compared with vaginally born babies, which can persist for at least six months and quite possibly for life.(16)

As I’ve explained elsewhere, the gut flora plays a crucial role in health. From that article:

Among other things, the gut flora promotes normal gastrointestinal function, provides protection from infection, regulates metabolism and comprises more than 75% of our immune system. Dysregulated gut flora has been linked to diseases ranging from autism and depression to autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto’s, inflammatory bowel disease and type 1 diabetes.

This probably explains why babies born via cesarean may have increased susceptibility to gut infections, asthma and allergies later in life.(17,18,19)

The marked changes in gut flora in cesarean babies are not greatly affected by the method of feeding (i.e. breastfeeding vs. formula) afterwards.(20) This means that breastfeeding after cesarean section can’t compensate for the alterations in gut flora experienced with that type of delivery.'

 

[SOC]

wud u say her symptoms are less severe ? How were you able to avoid such important steps with her anyway ? I mean usually the mother would just repeat the steps and take advice from her own mother.

I try to be a more knowledgeable (and generally better) mother than my mother was.

Yes, my daughter's symptoms are less severe, but I think that's more likely due to the fact that she got relatively prompt antiviral treatment and I didn't. She was rapidly heading towards severe ME/CFS when she started Valcyte.

I didn't switch to a low dairy diet until I was an adult, but my daughter has always had a no-to-low dairy diet. She cannot tolerate cow's milk or ice cream at all, but eats small amounts of cheese. I had cow's milk products only twice while she was breastfeeding -- it did not go well.

 

[SickOfSickness]

I was breast fed and probably well over 6 months (I'm not sure). I don't know about my mother drinking milk or not. I doubt I was given cow's milk directly.

There is some history of M.E. in the old Newsweek article I posted here, where 8 children got sick and Dr. Bell realized they all drank the same milk (unpasteurized) from a single goat. (The children were from 2 families and would play together, some of the children were Dr. Bell's.)

 

[undcvr]

well from what I understand there is a protein in the casein of all ruminant mammals that is not present in human milk, beta lactoglobulin. Also the casein to whey ratio and human and ruminant milk is completely flipped. This protein actually confuses me becos it is present in both yogurt and whey.

There are already studies showing that babies that mothers that drink cow's milk while breastfeeding their children, grow up to have more autoimmune condition, like eczema, allergies and asthma.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1792916/?page=7

 

[peggy-sue]

This is not something I like to consider. (the idea of any physical contact with mother makes me shudder)
I believe she fed me for some time - but the only knowledge I have to support this is the tale that she drank champagne before I was christened, and I hiccoughed all the way through the ceremony.
She started me on the booze early.

Michael's Dad lived to the ripe old age of 94, on a diet that consisted basically of cow's milk and steamed potatoes.
No health problems at all (apart from a new hip at 86 and short-term memory problems later.)

 

[undcvr]

unfortunately this would be something that affects women more than men as it is the women that carries the child.
it's also the timing of exposure to milk that is important, at a later age, after which the immune system is more developed, milk is tolerated well by alot of pple but not during the early years

 

[heapsreal]

I was breast fed and probably well over 6 months (I'm not sure). I don't know about my mother drinking milk or not. I doubt I was given cow's milk directly.

There is some history of M.E. in the old Newsweek article I posted here, where 8 children got sick and Dr. Bell realized they all drank the same milk (unpasteurized) from a single goat. (The children were from 2 families and would play together, some of the children were Dr. Bell's.)

I thought the dr bell theory though was eventually ruled out??

 

[undcvr]

This is not something I like to consider. (the idea of any physical contact with mother makes me shudder)
I believe she fed me for some time - but the only knowledge I have to support this is the tale that she drank champagne before I was christened, and I hiccoughed all the way through the ceremony.
She started me on the booze early.

Michael's Dad lived to the ripe old age of 94, on a diet that consisted basically of cow's milk and steamed potatoes.
No health problems at all (apart from a new hip at 86 and short-term memory problems later.)

Potatoes are in the nightshade family another suspect for food intolerances and sensitivities affecting the immune system.