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Lactose Intolerance:
Solutions to the New Catchall Phrase By Lisa Hurt Kozarovich
The buzzword to explain colicky, gassy babies these days seems to be lactose intolerance, a condition that is often misdiagnosed and actually very rare, according to pediatrician Jack Newman. This breastfeeding expert is the author of The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers, and the founder of the first hospital-based breastfeeding clinic in Canada in 1984.
| According to Newman, most symptoms of lactose intolerance, such as fussiness, gas and watery, green bowel movements, are typically the result of either misguided breastfeeding techniques or a sign that the baby is allergic to proteins in the cow's milk that his mother is drinking. "Lactose intolerance is often an artifact of poor breastfeeding advice," explains Newman. "The answer to these symptoms is not simply to take the baby off the breast, as too many pediatricians recommend, but to fix the breastfeeding. The symptoms are easily treatable 90 percent of the time." |  Picture © Lori Thompson |
In most cases, the symptoms improve dramatically when the mother eliminates cow's milk from her diet or alters her breastfeeding methods, according to both Newman, who practices in Toronto, Canada, and Mary Kay Smith, a certified lactation consultant at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago, Ill.
That's something Constance Grason of Chicago, Ill. learned the hard way. In a matter of months, Grason had been through three pediatricians, joined La Leche League and spent hours doing research -- all in the hopes of determining what was causing her son to be colicky, gassy and slow in gaining weight. Grason's frustration grew as each day passed and no one seemed to be able to identify just what was causing Jack's symptoms. Her frustration intensified when her pediatrician's only recommendation was to stop breastfeeding.