The Pregnant Mother’s Diet And Eczema Prevention
There have been several studies looking at whether restricting the mother’s diet during pregnancy will reduce the chance of her babies developing eczema. These have shown no evidence of benefit, but have shown a possible harmful effect because the babies were born smaller than usual. It is extremely important than pregnant mothers have a healthy and varied diet in order to provide their growing baby with a good balance of nutrients.
Mother should not smoke during pregnancy because this has many harmful effects on their baby, as well as increasing the risk of allergies. Alcohol intake during pregnancy has also been linked to allergic conditions, and should be kept to a minimum.
Breastfeeding and Eczema
The recommendations allergy prevention are that newborn babies should be fed only breast milk for the first six months. Breast milk is preferable to formula milk because it is germfree, readily available, and always at the correct temperature. It also contains protective antibodies with give the young baby some immunity against infection.
Breastfeeding does not always come naturally, and new mothers may need a lot of practice, help and support in the early weeks after birth to establish a regular feeding routine. Exclusive breastfeeding is physically demanding for the mother as it means not being able to top up with a bottle of formula milk at the end of the day when she’s tired and her milk supplies are low.
Numerous studies have look at whether breastfeeding reduces the chance of babies getting eczema and other atopic conditions. Most of these have shown an overall benefit, but there are some inconclusive areas. Breastfeeding probably halves the chance that the baby will get eczema, but does not totally prevent it.
One of the complicating factors is that breast milk is not a simple substance, but contains traces of food that the mother has recently eaten, including for example, cow’s milk. If a baby is at high risk of getting atopic conditions it may be of help if the mother stops eating certain allergy provoking foods such as cow’s milk and nuts while she is breastfeeding. A few studies have shown that this reduces the chance and severity of baby eczema between 12 to 18 months. Large studies are needed to find out whether these results are correct.
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April 16th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I was originally planning on a strict diet to keep from gaining weight during pregnancy, until I realized it could be potentially unhealthy to the baby. So, I started taking daily vitamin and mineral supplements rich in the nutrients a developing child needs. You can get more info on how to keep your child healthy here.
April 19th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
I recently came across this site which features an article on the so-called “Fertility Diet.” It includes eating foods high in unsaturated fat, protein (from vegetables), iron, and high-fat dairy foods. It’s also supposed to contribute to those who have poor blood sugar control due to insulin resistance. Some examples the article gives of food that promote fertility in women are canola oils, veggie proteins (tempeh, tofu) butter, cheese, legumes, and meats! I’d say it’s a pretty good alternative to taking medications!