Category — pregnancy

I have a friend who is pregnant now and is REALLY concerned about preventing her little one from developing food allergies. Alas, avoiding the big 8 allergens during those 9 months doesn’t make a significant difference.

The American Academy of Pediatrics makes the following recommendations for infants with strong family history of food allergy:

1) Exclusive breast-feeding for 6  months

2) Use of hypoallergenic formulas when not breast-feeding

3) Maternal dietary avoidance of peanuts and tree nuts during lactation and consideration of avoiding eggs, cow’s milk, and fish

4) Delayed introduction of cow’s milk until 12 months of age, eggs until 24 months of age, and peanuts, tree nuts, and fish until the age of 3

5) No maternal dietary restriction during pregnancy, with the possible exception of peanuts.

To read more, visit http://foodallergies.about.com/od/foodallergybasics/f/infantallergies.htm