Peanut Allergy May Be Passed to Infants During Pregnancy

Over the years research has suggested that pregnant women can pass a peanut allergy to an unborn child by eating peanuts while pregnant.

Information about this was presented by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2000. It was suggested that women avoid eating peanuts while breastfeeding and while pregnant if one of the parents had a peanut allergy. Also, if there were siblings with peanut allergies, the mother should consider avoiding peanuts during this pregnancy and while breastfeeding. However, in 2008 the peanut information was withdrawn.

A study about peanut allergies and pregnancy was made public in 1998. This study was done in the United Kingdom, and at the time peanut allergy warnings were issued through doctors.

Information published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology recently may cause pregnant women to rethink having peanuts in their diet. To learn more about the peanut allergy study done by the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, please see their link below this article.

Dr. Angela Hogan, an Asthma and Allergy Specialist, has a child with a peanut allergy. The doctor said she stopped eating peanuts during the second and third trimesters in two pregnancies, and these children do not have peanut allergies. Dr. Hogan ate peanuts during the entire pregnancy of the child with the peanut allergy.

The cause of peanut and other allergies are not completely understood. Why eating peanuts or other foods while pregnant could possibly cause allergies in children remains a puzzle.

Sources:

BBCNews

Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Dr. Angela Hogan