Ooooh, I have first hand knowledge of this. I was born in the 70’s. I was fed from the communal breast milk supply while I was in hospital (3 weeks, all the mothers expressed and babies were just fed from what was there). After leaving hospital my mother was unable to breast feed (hooray I almost died), I was unable to tolerate either of the milk substitutes. My mum had friends with babies and I was given “donated” milk when it was available. I went on to solids under the care of a pediatric nurse (at under 2 months) and occasionally got boobie milk from other sources.
So my answer to” **What did they do with babies allergic to milk before the invention of substitute baby milk?** ” – communal breast milk from other mothers.
Milk allergies is allergies against cow milk. Other types of milk like human breast milk or goats milk is some of the viable options for people with milk allergies. On the other hand soy milk formula is not a safe alternative as some babies with milk allergies also react to soy milk. It is therefore still the recomendation today that infants be fed exclusively on breast milk for several months before switching to formula.
Latest Answers