Other children with allergies... « Back to Group Discussions

[nelson]

Not sure why I didn't think of this earlier in my pregnancy, this is just going so fast, but, does anyone already have a child or children with allergies?  Is there anything you are specifically doing this pregnancy to try and prevent your next child from having allergies?  My DS has a dairy allergy and so I am considering cutting that completely out of my diet, not sure if there is evidence to back that up or not, but it is worth a try.  Anyone else heard of anything promising?

[wendipauline]

This is my first pregnancy, but I did hear an interesting story on NPR a month or so ago about how Amish children have lower rates of allergies, in part because while their mothers typically cared for farm animals and spent a lot of time outdoors and in barns during pregnancy, etc. doesn't really apply to food allergies, but it definitely motivated me to keep up my chicken-care duties instead of letting SO take them over

[ArtificialRed]

I've heard that mothers who eat a lot of peanut products during pregnancy have an increased risk of children with peanut allergies. I haven't heard that about dairy, but I also don't think it's a particularly solid link yet. I agree that it probably can't hurt to avoid it or cut back though. We have family members allergic to cats and dogs, so similarly to wendi we're not planning on limiting exposure to pet hair. We will continue to vacuum normally at home with our cats, and try to expose him to dogs as much as possible (both sets of his grandparents, plus an uncle and an aunt, have dogs). I will be absolutely crushed if he still manages to develop a severe cat allergy.

[herenow2]

Both of my kiddos had reflux when I ate dairy and gluten.  So, this time I am trying to take a good amount of probiotics for the last trimester.  I've read that can make a difference and am crossing my fingers.

[wendipauline]

Oh! And I just remembered, in that NPR story they suggested that research is showing that raw milk is linked to the lower rates of allergies as well. Apparently drinking raw milk while pregnant can help a lot, along with exposure to the farm animals (cattle in particular).