Peanut Butter and BFing

krisim

For those of you who are planning to BF, do you plan to avoid peanut butter during that time?   When I was pregnant with DD I remember reading articles that recommended avoiding it due to possible allergies. 

Peanut butter is one of my favorite proteins and it was hard not to eat it while I BF DD1!

Five_letter

I am not avoiding PB

MrsCase1

in our breastfeeding class the instructor said baby has already been exposed to peanut butter and other nuts if you ate them in utero. therefore, there is no reason to avoid them UNLESS you have a family history of such things. in which case better safe than sorry. 

Mrs.Leah.Maria

My breakfast the last 2 days has been PB toast lol, so no.

kateisgreat

I have read articles saying that there is no proof that eating common food allergens while BFing has any effect on the baby at all, and that previous information suggesting you avoid certain foods wasn't based on fact.  I won't be avoiding anything that I am not allergic to. 

I had a woman at work scold me for avoiding wheat while pg. She said you are supposed to introduce the allergens as soon as possible, but *I* have a wheat intolerance, it could harm the baby if I eat it.....

tosababy

Neither my OB nor the pediatrician said I should skip PB while BFing.  I ate plenty of it, and my son does not have a nut allergy.

samanthadarneille

karnelac:

KateB1984:

Nope. I read that the recommendation was more of a hunch than anything else, and now that women have done it, it hasn't made any difference in allergies. Also, there's another side that thinks it might help prevent allergies by introducing peanuts in a safer way in trace amounts through the BM so the child's body is less likely to reject them later.

So, no, I don't avoid peanuts.

this.  and now I wish I had some oreos to go with the PB in my cupbaord.

Me too!! Ahh Oreos and PB together is the best!!

katie4253

I eat everything I normally do.  No need to start eliminating things unless your baby shows a reaction.

COMomma81

Nope. There's no history of family allergies, and my ped was of the school of thought that delaying exposure actually increases chances of one developing and the best way to introduce it is through breast milk. I ate a crap ton of PB during pregnancy and while nursing too. I also introduced peanut products to DS prior to 12 months of age.

The US, UK, and Australia are the main countries that suggest delayed exposure of peanuts...and guess which countries have the highest levels of allergies? Other countries such as Israel and various Asian countries have diets that have a lot of peanut/nut content (even with oil), and, have relatively low levels of allergies (in relation to population).

MPSW

I'm not a huge PB fan, but I did have it a few times while I was nursing DD. She had no rxns, but we learned at 1yr old that she did have a tree nut and peanut allergy. I don't think she developed it from exposure through me ... just one of those weird coincidences. (Incidentally, she outgrew the allergy by 18mos)

jillybean222

I swear my kids are really good eaters b/c of all the foods I "exposed" them to while BF'ing.  I have no idea if this is even possible, but they are not even remotely picky and barely eat "kids foods" at all.

I think it is best to eat what you normally eat and if your child has issues, make changes as needed.

colorschemer

I'm stuck eating soy nut butter because peanut butter irritates my stomach, but I'm not planning on avoiding any other possible food allergens. Most of the current research is actually indicating that exposing the child to as great a variety of things as possible is way better for them than boxing their diets into the safe zone.

vickatron

kateisgreat:

I had a woman at work scold me for avoiding wheat while pg. She said you are supposed to introduce the allergens as soon as possible, but *I* have a wheat intolerance, it could harm the baby if I eat it.....

 

This is actually what I was just going to say on the topic!  From what I've read, and the studies I've heard of, you want to avoid things YOU'RE specifically allergic to.  So if YOU have a peanut allergy, you want to avoid peanuts while pregnant and breastfeeding because the histamines you produce go in to your baby's system, and can cause his or her immune system to recognize them as a proper response.  In other words, if you have an allergic reaction, chances are you'll pass it to your baby.

 HOWEVER, the opposite is true for things you're NOT allergic to!   Just saw a study on the news last week that said they've found that babies raised in homes with dogs and/or cats, where the pets were there prior to conception, have a much lower chance of developing allergies to those animals later in life.  Similarly, I've seen another study that said people who live in urban settings have a much higher chance of developing hay fever and other outdoor allergies than people who grew up in rural areas.  Both of these indicate that early exposure keeps kids from having reactions to allergens later in life.  It makes sense, because as an older child, they won't suddenly have their systems shocked by an allergen that they haven't been exposed to before.

 In short, all of this has led me to the decision of not only making a point not to avoid certain foods, but I'm going crazy with the peanut butter!

amos07

I never avoided peanut butter with my first and she has no allergies at all to peanut butter or any other nut.  

Stellar1

I did not avoid pb when I nursed DD and I don't plan on avoiding this time either.