Family News

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a study debunking previous dietary guidelines for pregnant women, nursing women and infants. Earlier, it was believed that the consumption of certain foods during pregnancy and while nursing would increase the chance of an infant developing allergies to those foods later in life. Doctors were most concerned about the foods that commonly caused allergies, such as fish, eggs and peanuts.
    
Listed below is the corrected dietary guidelines, as noted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, for pregnant and nursing women and their infants:

>> Maternal dietary restrictions do not affect the prevention of atopic dermatitis, such as eczema, asthma and hay fever in infants.

>> Exclusive breastfeeding for at least 4 months decreases the chance of eczema, asthma, hay fever and lactose intolerance in the first 2 years of a child’s life.

>> Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 3 months can prevent the development of asthma.
 
>> Infants who are not breastfed and have a family history of asthma should be fed hydrolyzed, or partially hydrolyzed, formulas, as opposed to cow’s milk, to prevent developing asthma.
 
>> Soy formula does not prevent allergies.

>> Although solid foods should not be introduced until an infant is 4 to 6 months old, there is no evidence to support that postponing solid foods prevents allergies. This includes even highly allergic foods, such as fish, eggs and peanut products.

>> There is no dietary regimen to protect infants 4 to 6 months and older from eczema, asthma and hay fever.