We all know that the best a baby can receive as food is breast milk. In addition, we know (or should know) that if a baby cannot receive breast milk, the best alternative is the infant formula based on cow's or goat's milk, or failing that, a children's formula based on soy or rice (although rice is not regulated by Spanish law).
A 7-month-old baby, the son of a couple from the Belgian city of Beveren, died precisely for not being fed with any of these. Apparently, he received more than one type of non-adapted vegetable drinks and other gluten-free and protein-free foods from cow's milk, and weighed only 4 kg.
They thought I was allergic
As we read in German Pulse, Sandrina and Peter, the parents, believed that their son Lucas was allergic to cow's milk protein and could not eat gluten either. After failing to breastfeed, they gave him a bottle of artificial milk that seemed not to suit him. Without going to the doctor, they considered that he had an allergy.
The couple works in a natural feeding establishment, so they decided to make use of what they offered to their clients to feed their baby: quinoa drink It was the main one in their diet, and to this they added other foods, although by age they still ate little. Convinced that this diet was perfect for him, they maintained it until their state of health was already too fragile.
They went to a homeopath
Seeing that the boy did not seem very well, they decided to travel to a homeopath on the other side of the country to visit him, although they did not consider that he had anything problematic. He often gained weight and then lost it again, but they believed it was normal, a consequence of his allergy problems. The homeopath, seeing the state of health of the child He told them that they should take him to the hospital.
But at Hasselt hospital nothing could be done. The boy arrived lifeless, with a weight of 4.3 kg, so an autopsy was carried out and the authorities were informed.
Vegetable drinks cannot replace breast milk or cow's milk at a nutritional levelAll this happened in 2014, and it is now when, on the occasion of the trial, what happened has been made known. The accusation, by the way, asks a jail sentence of 18 months for each of the parents.
They never went to any doctor
When collecting information about the case, it was discovered that the boy had never been visited by any doctor, although some friends of the couple had mentioned that they did not see that Lucas had a good state of health. In addition, the diagnosis of allergy and intolerance was made by themselves, just as it was they who devised the diet that they would give in substitution of a formula for babies.
As we read in DailyMail, the mother explains that they thought everything was going well, because although she lost weight, sometimes she climbed a little. And in tears, he still explains that his intention was never to harm his son, much less that he died. They they thought they were doing their best for him.
The verdict of the case will be issued on June 14, although honestly, I don't see how the current situation can change. Nothing will bring the little one back to life and the parents have already suffered the worst possible punishment, whether or not they are considered guilty.
And when can children drink vegetable drinks?
Vegetable drinks, like the ones this baby drank, cannot substitute for breast milk or cow's milk at a nutritional level. Children can start using them at 12 months of age, but only as a punctual drink (the later, the better). It is true that from the year of life milk (maternal or cow) is one more food within a diet that consists of many other foods, but to remove animal milk special care must be taken when offering the rest food.
That is, a one-year-old child can live perfectly without ingesting any type of milk, but then you have to make sure that the rest of your diet is balanced and varied, so you don't have any lack. The fact of giving him vegetable drinks will not only not be better, but it can be even worse, by satisfying hunger with a very poor nutritionally speaking drink.
If anything, you can offer some kind of enriched drink, such as the soybean that has added vitamins and calcium, which is what people with cow's milk allergy usually use as a substitute. But nothing more, because of what has been said: they contribute very little at a time in life when a lot is required.
And the gluten?
The same goes for gluten. It should not be removed without a diagnosis, precisely because if a child does not eat gluten foods the diagnosis is impossible.
In this sense, it is advisable that after 6 months babies start eating gluten-free foods, regardless of whether they are being breastfed or not. The only indication is don't hit too much: If cereals are offered in porridge, that the baby does not eat a porridge of a lot to begin with. In any case, the fact of not taking it after six months would not be a major problem either. Gluten was not decisive in this caseIn fact, a decade ago it was usual not to give it until 8-10 months (my first child did not test gluten until 8 months, without going any further).
