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Breastfeeding/food alergies and breastfeeding

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Expert: - 6/13/2011


Question
Hello. Thanks for taking the time to help with a question. I am a breastfeeding mother of a two week old infant. I hear mixed things about eating nuts and milk products while breastfeeding. Some sources say not to do it because it will make your child more sensitive to these items. Other sources say to do it because it will make the child less sensitive to these items. I've been drinking milk and eating peanuts and peanut butter off and on the whole time I've been breastfeeding (before I knew there was controversy) and haven't noticed any reaction so far in my daughter. There are no food allergies of any kind in me or my fiance or any of our family. So is it okay or not?????? Thanks so much

Answer
Dear Beth,

First, congratulations for giving your daughter the best start in life by breastfeeding her!

As far as eating nuts and milk products, there is no evidence that this will cause allergies in breastfed babies. There's been a lot of talk about this, but no definite conclusions. Sometimes if a mother notices that her baby is colicky and the mom gives up dairy foods, the baby's symptoms go away. But if your baby has no symptoms, it's like avoiding an icy pavement in the winter -- if there's no ice on the ground, you don't have to avoid anything. I'm attaching an excerpt from my book (below) about the controversy about allergenic foods. At this time the jury is still out, both with regard to what the nursing mom eats and when to introduce solid foods to a baby. Best bet is to check with your doctor to see whether there are any new developments with definite conclusions.

Good luck!

Regards, Sally
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Olds & Marks, 4th edition, September 2010, published by Workman Publishing, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters.
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Should You Avoid Any Foods While You’re Nursing?
About six percent of American children under age three have a food allergy. If you have no food allergies yourself, and neither you nor your baby’s father has a family history of allergy, most of the foods you eat won’t cause problems for your baby. There’s no overall evidence that restricting the diet of a pregnant or nursing mom with no history of food allergy will prevent allergic reactions in her child. Exclusive breastfeeding for six months, with no solid foods until after that time, is the best way to prevent allergies.
However, if there is a family history of allergy or if any of your children has food allergies, check with your doctor. Standard advice has been for mothers to avoid peanuts and foods that contain them, other nuts, and seafood while nursing, since elements of these foods can be passed to the baby. And for children showing signs of allergy, mothers were advised to avoid eggs, dairy, and wheat. Some allergists have suggested not giving these foods to a child with a family history of food allergy until age three. However, recent research suggests that giving some of these foods early in life seems to prevent allergy (see Chapter 17).
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Sally Wendkos Olds

Expertise

What do you want to know about breastfeeding? I can tell you what`s good for the baby, what`s good for the mother -- and the father, how it`s related to a woman`s sexuality, how working moms can nurse, how to overcome obstacles, and lots more. As the author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING and author or coauthor of 8 other books and more than 200 articles about child and adult development, I can offer sound, sensible advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues.

Experience

I nursed my 3 daughters and am the grandmother of 5 breastfed children. My book THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (written in consultation with pediatrician Marvin S. Eiger, M.D.) was first published in 1972, and in 1999 came out in an updated 3rd Edition by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books. It is now a classic, with over 2 million copies in print. I am now revising this book for a fourth edition, consulting with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. This new edition will be published September 2009. I welcome any and all suggestions for the new edition. I coauthored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; both are leading texts in their fields and have been read by 2 million students. I am the coauthor of HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY and RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD, and author of THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE & THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY. My newest book, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, published in 2002, tells the story of the way of life in a remote village in Nepal, where all the women breastfeed! My book, SUPER GRANNY: COOL PROJECTS, ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, will be published March 2009. I speak often to professional, parent and general audiences and make many radio and TV appearances.

Credentials I received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where I minored in Psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude.

Other points of interest I have received national awards for my writing, and am a former president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. I am listed in the World Who's Who of Women, International Authors & Writers Who's Who, and Contemporary Authors, and am a member of several professional and civic organizations. I believe: that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to their children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding. To find out more about me, go to

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