virgin gut question

[Apwannabe]

i wasn't sure if I should post this here or breastfeeding....


http://www.drjaygordon.com/developme...supplement.asp

* If breast milk were again given exclusively, it would take 2-4 weeks for the intestinal environment to return again to a state favoring the grampositive flora. (Brown & Bosworth, 1922; Gerstley, Howell, Nagel, 1932)

So does this mean if a baby gets a bottle of formula say at 3 weeks or 4 months or whenever and then never gets one again does the baby go back to having a virgin gut?

[Sarah]

Not in my opinion. Virgin means virgin... it's not a pH or a flora balance- it's the whole thing. A baby can also be sensitized to the foreign protiens passing through the open lining during a brief exposure to formula- reverting to breastmilk only does not undo the exposure that happened. I don't think that "virgin gut" should ever be used for anything other than what it is intended to signify.

Many people (including nurses) casually slip a bottle of formula in without any consideration for the effects. I think that that it's important to promote the understanding of the virgin gut and why it is important.