Antibodies and Boobies
May 13, 2011 10:26 AM Subscribe
Breastfeeding and immunity filter:
When I (the breastfeeding mom) am exposed to a bug that I have previously developed antibodies to, does baby get enough antibodies to prevent contracting the bug?
Does he make antibodies too, or just float by on mine?
When he encounters the same bug later in life will he have immunity to it?
Does baby get my antibodies to bugs we're not encountering?
Is he, for instance, immune to the flu from 2002 that I got?
They say that BF babies get sick less often and when they get sick it's not as bad. Immunity-wise, how can a baby get a bug not as bad? Does that just mean the bug doesn't get to run the course, ie. cut off midway?
In humans, unlike in other mammals, maternal antibodies do not enter circulation. Instead, they tend to coat the mucosal surfaces of the digestive tract, protecting from bacterial and viruses that might otherwise enter the system through this route. So the baby really doesn't obtain systemic immunity as we typically think about it; it's a different mode of protection.
posted by mr_roboto at 10:39 AM on May 13, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by mr_roboto at 10:39 AM on May 13, 2011 [3 favorites]
There is readable and interesting stuff here, in "Breastfeeding and human lactation." (Google Books preview, slightly limited, still useful)
I note with amusement the comment here in re. "There are no credible internet sources." (The page refers you to the book in the first link and a second text. I think this is pretty much correct, given the fascinating science I have read off-line and the ridiculous dross I have read on-~)
posted by kmennie at 10:50 AM on May 13, 2011
I note with amusement the comment here in re. "There are no credible internet sources." (The page refers you to the book in the first link and a second text. I think this is pretty much correct, given the fascinating science I have read off-line and the ridiculous dross I have read on-~)
posted by kmennie at 10:50 AM on May 13, 2011
We accidentally did an experiment along these lines. One of my kids was breastfed, the other wasn't. There wasn't any noticeable difference in the childhood diseases they came down with.
posted by tommasz at 10:52 AM on May 13, 2011
posted by tommasz at 10:52 AM on May 13, 2011
What mr_roboto said is what I've read (maternal antibodies don't cross the baby's intestinal wall from mom to baby to get into the bloodstream in humans as in other mammals); there's one particular strain of diarrhea-causing bug that infects via the mucosal surfaces of the digestive tract that breastfeeding is pretty protective against, but otherwise claims of passing immunity to a breastfed infant are pretty much overblown or outright nonsensical.
It works out to something like one fewer case of diarrhea per breastfed year than the child would otherwise have. The rotavirus vaccine prevents more. :)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 11:06 AM on May 13, 2011
It works out to something like one fewer case of diarrhea per breastfed year than the child would otherwise have. The rotavirus vaccine prevents more. :)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 11:06 AM on May 13, 2011
Here's a readable open access J. Nutrition article which covers immunity transfer as well as antimicrobial components in human milk.
Most long-term viral diseases with high prevalance (CMV, HSV-1, HHV-6, etc.) have plenty of antibody defenses built in, and the mother's serostatus doesn't protect the child.
posted by benzenedream at 11:16 AM on May 13, 2011
Most long-term viral diseases with high prevalance (CMV, HSV-1, HHV-6, etc.) have plenty of antibody defenses built in, and the mother's serostatus doesn't protect the child.
posted by benzenedream at 11:16 AM on May 13, 2011
KellyMom's stuff
For my study where n = 1, my baby never caught any illness from me while breastfeeding and cosleeping. I washed my hands a lot tho.
posted by k8t at 11:46 AM on May 13, 2011
For my study where n = 1, my baby never caught any illness from me while breastfeeding and cosleeping. I washed my hands a lot tho.
posted by k8t at 11:46 AM on May 13, 2011
I had heard that its the maternal antibodies acquired during gestation that do the most good and tend to last until the child is about 3 years old. I breastfed my daughter mostly because-human baby, human milk- but also took her out and exposed her to all kinds of nasties as an infant so that her maternal antibodies could be set to work. Seems whatever kind of illness she got were mild and we seldom went to the Dr. Mind you I also made sure to get her required immunizations on time.
posted by PJMoore at 12:07 PM on May 13, 2011
posted by PJMoore at 12:07 PM on May 13, 2011
otherwise claims of passing immunity to a breastfed infant are pretty much overblown or outright nonsensical. It works out to something like one fewer case of diarrhea per breastfed year than the child would otherwise have.
No, there's also evidence for reduced risk of respiratory infections. Breastfeeding for a full six months, as opposed to a shorter duration, reduces the incidence of respiratory infections -- specifically, pneumonia and chronic ear infections.
It's not as simple as "digestive protection cannot mean anything other than less diarrhea"; a lot of immune function is in the digestive tract, not just protection against stomach bugs.
posted by palliser at 12:52 PM on May 13, 2011
No, there's also evidence for reduced risk of respiratory infections. Breastfeeding for a full six months, as opposed to a shorter duration, reduces the incidence of respiratory infections -- specifically, pneumonia and chronic ear infections.
It's not as simple as "digestive protection cannot mean anything other than less diarrhea"; a lot of immune function is in the digestive tract, not just protection against stomach bugs.
posted by palliser at 12:52 PM on May 13, 2011
Best answer: The immune system is one of those things that's hard to explain because it has a lot of moving parts, and the system is not as much about the parts as it is about the interaction between the them. So don't extrapolate too much from this answer.
In order to develop long term immunity to something your body goes through processes called B cell activation, affinity maturation and clonal selection, where you makes up a bunch of different antibodies and throws them at these immunogens you've found, picks a few that stick, grow up a bunch of variants looking for some that bight tight and then grows up a crop of cells that produce those antibodies. If we just fed or injected you with antibodies (like snake anti-venom) you wouldn't have developed those cell, so no long term immunity, but those antibodies would still cheerfully bind their target immunogen while they're in the neighborhood. (In fact, you could co-opt this mechanism to make antibodies against some human protein to use as a treatment for a disease where excess amounts of that protein is causing someone health problems. And I helped!)
Antibodies come in several different flavors. When you have an infection you do most of the serious infection fighting with IgG.
But an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure - so your body has another class of antibodies call IgA's, which are mostly found in the throat, digestive tract, tears, sinuses and, what do you know, breast milk. If you're trying to fight an infection, you want IgG's. If you're trying to not get infected in the first place, you want IgA's against things you've seen recently (or your mom has seen recently) that might still be causing trouble in the area.
So basically, babies have to develop their own long term immunities. But if they are being breast fed, they have an added boost against things that have recently been in the area. I'm not as sure about the "not as bad" thing, but if you can block an infection against a pathogen, you'll have a head start at making antibodies against it when it shows up next.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 6:52 PM on May 13, 2011 [1 favorite]
In order to develop long term immunity to something your body goes through processes called B cell activation, affinity maturation and clonal selection, where you makes up a bunch of different antibodies and throws them at these immunogens you've found, picks a few that stick, grow up a bunch of variants looking for some that bight tight and then grows up a crop of cells that produce those antibodies. If we just fed or injected you with antibodies (like snake anti-venom) you wouldn't have developed those cell, so no long term immunity, but those antibodies would still cheerfully bind their target immunogen while they're in the neighborhood. (In fact, you could co-opt this mechanism to make antibodies against some human protein to use as a treatment for a disease where excess amounts of that protein is causing someone health problems. And I helped!)
Antibodies come in several different flavors. When you have an infection you do most of the serious infection fighting with IgG.
But an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure - so your body has another class of antibodies call IgA's, which are mostly found in the throat, digestive tract, tears, sinuses and, what do you know, breast milk. If you're trying to fight an infection, you want IgG's. If you're trying to not get infected in the first place, you want IgA's against things you've seen recently (or your mom has seen recently) that might still be causing trouble in the area.
So basically, babies have to develop their own long term immunities. But if they are being breast fed, they have an added boost against things that have recently been in the area. I'm not as sure about the "not as bad" thing, but if you can block an infection against a pathogen, you'll have a head start at making antibodies against it when it shows up next.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 6:52 PM on May 13, 2011 [1 favorite]
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So it's not hard to prove that breastfeeding is not a panacea. What the actual magnitude of the immunity effect is I don't know. Between zero and 100%.
posted by GuyZero at 10:36 AM on May 13, 2011