1 Division of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720
2 Children's Hospital Medical Center, of Northern California, Oakland, California 94609
Most American mothers have come to consider cow's milk, particularly when modified and marketed as a proprietary formula, as the ideal replacement for breast milk as an infant food. The preparation of the baby's "bottle" has been simplified to a degree unknown even a generation ago. This simplification carries with it inherent dangers, as illustrated in the case described.
This 3-week-old Caucasian female infant was spontaneously delivered at term of a 15-year-old Spanish-speaking unmarried primigravid mother on June 22, 1969. There were no ante- or postnatal complications. Birth weight was 8 lb 6 oz. Mother and infant (weighing 8 lb 8 oz) were discharged from hospital on the third day.