Eating nuts in pregnancy?

[Fee05]

My midwife said that I should avoid all nuts, not just peanuts. Anyone else been told this? I was planning to make a fruit cake which needs ground almonds. Can anyone advise on this? Thanks!

[mummytosteven]

Were you told this because of family history (your or your partner) of nut allergy/asthma/eczema? I was told to avoid all nuts because I have a nut allergy (brazil nut).

[Fee05]

I got the impression it was general advise she gave to everyone. Both dh and I have brothers with eczema/asthma.

[munz]

I avoided all nuts/things which were supposadly bad for me till around 30 weeks then I didn't go mad but had the odd runny egg (twice!) and snickers bar with nuts.

my M/W did say about the nutty thing but also that it's to do with allergies.

we have a big history of asthma/exema as well in the fmaily.

[pinkdolly]

Hiya,
I always believed that midwives told everyone to stay away from nuts. Neither myself nor my husband have nut allergies and both my daughters are fine. A pregnant friend told me that I would be ok for eating nuts so that is what I have been doing. However, I do suffer with eczema and wasn't aware that eating nuts had anything to do with the allergy.

[ShaysMummy]

i ate some when i was preg and all was ok, although i dont have any history, nor dh.
i forgot about snickers etc!!
i didnt eat tons though. maybe a handful a couple of times near the end.

[poppiesinaline]

I had an awful craving for peanuts at the beginning of my 3rd pregnancy and really could not resist .... ate loads of chocolate peanuts then it faded and i did try and avoid nuts - pointless after overdosing I know!!! DH has exzema/asthma his side of the family. DS2 seems no worse the wear for it but then maybe I was just lucky.

[Fee05]

so to return to my original question! what about ground almonds in a fruit cake? good or bad?

[mummytosteven]

Personally, as you don't have a history of nut allergy in the family, I think avoiding absolutely every nut is overcautious, and a recipe to drive yourself doolally for the next x months, so would just s*d it and put the ground almonds in the cake. However only you can really decide for yourself how far you are prepared to deviate from the advice.

[Fee05]

thanks for all the advice....

[poppiesinaline]

I think it would be fine but then this is coming from a peanut eating freak!!

[brimfull]

well ,I ate nuts quite regularly when I was pregnant as I thought the advice to stay away from nuts was only for people with serious allergies in the family.Neither dh or I have excema or asthma.
However my ds has a nut allergy and has to carry an epipen.The drs have said it was not caused by my eating them,but I think they're only being kind .I wouldn't eat them if I was pregnant again.

[hockeymum]

I asked my GP about this during my first pregnancy and his opinion was:

they don't know why the incidence of nut allergy is growing, if they tell all oregnant mothers to avoid peanuts during pregnancy and breastfeeding, they can see in 5-10 years whether that has had an impact in reducing nut allergies in small children and from that deduce whether there is a link between consumption of nuts during pregnancy and breastfeeding and the development of a nut allergy. He said that in his opinion it was an experiment that they were doing on pregnant women and there was no medical justification for it. He said go ahead and eat peanuts if you like.

As far as I know the eveidence I have heard and I am pregnant again, is that peanuts should be avoided but other types of nuts are ok. In fact a couple of the pregnancy books I have recommend a weekly dose of nuts for essential oils and stuff good for the growing baby. Almonds and Brazil nuts (hgh in selenium and zinc) being highly recommended along with seeds. I've never heard of ground almonds being a problem.

[mymama]

I have no history of asthma/eczema in my family and my 3rd child (ds2) is nut allergic. Other 2 have no allergies at all that we know of. Am in Australia and they don't advise anything about nuts in pregnancy - I ate peanut butter every 2nd day and during breastfeeding. My advice is to avoid all nuts during pregnancy as my case proves it can happen to anyone even without family history. Nut allergy can be life threatening and the chances of growing out of it are only 20%. Your child may be fine anyway but it is only a small thing to do - same as avoiding cheeses and pates really.

[Pinchypants]

I've got an allergy to hazelnuts and brazils so am obviously not eating them, and also avoiding peanuts as they seem to be the biggest trigger in the nut family and I also have asthma, excema and hayfever, so chance of nipper coming out with no allergies quite minimal!

I think it was Nigella Lawson who said she was so paranoid about nuts she not only avoided them while pg but only gave peanut butter sarnie to her son when he was 2, in the doctor's surgery, just in case. Think this 'no peanuts to under-2s' thing is pretty standard now as well.

I know nuts are a really good source of good fats and stuff, though, so am happily popping cashews, almonds and pistachios. I would happily put almonds in a cake mix.

As with everything, though, it's about a personal decision to take an informed risk, or not.

[brimfull]

i ate loads of cashews when pregnant and ds now has severe allergy to them ,so don't think it's just peanuts.Wish I hadn't eaten any now.

[jellyjelly]

Havent read all the thread, i suffer from minor excema (when stressed or using bath products)and have a history of allergies in my family. I wasnt told to avoid nuts only shark, marlin etc and now my ds is allergic to alot of stuff including nuts. I will avoid then next time.

[mumfor1standfinaltime]

I dont have any family history of allergies, so I ate nuts in pregnancy. If I had a history, I probably would have avoided them.
I wasnt advised on which foods to avoid/eat, had to find out myself!