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Drop in antibodies after 6 months?
"Liz S. Reynolds" wrote in message ... In article NiG6c.41679$Cb.602613@attbi_s51, Em wrote: "toypup" wrote in message "Em" wrote in message "Cheryl S." wrote in message I was very surprised to read this in it, under the section on preventing ear infections: "Practitioners such as Ruben believe that mothers transfer certain immune-building antibodies to their babies through breast milk. However, those antibodies seem to decrease after the six-month mark." snip I just checked the Womanly Art again and it says, "when solid foods replace human milk in a baby's diet, it decreases the protective antibodies the baby receives." It states this as one of the reasons to wait to introduce solids after 6 months (one of the others is allergies). Well, if you're replacing human milk with solids, of course the baby will receive less protective antibodies. After all, the solids don't have antibodies. It doesn't say that the milk itself has less antibodies. I'm eagerly watching this thread for the answer. I know, that's why I said that I think that the person quoted is basing his info on a misinterpretation of what actually happens! That's my theory, but I could be totally off-base. The quote in the OP's post doesn't say whether they tested the milk itself, or whether it is just that babies start having less antibodies at the 6 months mark. Call me skeptical, but I just suspect that the quote is not based on fact! Or the author is confusing something else. Aren't babies born with a store of antibodies transferred via the placenta that start to wear off around then? Breast-fed babies get re-stocked but formula babies don't. -Liz Actually, those immunities/antibodies wear off within a few weeks. It's mainly to help them through the transition of not making any on their own to when they start producing their own at about a month old. Safety mechanism, if they didn't have them in that first few weeks, especially when born in a hospital, they'd probably get really sick. But they wear off long before 6 months...so don't think it's that. Cadie |
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