Hot on HuffPost Parents:
Mom In Labor During Tornado: 'I Opened My Eyes And I Could See Out…
Christie O. Tate: I Love and Welcome My Daugther's Rage
Peanut Allergy in Children Linked to Eating Peanuts While Pregnant
Filed under: In The News, Research Reveals: Babies, Research Reveals: Toddlers & Preschoolers
Back away from the PB and J ... Credit: Getty Images
A new study shows that infants may be at a greater risk of developing a peanut allergy if their mothers ate peanuts while they were pregnant, according to a report in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
But before you mothers of peanut-allergic children go beating yourselves up, consider this: The more than 500 infants who were part of this study were already known to have a sensitivity to milk or eggs. The children, all between the ages of 3 months and 15 months, had a positive skin prick test to milk or eggs and they either had a reaction to eating milk or eggs or had severe eczema, all of which are known risk factors for peanut allergies, according to the report.
The researchers queried the babies' mothers about their eating habits during pregnancy and took blood samples from the infants. They found that the more frequently the mothers ate peanuts, the more likely the babies were to have a strong positive result in their peanut allergy blood test, the report says. The children of women who ate peanuts twice a week or more during pregnancy were two to three times more likely to have a strong positive than those whose mothers didn't eat peanuts.
But the article's lead author, Dr. Scott Sicherer, a professor of pediatrics at the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, warns that none of this is definitive. For starters, the positive blood tests don't mean those babies will definitely have peanut allergies, he says. It's possible to have a strongly positive test result and still be able to eat peanuts without problems. Because his study was observational, the researchers didn't determine which children actually had the allergy.
Even more importantly, Sicherer cautions, the babies in his study were already shown to have other allergies. Similar studies conducted in the general population showed that eating peanuts posed no risk to an unborn child.
Sicherer says the message for the medical community is that more studies need to be done. The take home for mothers is less clear.
"You can decide which study you believe," he tells ParentDish. "Ultimately, we don't know for sure what the answer is."
In other words, use your judgment, and your family history, to guide you.
"For now, the advice would be do what you're comfortable doing," Sicherer says. "Each family has to decide what they want to do."
Your<span>Voice</span>
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
The Cure For Peanut Allergies May Be...Peanuts
Erika Edwards reports people with a peanut allergy would never put peanuts in their mouth... But they may someday be cured by putting it under their tongue.
-
Teen Sees Success With New Peanut Allergy Treatment
A new treatment that's still being worked on by researchers could help those with severe peanut allergies kick the problem. 11 News anchor Donna Hamilton introduces us to one patient who's seeing success with it.
-
Peanut Allergies May Be Linked to Economic Status
There may be a link between peanut allergies and socio-economic status.
-
Substitutes For Peanut Allergies, from Ellie Krieger
Do you struggle with the dietary limitations of a peanut allergy? Ellie Krieger, nutritionist and host of The Cooking Channel's "Healthy Appetite", gives us some easy substitutes that will also please your palate. Part of the series Mondays with Marlo on MarloThomas.com.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
11-02-2010 @ 11:33PM
mandy munroe said...peanut allergies can make it difficult to even eat a meal out not knowing if foods have been cooked in peanut oil or even been near peanuts in the kitchen. proper hand washing is important for sure! the site Http://bit.ly/WashHands made some very valid points.
Reply
11-03-2010 @ 1:20PM
sseventual said...I'm so tired of the way medical science goes back and forth on the issues of allergies. When I was pregnant with my 1st in 2008 it was don't eat peanuts they cause allergies. After she was born it became eat peanuts to prevent allergies. It's terribly frustrating for a new mother to read this stuff in every baby, parenting and family magazine out there and not know what side of the argument to follow.
Reply
2-11-2011 @ 7:22AM
Kathy said...I have a 6 year old with a peanut allergy. When he first reacted to peanut butter just before he turned one (thanks to the daycare), the allergist informed me that with no family history of any food allergies, his allergy was likely caused by my comsumption during pregnancy, especially in the third trimester. I hate that I contributed to this lifetime hassle for him, but we have learned to live with it. It is very frustrating, however, to have friends, and even family, that still don't think about it and bring peanut laden foods around him. I guess if I didn't have to live with it, I wouldn't think about it either.
Reply