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Breastfeeding and Allergies - Did You Have to Change Your Diet?
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My cousin and I sat together at a restaurant recently, drooling over the chocolate cake our family was passing around."I can't have it because I gave up chocolate," I said.
"I can't have it because my newborn is allergic to it," she replied.
We both watched it pass mournfully, but I felt much worse for her than for me. After all, at least my suffering was self-inflicted. Hers was purely sacrifice.
Anyone who nurses for more than a few days quickly finds out that babies taste -- and react -- to what's in their breastmilk. Most of the time, this is a positive thing. Studies show that babies prefer variety, and it's important for nursing moms to eat a diet rich in a variety of healthy foods.
But when baby has acid reflux or is allergic, moms have a choice to make: Either stop eating the offending food or stop nursing. Often, just dropping those highly allergenic foods like milk, wheat, or dairy will do the trick.
Rarely, moms will need to cut out all but a few basic, non-allergenic foods for their babies to eat with out allergy symptoms. Take, for instance, this UK woman. Her baby went months suffering severe allergy symptoms before she finally switched to a simple diet of fish, rice, and vegetables. Though I think the story is unique in that it took her doctors far too long to make the allergy connection, it's not unusual at all for nursing moms to have to give up a favorite food for a few months until their baby can tolerate it or weans entirely.
I, too, had to part with chocolate while I was nursing, not because of allergies but because it seemed to cause my babies painful gas. Other than that, I was free to eat and enjoy (and ohhhh, how I did!). What about you? Did you have to change your diet while nursing?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
11-20-2008 @ 10:23AM
Heather Allard said...Yes, I had to REALLY change my diet because of food allergies. My poor 2yo son is allergic to chicken & turkey (which is very rare), peanuts, treenuts and tuna. I nursed him until very recently, and basically had to avoid all of those foods.
So, what's for dinner in our house? We alternate red meat dishes with vegetarian. My older daughters are waiting for the day when they can have chicken or peanut butter again, but for now, it's too risky to even have it in the house. My son requires an EpiPen for the chicken, turkey and peanut allergy! Crazy....
My son's health was worth the sacrifice to me. Just wanted him to be healthy & happy.
Heather Allard
The Mogul Mom
http://www.TheMogulMom.blogspot.com
Reply
11-22-2008 @ 4:32PM
Katie said...I had to give up milk with my son during breastfeeding because he was allergic. I didn't know that I should have given up wheat too because he was allergic to it. This time around, I had given up the top 8 allergens since the third trimester started until my daughter turned 6 months. She was allergy tested and we found a milk allergy. I have since introduced wheat, eggs, and soy back into my diet. All seems to be well and with the new labeling laws, it is much easier to know which foods are ok.
11-20-2008 @ 10:48AM
LS said...Thankfully, my son (5) has no allergies that we've noticed, but during my pregnancy, I developed an allergy to shrimp. And it wasn't just an "ooh, look, I'm breaking out" kind of an allergy. This was an, "oh dear, my throat just snapped shut" allergy.
After he was born? I was fine. I can eat all the shrimp I want now. Bizarre. But, according to my doc, not unusual.
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11-20-2008 @ 11:41AM
Katheryn said...With my first I had to give up spicy food and cow's milk (no cheese, milk, yogurt, or chocolate). With my second it was cow's milk again.
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11-20-2008 @ 12:24PM
Nicola said...If I ate bananas, my son would projectile vomit after nursing. He had a horrible reaction. And to this day, he will not go near a banana! The mere mention of banana sends him into a panic.
And black olives caused horrible stomach upset for him, gassy bloated unhappiness, so I stopped eating them also. He doesn't eat them now, but then he's 4 and I don't think that I developed a taste for olives until much later in life...
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11-20-2008 @ 4:55PM
Sabrina said...One thing I do not understand about the diet the woman was put on is-why fish? It's one of the most allergenic foods out there! I'm so glad it worked, but usually for TED they recommend turkey or lamb. My kids are allergic to a lot of foods. I breastfed when we didn't know what was wrong, and formula fed when we didn't know what was wrong, and JUST before we went to cow's milk we found out they're allergic to dairy, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, oats, pineapple, carrots, bananas, cinnamon and bay leaves (this is a total list,t hey're not both allergic to all these things).
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11-21-2008 @ 12:18AM
Jenn said...My daughter has no allergies, but I was speaking with one of the moms at her preschool -- her son is allergic to eggs, wheat, peanuts, dairy, and corn. They discovered his allergies at about 3 months -- she nursed him until he was almost 2, so she cut out all those foods for that entire time period. I can't imagine having to avoid wheat & corn -- those two are in so much that it's ridiculously difficult to avoid them.
She said she was so very glad when he weaned, and she could eat again!
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11-21-2008 @ 4:11PM
Michelle said...It's not really that difficult, once you get started. My daughter has celiac disease AND is an extremely picky eater. I have discovered a whole world of flours ( and subsequently, foods) that don't contain wheat (or corn).
A wheat-free diet does hit the wallet harder than a wheat-full one. And she is 6 and sometimes gets sad that she can't have the same foods her friends are having at school. Luckily, I am the Room Parent and have found a way to incorporate gluten-free goodies into their special activities!
11-21-2008 @ 10:18AM
Carrie said...Just wanted to mention that there is no such thing as a food that gives a breastfeeding baby gas. We get gas when we eat a food with nondigestible carbs (beans, cruciferous veggies etc) but those do not pass through breastmilk. It's technically impossible.
If baby seems gassy after mom eats a particular food it's either coincidence, something else like strong letdown or just the usual gas we all have that seems more bothersome in a tiny baby.
Unless there is a true sensitivity to the food that is due to the protein showing up in the milk. Too many moms needlessly restrict their diet without good reason while nursing. http://sexynursingbra.com/breastfeeding-and-mothers-diet.html
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