Re: Bloody Stools

[Guest guest]

how frustrating.

i wrote about a month ago about my mom with a baby with bloody stools and

very colicky. Things got a lot better on hydrolized formula (if this guy

is just recommending regular formula, that is bizarre . .. ) so mom went on

a " rare foods diet " - eating only pear, turkey and millet, or some other

grain (can't remember which) that she never ate before.

she did muscle allergy testing, she also used pancreatic enzymes. when she

went back to pumped milk, she used lactase in the milk, and gave it to her

baby too. When she went back to the breast, she gave lactase to the

baby. she eliminated all her supplements as well (they have gelatin,

casien, and other ingredients that might be suspect. She also downregulated

her milk supply (she was pumping 30-40 ounces in 3-4 pumping sessions.)

BUT - her baby had the allergic shadows around the eyes, allergic anal

ring, severe colic, AND blood in stools. I got a lot of guidance on this

list, on another pp list, and on lactnet, regarding all the things she

could try.

Baby was much better for a week or more, back at breast, but she just

emailed me today saying things are a little rough again - fussy behavior,

not bloody stools (yet). I suspect she added allergens back in a little

too fast. It is hard to tell what triggered the fussy behavior because it

has been building. her GI doc said that if baby is happy, a little blood

in stool is not the end of the world. but baby is NOT happy now . . .

there was an article in jhl a while back - search on the ilca site, and if

you can't find it, i can send it to you as an attachment. search for

" blood stool " and you will see it. if you are an ilca member you can

download it free. This mom may want to read it - or at least you can. It

talks about formula trial, healing the gut, and pancreatic enzymes.

this is a challenging situation and the outcome probably depends on this

mom's willingness to research and go to bat for her baby and for breastfeeding.

let us know how it goes.

lyla

At 09:19 PM 3/11/2005 -0500, you wrote:

>Oh, I am just besides myself with this client I am working with. She has

>been through it all, starting with very sore nipples, low confidence in

>breastmilk production, significant PPD and refusal of

>antidepressants, husband and mother problems, fussy baby, low milk supply

>issues, forgets to eat or nourish herself properly, difficulty sleeping,

>etc, etc. And NOW, she has just called me to say that her baby who is two

>months old (gaining well, peeing and pooping normally until now) was taken

>to the ped today because she found blood in his stool. The doctor

>confirmed that it was blood, also found that he has diarrhea and told her

>to stop nursing for two weeks because the baby is " probably allergic to

>her breastmilk. " I JUST WANT TO SCREAM!! There, I did. He told her to

>pump and dump for two weeks to see how well the baby does because he will

>probably do a lot better on formula and the bloody stools will end. How

>can this be? I don't even know where to start, but I suppose calling this

>numb nut tomorrow would be a good start (but it is Saturday!). It will be

>quite hard for me to contain myself... I have simply responded to

>tonight's phone call from this mom by supporting her and encouraging her

>to continue breastfeeding until a culture or other test determines what it

>is that is causing the bloody stool. I explained to her that an abrupt

>weaning like that would be extremely difficult on her and certainly on her

>baby and that his already troubled gut would be under sabotage, when given

>a foreign substance. Correct me if I am wrong here, but any other

>thoughts?? Her husband btw, is an OB and very unsupportive of her

>bfeeding. Ann Conlon-, IBCLC, LLLL

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