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I have a seven month old, and my wife has shared bagged milk that she pumped before we figured out that he can't eat it because he seems to be MSPI. The hardes

I have a seven month old, and my wife has shared bagged milk that she pumped before we figured out that he can't eat it because he seems to be MSPI. The hardest part about infant nutrition is that passing on knowledge about it isn't a part of modern American culture, and so when we had our son, we felt we had to do a lot of reading and research to figure out what was the best thing to do. And it's tragic, although understandable from a certain perspective, that a significantly lower portion of [statistically speaking] lower-income African American women do not plan to breastfeed. Tragic solely in the cost savings that it could be for them that could help them slowly make their way out of poverty. (Yes, yes, structural societal issues aside, I mean for them individually). It also appears pretty true that almost anything involving infants, birth, and the fuzziness of medical ethics provokes strong reactions from those involved. Hopefully, the focus will remain on doing the best thing, and less on doing the thing that people yell the most about.

athenot 11y ago
Lower-income women are also forced to work very soon after birth (at least in the US where there is no guaranteed maternity benefits), in jobs that forbid breastfeeding. Maybe it's because I'm a dad, but I would have no problem if the bank teller happened to have a baby latched onto her breast while she was processing my deposit. Many office jobs would not be significantly impaired if a mom were to bring in her infant. I think it's sad that we've constructed a society that has become very hostile to children (and elderly but that's a topic for a different day). Contrast with rural Asian cultures where you see babies strapped to the backs of their moms while they are in the rice fields or conducting commerce. If anything, carrying a child around during work in those conditions is "more inconvenient" than in our modern places of work.
pavel_lishin 11y ago
> I have a seven month old, and my wife has shared bagged milk that she pumped before we figured out that he can't eat it because he seems to be MSPI. A very cursory google search tells me that MSPI only appears to be related to soy and cow's milk. Am I googling wrongly?
- russnewcomer 11y ago
  Not googling wrongly at all. Just missing that the proteins that the mother ingests make their way into the breast milk. Therefore, when my wife ate dairy/soy then pumped and bagged the milk, it is no longer usable for our son since it has the proteins from her consumption in it.
  - pavel_lishin 11y ago
    Oh, wow - so if she wants to breastfeed, she basically has to avoid soy and dairy? New dumb startup idea: match women like your wife with women who are lactose/soy intolerant (but whose babies aren't), and do a milk swap!
    - russnewcomer 11y ago
      Yeah. It's really kind of torturous to try to plan meals (no cheese, and the amount of packaged food we can eat goes waaaaay down), or figure out what she could possibly eat when we go out (especially if we are somewhere longer than planned and need to eat before getting home, that's terrible.). There are informal milk swaps, but part of the deal is that the way the biology works, it's better for the baby to have their own mother's milk ( if you're giving another mother's milk, it's statistically not much different than formula [to anyone reading, I know this is a controversial statement simplifying a complex issue]).

athenot 11y ago

Lower-income women are also forced to work very soon after birth (at least in the US where there is no guaranteed maternity benefits), in jobs that forbid breastfeeding. Maybe it's because I'm a dad, but I would have no problem if the bank teller happened to have a baby latched onto her breast while she was processing my deposit. Many office jobs would not be significantly impaired if a mom were to bring in her infant. I think it's sad that we've constructed a society that has become very hostile to children (and elderly but that's a topic for a different day). Contrast with rural Asian cultures where you see babies strapped to the backs of their moms while they are in the rice fields or conducting commerce. If anything, carrying a child around during work in those conditions is "more inconvenient" than in our modern places of work.

pavel_lishin 11y ago

> I have a seven month old, and my wife has shared bagged milk that she pumped before we figured out that he can't eat it because he seems to be MSPI. A very cursory google search tells me that MSPI only appears to be related to soy and cow's milk. Am I googling wrongly?

russnewcomer 11y ago
Not googling wrongly at all. Just missing that the proteins that the mother ingests make their way into the breast milk. Therefore, when my wife ate dairy/soy then pumped and bagged the milk, it is no longer usable for our son since it has the proteins from her consumption in it.
- pavel_lishin 11y ago
  Oh, wow - so if she wants to breastfeed, she basically has to avoid soy and dairy? New dumb startup idea: match women like your wife with women who are lactose/soy intolerant (but whose babies aren't), and do a milk swap!
  - russnewcomer 11y ago
    Yeah. It's really kind of torturous to try to plan meals (no cheese, and the amount of packaged food we can eat goes waaaaay down), or figure out what she could possibly eat when we go out (especially if we are somewhere longer than planned and need to eat before getting home, that's terrible.). There are informal milk swaps, but part of the deal is that the way the biology works, it's better for the baby to have their own mother's milk ( if you're giving another mother's milk, it's statistically not much different than formula [to anyone reading, I know this is a controversial statement simplifying a complex issue]).