Breastfeeding Poisons Baby! (Sort Of)

You can always count on London’s Daily Mail for a good attention-grabbing headline, and this one doesn’t disappoint: “I Poisoned My Baby by Breastfeeding -But Doctors Said I Was Being Neurotic.”

The headline’s just a wee bit overdramatic – the article is actually a first person account from a mother whose second son was miserably wracked with undiagnosed food allergies and sensitivities from birth. He would scream almost nonstop, couldn’t be laid down or he’d choke on his own mucus, and was almost deaf from all the phlegm in his head.

Vanessa Collingridge, his mother, tried getting doctors to help her son but was brushed off with “Some babies just cry.” Sound familiar? Finally, they went to a specialty pediatric hospital. After tests found nothing, the doctors suggested she go on a “clean” diet of only fish, rice and vegetables. Almost immediately, her son’s disposition improved and soon he was playing like a typical baby. At two, he still has major food allergies but is otherwise a normal, happy little boy – and awfully cute, based on the picture over there.

Yikes. I know I had to cut certain things out of my diet (including my beloved chocolate) with both my babies when they were newborns because otherwise they were just miserable, but I can’t imagine the agony of months upon months of a screaming, unhappy baby. And this also points out the importance of finding a doctor who will listen to you and take your concerns seriously. Dr. Google is good and all, but it’s not the same as a caring, trained medical professional who “gets it” and knows how to help.