Can My Allergies Affect Baby?

Hi N.,

Congratulations on being a conscientious mom who wants to give your baby the best start possible and reaches out to a community of other moms for support and information! Most of the best things I've learned as a mother of 20 years (youngest 12 and all three breastfed) came from other mothers. :-)

You've also got good timing! A new study was released in January about breastfeeding, allergies and whether delaying the introduction of solid foods has any effect on the development of allergies in high-risk children (those with a family history of allergies).

The study has good news for breast feeding moms with food allergies of their own: it doesn't seem to matter what a breastfeeding mom eats while she is pregnant or nursing; it won't give or make her baby more susceptible to allergies. So enjoy what foods you want without worrying that it might adversly affect your little one.

For high-risk infants, exclusive breast feeding for at least 4 months seems to help protect against milk allergies and eczema in the first 2 years of life. There is "modest evidence" that supplementing with hydrolyzed formulas (i.e., Nutramigen LIPIL, Pregestimil and Alimentum Advance) may be all right. Supplementing breast feedings with Soy and/or Cow's milk based formulas is NOT ADVISED if your baby is high-risk for allergies. Unfortuantely, hydrolyzed (pre-digested) formulas are up to 3 times more expensive and more study is still needed to establish if allergy protection demands exclusive breast feeding or if hydrosolates are actually OK.

Good News: you do not need to wait longer than 4-6 months to introduce certain solid foods to your baby. So long as you do not introduce solids before 4 months, it really doesn't matter. Delayed introduction (to 8 mos or 1 year)of more "allergenic" solid foods (i.e., milk, wheat,corn, strawberries, shellfish, etc.) does not appear to have an effect on allergy development. 4 months or 14 months makes no difference. So moms can relax.

Moms who fed their babies foods before one year and their baby developed food allergies can stop feeling guilty. The data shows it doesn't make a difference at what age a food is introduced -- so long as it is introduced AFTER 4 months of age. If a child is going to become allergic to peanuts, she or he is going to become allergic to them whether you introduce peanuts (or whatever)in month 6 or month 13. Just keep track of what foods you introduce (one every 4-7 days is a good pace) so if your guy or girl has a reaction, you can quickly isolate and eliminate the allergen.

Previous guidelines had parents delaying introduction of more allergenic foods until after 8-9 months or even 1 year. The American Pediatric Association guidelines have been updated to reflect the study released in January.

A favorite early food of all three of mine was mushed-up ripe avocado. It has great amounts of vitamin K, folate, B6, Vitamin C, potassium and copper as well as being a rich source of monosaturated fatty acids for optimal brain, heart and skin development.

To read for yourself: http://children.webmd.com/news/20080107/breastfeeding-may...

Good luck on your new job hunt. And when you do find that new job, write again about the best ways to find trustworthy and caring sitters!

Lizzie

Just because you have allergies does not mean your daughter will necessarily have allergies. I was breast feeding my daughter and started her on solids at 4 months. She did VERY well. you just have to start slow. A little rice ceral mixed with your breat milk or water, then move up to some fruits like apples, pears, bananas. But you have to do them one a time and very little to start just a couple of teaspoons at first to see if they do have an allergic reaction. My daughter had a bad reaction to peaches, so we'll be avoiding those for a while to come.

Any question you have I am sure your pediatrician would be happy to answer for you.

Hi,N.! I have 3 kids,all only breastfed.First off,I can say that what you read isn't entirely true.It would be very hard for a baby to get all the nutrients they need from breastmilk alone after the first few months.There ARE foods that you should avoid while breastfeeding if there is a history of allergy,as well as some foods that are better left on the "to try" list until your baby is a lil older.My best advice to you is to google this issue,then,armed with what you've learned and what you feel works for you and your baby,go pick your pediatricians brain,that's what they're THERE for :o)And ,as an aside...when I was pregnant with my 3rd child,He gave ME eczema! No foolin! So,the allergy thing can work both ways :o) And you are right to be cautious.

when it comes to breastfeeding the baby most like will not have the same allergies as you because i have a lot of different allergies and my daughter doesn't have them at all. I also wanted to give you advice on your chiuld and a sitter if you interview each sitter that you are thinking of try leaving the baby with the sister you choose for about a half hour to an hour each day and ask the sitter to telling you how the baby reacts to them because it will make the transitition easier once you get your new job or if you really don't want to leave the baby sitter then start thinking about working from home that is what i do and my daughter will be 1 in 5 days and i have another child due on july 1st.

Hi there,
I have a now 7 year old, that had excema when he was a baby. It was really bad, when he was a baby. I couldn't breastfeed him though. I have never heard about not putting a baby on solids though.
To tell you a little more about my son: he is now 7, and outgrew the excema by 3. It just went away one day. I still worry that it will come back, or that he could get asthma, as I read this can happen. But so far he is doing good. He has no food allergies, just seasonal allergies.
My husband and I both have seasonal allergies, I have skin allergies, so I guess our son was prone to get it too. I didn't know that this was possible.
But anyways, just to show you, that things can and will get better down the road. I know it is hard, when you have to work with your little one and the allergies. I used to introduce a solid food to him, and than not introduce another one until 5 days later or so. Just to make sure we were catching it.
He also underwent allergy testing when he was just 3 months old! It was the most awfull time. To have your little tiny baby pricked by a needle to have blood taken for the test. It came back with all sorts of sensitivities, like wheat so I wasn't supposed to give him wheat bread. I did introduce it to him eventually and guess what, he did just fine! So you never know, I think the best is to try it out and make sure you leave enough time between the foods so you can pinpoint a sensitivity or allergy right away.
The one thing that I do regret is not to switch formulas. The pediatrician we were seeing at that time, told me it wouldn't help, could make it worse. So I never tried out any formulas that where for sensitive kids. I stuck to the one I had gotten from my Ped. Which was the most expensive out there. So I thought, hey its the best, so it must be good for him. Well, when I had my daughter I tried all sorts of different formulas, bounced around like crazy. Yes you guessed right, it was fine with her. Now that I am older and have gone through all of this, I think to myself I should have taken more action myself instead of just being "brainwashed" by the pediatrician. In the end, she was one of the worst I had met. I have changed many more times since back in 2000, due to moving. And I can not believe what she had told me.
I can just encourage you to try things out, go with your gut. You will do fine! :-)
When in doubt, always ask a second opinion.
I would definately start with the cereals, they are easy on the tummy. My son needed the cereal earlier then the 4 months that (used to be) recommended. Just give her some and see how she likes it. You will know when she is not ready. Then just put it away and try again in 2 weeks. You'll be surprised how much of a difference just 2 weeks can make! Hope my advice helps you out.

Hi N.,
If you feel that your skin alergies may affect your daughter, you should talk to your Doctor. You still have made the right choice in Breasfeeding. Although you could get many opinions on what to do, this is a health issue and requires talking to a professional. I have alergies but all of my five children (which I breastfed) have had no problem taking solid foods. Each child is different so start off slow with the basics, rice cereal perhaps. Wishing you lots of luck.
On another note, I am a home based business owner, if you would like information on how to have to best of both world (raising your doughter and working), please don't hesitate to contact me any time.
S. Messina
www.beautifulisskindeep.myarbonne.com

Hi N.. My name is Roseanne B. I worked for an allergist and I'd be happy to ask him next week when I see him what you should do.

My best to you and I'll get back to you as soon as I talk to him.

Take care.

Roseanne

Hi N.,
My son is going to 6 months on Monday and has been on solids since he was 3 months (drs. orders). The only thing is to stay away from anything that has berries in it. You should start with the basics: Applesauce, pears, peaches etc... Also if your starting cereal the best to start with is rice, single grain. Hope this helps.

Don't know much about allergies, however, I do know that the more breastmilk the baby gets, the lesser the chance of developing allergies are. Also, delaying solids to 6 months or longer is wise. Breastmilk is full nutrition and babies don't NEED solids up to the first year, when on breastmilk. It isnt so much that you SHOULDNT as it is that you have the option to delay longer. I have zero history of allergies in my family, but we still delayed past 8 months with our last baby. If they show signs of being ready and you are ok with it (after 6 months) then feel free. But some people will lead you to believe your milk just isnt sufficient enough after a certain point and that solids MUST be introduced...this is simply untrue. So if you decide to delay longer than 6 months, your baby CAN live off your milk 100%, her risk of allergies will be diminished even more and waiting to give her solids won't harm in any way, as long as she is thriving on your milk. Any other questions, please ask! And if you need more info on allergies, let me know, as I'm a breastfeeing counselor and can get the info for you! Good luck!