Baby Health Advice

Yesterday, I came across an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal on the increasing number of babies being diagnosed and treated for GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). According to the article, a few years ago, most of the symptoms were put off as colic. To read the whole article, click here.

As a nutrition specialist, I often hear from parents with these questions: Is it colic? GERD? A milk protein allergy? Sometimes, it can even be all three with 42% of infants with GERD also having a milk allergy! The article mentioned a few treatments, including Pepcid and the use of a proton-pump inhibitor, but it did not include changing the babys diet. Often, an allergy to milk/soy is the cause of GERD, in these cases nutritional management can help.

If this is the case, nursing moms need to remove all milk and dairy proteins from their diet if they are using nutritional management as treatment. If the baby is formula-fed, parents should switch to a milk- and soy-free elemental formula, such as Neocate. With the protein broken down to its simplest form (amino acids), babies with a milk allergy and/or GERD can easily digest the formula while getting the nutrition they need to grow and thrive.

Check out the article. It has some interesting diagnosis stories that might help your little one get better!

And for more information on this topic, click here.

As always, send any questions my way!

-Sarah