peanuts while breastfeeding?

Bobsmum · 2003-05-15T12:40:45+00:00

Hi I was told when pg not to eat peanuts in any shape or form. This advice only came at 12 weeks which was a bit late really as i was eating a snickers bar a day. but stopped anyway. When ds was born, i was told to still avoid peanuts in my diet. ds is now 8 months and I'm desperate for a nut! The only allergies in our family is dh with hayfever/cats, I have none. Any advice?

mears · 15/05/2003 14:09

The risk of nut allergy is pretty miniscule. However, as I have a sister with a severely allergic child with nut allergy, I wouldn't risk it.
On saying that actually, I remember not eating home made mousse with 1st child because of salmonella risk but then ate it with the rest. Also I ate nuts now and again ( didn't know the risks then) and had no problems.
Don't know the answer. Sorry.

wiltshirelass · 15/05/2003 14:25

i thought that the rise in peanut allergies was found in recent studies to be more likely to be due to - peanut oil in nipple creams (ie child directly eating peanut oil while breastfeeding) and peanut oil in emollients used for children/babies with exczema (ie being absorbed into their bloodstream through broken or weak skin)rather than eating. I think if you are a non-allergenic family and the baby has no eczema or other allergy things you could eat the odd snicker bar?

Original poster

Bobsmum · 15/05/2003 14:25

thanks anyway, will avoid just to be sure.

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Original poster

Bobsmum · 15/05/2003 14:28

oops ! wiltshirelass - you have given me hope!! (crossed posts) - snickers bars are what I'd really love. still paranoid tho

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Rhubarb · 15/05/2003 14:42

I ate peanuts all the way through my last pregnancy and am eating them through this one. Peanut butter, pistachio nuts, crunchy nut cornflakes, etc! But then no-one in either my family or dh's has any serious food allergies. My GP said it was only a problem if you or your family have a history of allergies or excema (sp?). My thought on this (and it is only a thought) is that if your baby is exposed to peanuts in the womb then surely they are less likely to develop an allergy against them when they are born?

Original poster

Bobsmum · 15/05/2003 20:13

I agree Rhubarb - it sounds daft really to totally abstain from nuts until ds is 1 (as I have been told) and then when one suddenly appears in his diet, then surely his little bod would just think "what the heck is this - never had one of these before" and have a reaction. Not sure how food allergies work though.

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NQWWW · 15/05/2003 22:27

Peanut allergies can develop at any point, and my understanding is that the younger a child is exposed to peanuts, the more severe any allergy will be. Its definitely not the case that exposure in the womb will "accustom" a child to peanuts and reduce the risk of allergy. My ds had eczema (apologies for spelling - I can never remember!) as a baby, while I was breastfeeding exclusively. I was advised (amongst other things) to cut dairy foods out of my diet, as the allergens would get into my breastmilk. I did this, and the eczema cleared up. I assume from this that eating peanuts while breastfeeding should be avoided as well. NB - when I did try formula with my ds at 7 months, it turned out he was allergic to cow's milk, which reinforced my impression that my drinking milk while breastfeeding had been a contributor to his eczema. And there are no allergies in our family either.

You might be desperate for a nut, but remember how dangerous peanut allergy can be - would you really want to take that risk, however small?

NQWWW · 15/05/2003 22:29

BTW there are some really informative posts on old threads from people who know much more about allergies than me, with some good links to sites which you might find useful.

NQWWW · 15/05/2003 22:29

Peanut allergies can develop at any point, and my understanding is that the younger a child is exposed to peanuts, the more severe any allergy will be. Its definitely not the case that exposure in the womb will "accustom" a child to peanuts and reduce the risk of allergy. My ds had eczema (apologies for spelling - I can never remember!) as a baby, while I was breastfeeding exclusively. I was advised (amongst other things) to cut dairy foods out of my diet, as the allergens would get into my breastmilk. I did this, and the eczema cleared up. I assume from this that eating peanuts while breastfeeding should be avoided as well. NB - when I did try formula with my ds at 7 months, it turned out he was allergic to cow's milk, which reinforced my impression that my drinking milk while breastfeeding had been a contributor to his eczema. And there are no allergies in our family either.

You might be desperate for a nut, but remember how dangerous peanut allergy can be - would you really want to take that risk, however small?

pupuce · 15/05/2003 22:40

This sort of info varies widely from country to country.... the UK and US are big "no no" to peanuts while others make absolutely no ref. at all to eating or not eating peanuts...

mears · 15/05/2003 23:10

Did you know that peanut oil was in formula milk until this was identified as a problem? My sister's baby was given a formula feed in hospital (even though she was breast feeding), used kamillosan that contained peanut oil at the time and ate peanuts by the bucketful during pregnancy. It would be hard to find where the allergy started from. asd I said before, we do not know abourt peanut allergy as such, her dd reacts to all nuts, peanut is not actually a nut in the family sense. Too risky to try.