Milk, Soy Protein Intolerance in Infants. It is Not Colic!
In July I had my second child, a baby girl. I choose to breastfeed my daughter just as I had my son. My son nursed well so when my daughter started becoming very fussy (to put it lightly) while feeding I knew it was not normal. At two weeks old she began screaming (not crying) consistently. She was showing symptoms of “silent acid reflux”, severe stomach pain, painful gas and foul smelling stools (this is not normal in breastfed babies). We took her to her pediatrician asking, “What is wrong with my baby?” Luckily he didn’t write her off as having colic. After examining her she was diagnosed with having a Milk, Soy, Protein Intolerance (MSPI). The proteins were being absorbed by my body and passing into my breast milk that my daughter was ingesting. Symptoms of MSPI vary but often include at least several of the following: inconsolable crying, acid reflux, vomiting, blood in the stool, painful gas, foul smelling stool, stomach pain, skin rashes, rhinitis, etc.
*This picture is of my baby girl at 6 months, she still has flare ups of MSPI but overall is a happy and healthy baby.*
During the visit with the doctor, he recommended I start the MSPI diet that eliminates all milk and soy proteins from my diet. Please note that MSPI is not the same as lactose intolerance or a milk allergy. As a dietitian I was aware of milk and soy proteins but hardly an expert on which foods I should be eliminating from my diet. I really had to study labels and felt as though I didn’t know what I was doing. After a month of following this diet we saw very little improvement in our baby’s symptoms. We eventually met with a pediatrician that specializes in food intolerances in infants and because my baby was not improving she suspected an additional protein intolerance that would not be easily identified. So for another week I tried a very simplified diet. Needless to say I was very hungry and everyone in our house was suffering.
At this point we decided it was in the best interest of my baby and me to switch to formula. We saw an immediate and drastic improvement in the health of our baby when we started feeding her Neocate formula; she tolerated this for about a month when we eventually needed to switch to Similac Alimentum Ready to Feed. For MSPI babies, Similac Alimentum powder is not tolerated well while the Ready to Feed version is usually tolerated.
As a dietitian I am 100% convinced of the benefits of breast milk and it was very hard for me to no longer breastfeed. But for us it was the right decision. Many moms with MSPI babies are able to successfully breastfeed their babies during the entire first year. I’m posting this blog so that it may help other parents and increase awareness. The research and resource for MSPI are very limited. So please share any resources you are aware of and post your story to help other parents. If you suspect your baby may have MSPI please contact me, I’d love to help and provide a link to great doctors in Nebraska.
Here are some useful resources.
http://www.completechildrenshealth.com/news/articles/what-is-mspi
Click here to open a Milk and Soy Free Foods List. Thank you to Nikki Ford, a HyVee Dietitian for developing this handout.
Hi! I am so glad I came across your site. My daughter is 5 weeks old and has been diagnosed with GERD. She is on thickened feeds and her doc has us switch to Good Start formula. I am still noticing issues though and feel it’s something more. She has many of the symptoms you mentioned….vomiting, very frequent forceful painful gas/stool that smells like sulfur, stomach pain and sometimes a hard feeling stomach. I am wondering if she may have a milk protein allergy. We see her doc tomorrow and I am making a list of these items.
I was wondering why you switched from Neocate to the Ready to Feed Alimentum? I am going to suggest this to her doc and don’t want to have to try more formulas than necessary. Any advice/suggestions you can provide would be awesome!
Submitted by a reader: Hi! I am so glad I came across your site. My daughter is 5 weeks old and has been diagnosed with GERD. She is on thickened feeds and her doc has us switch to Good Start formula. I am still noticing issues though and feel it’s something more. She has many of the symptoms you mentioned….vomiting, very frequent forceful painful gas/stool that smells like sulfur, stomach pain and sometimes a hard feeling stomach. I am wondering if she may have a milk protein allergy. We see her doc tomorrow and I am making a list of these items.
I was wondering why you switched from Neocate to the Ready to Feed Alimentum? I am going to suggest this to her doc and don’t want to have to try more formulas than necessary. Any advice/suggestions you can provide would be awesome!
I am so happy that my article may help you and your baby. It was such a difficult time for us and I want to make others situation easier. We switch from Neocate to Alimentum ready to feed b/c she started showing similar bad side effects to Neocate. So we slowly switched to Alimentum. Although, some have bad luck with Alimintum and go to Neocate and have better luck. ? Using Pedilyte to make the transition. Let me know if you have questions about that process. Or maybe your Dr. is familiar. She is 8 mos. old now and has been doing well on Alimentum for around 5 mos. Good luck and please don’t hesitate to contact me again!!!
Response from reader: I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your article and response! Our daughter Chloé was diagnosed with GERD around 2 weeks old after a major spit-up and choking bout required a 911 call. We’ve had some very scary moments! But since she is gaining weight well (now 5 weeks old), I felt we were being some what written off when we’d complain about her additional (and numerous!) symptoms. When they continued to worsen, I did my own research and your article was one of the biggest helps in my suspicions that she may have MPI or MSPI! I just had that feeling that something wasn’t right. We saw her doctor again yesterday for the umpteenth time and they’ve determined it is indeed a Milk Protein Intolerance so he switched her to Nutramigen and I see a huge difference in just the 24 hrs she’s been on it. And our insurance will cover it which is such a blessing!
She was previously on the Good Start actually. It helped somewhat so I think we’ll try going back to it at some point in the future when she is older if the doc okays it. Good luck with everything!
Thank you again for sharing your story and experience!
Thanks for discussing this kind of very good information on feeding your child
I just spoke to a lactation consultant about the latest and greatest info. out there in regards to MSPI. She shared two great web sites!
http://mspimama.blogspot.com/
http://intolerantoffspring.com/