While we are on the subject of pregnancy, here are two articles worth looking at:
Pregnancy diet could affect baby’s allergies
01 Mar 2007
German researchers are claiming that the food a woman eats while she is pregnant could impact on whether or not her child develops allergies to food when they grow up.
Dr Joachim Heinrich led a team from the GSF-Institute of Epidemiology in Neuherberg, Germany in the analysis of expectant mothers’ diets during the last four weeks of pregnancy before comparing them to the allergies and eczema the offspring developed at two-years-old, reports Reuters.
Overall, 17.7% of all children had doctor-diagnosed eczema at the age of two. A total of 9.3% were sensitised to food allergens – most commonly milk and eggs – and 4.8% were sensitised to inhaled allergens.
The researchers concluded that according to their studies of the mother’s diet prior to giving birth, high maternal intakes of margarine and vegetable oils during the last four weeks of pregnancy correlated with a number of offspring who suffered from eczema.
Similarly, eating a lot of fish prior to birth appeared to provide some sort of protection against the development of eczema, while mums who eat a large amount of citrus fruits and celery often gave birth to kids with increased risk of being allergic to certain foods.
Air-borne allergies were also found to be more common in the offspring whose mothers had indulged in a lot of deep-frying vegetable fat, raw sweet peppers and citrus fruits during the last month of pregnancy.
The researchers have called for further testing to be done and stress that these results alone are not enough to dictate what a woman should and should not eat.
http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?xyzpdqabc=0&id=21&a ction=detail&ref=1876
Nuts! Allergies, Omega-3s, and Yogurt
We’re just beginning to learn about how diet in pregnancy affects asthma, eczema, and allergies in children. We know that over 90% of food allergies in young children are to one of five food: milk, eggs, peanuts, soy, or wheat. Some speculated that mothers’ avoiding these foods during pregnancy might reduce allergies. But studies have not shown any preventive effect from avoiding these foods, expect perhaps for peanuts and maybe even other nuts. This may be worthwhile in families where allergies are a particular problem. However, the most important thing we know to avoid for allergy prevention is not a food, but tobacco smoke. On the positive side of the diet, several studies show a significant benefit in preventing allergic disease by eating omega-3 fatty acids and eating the beneficial bacteria found in active culture yogurt.
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Dh (born in June) and I (born in March) both have miserable seasonal allergies. 
I’m hoping my children escape this misery.
