Pregnant Women Don't Need to Avoid Peanuts: Children's Allergies

It turns out that women who are pregnant don't need to fear eating peanuts. Scientists have found that women who eat peanuts while pregnant will not cause their children to develop peanut allergies.

Previously, researchers advised pregnant women to avoid highly allergenic foods, such as peanuts and tree nuts, during pregnancy and while nursing. In addition, they recommended that mothers avoid feeding their children peanuts until three years of age. This was an attempt to make sure that children did not develop food allergies. However, from 1997 to 2007, the number of peanut allergy cases in the U.S. tripled, leading the medical community to reexamine its recommendations.

In order to find out whether limiting peanut exposure would reduce the risk of allergies, the researchers analyzed large amounts of data provided by the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS). Examining the records of 8,205 children, the researchers positively identified 140 case of peanut or tree nut allergies. They then examined the diets of each child's mother during the peri-pregnancy period and compared them with the dietary habits of pregnant women whose children did not develop a peanut allergy.

"Our study showed increased peanut consumption by pregnant mothers who weren't nut allergic was associated with lower risk of peanut allergy in their offspring," said Michael Young, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Assuming she isn't allergic to peanuts, there's no reason for a woman to avoid peanuts during pregnancy."

In fact, the researchers found that the rate of peanut allergy was significantly lower among children in the study whose mothers at peanuts during the peri-pregnancy period.

"The data are not strong enough to prove cause-and-effect relationship," said Young in a news release. "Therefore, we can't say with certainty that eating more peanuts during pregnancy will prevent peanut allergy in children. But we can say that peanut consumption during pregnancy doesn't cause peanut allergy in children."

The findings are published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.