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Passing Your Allergies to Your Baby |
 One of the many health related concerns that parents have even before the baby is born is if your newborn will suffer with infant allergies. Among the many health worries that trouble parents or prospective parents of infants, allergies is the most puzzling. So one concern that often comes up is whether the allergies that mom or dad suffer from will be passed on genetically to the child. Moreover, if you know of a particularly severe allergy problem in the genetic history of the child such as in the grandparents, you want to know if that allergy will pose a serious threat to the health of your baby.
The reason it is good to understand the genetic nature of allergies as they pertain to your new baby is that if genetics is not the primary source of your baby's allergy problems, that means that environment is the major contributor. And if the diet and environment of your baby may be the main threat of introducing allergies to the child, that is something you can affect. But if genetics is the sole source of allergies, then trying to eliminate allergy causes from the environment of the child to prevent allergies is a lost cause.
When a baby demonstrates symptoms of an allergy problem and you take the infant to his or her pediatrician or to an allergist, the first thing that will be asked is the family history of allergies in the parents and in the extended family. So there is no question that genetics does have something to do with the chances that your children will also suffer with allergies.
This is important information because you can prepare for those allergies in that you already understand them. If mom or dad have certain food allergies, you can plan well in advance to avoid those foods when planning the diet of your child. This seems like it makes good sense. However, it is smart to consult with your baby's doctor about any changes you may make to the way your child is raised based solely on allergies. If you strictly do not allow certain foods, for example, into the diet of your child, you may be inadvertently causing an infant allergy because you are denying the immune system of your baby the chance to get used to that food category.
It is important to note that the evidence is strong that environment does have a big part to play in the development of infant allergies. In other words, there are things you can do to reduce the chances that your baby will develop an allergy. The two most influential steps to you can take to reduce the odds of your child getting an allergy is to make sure that cigarette smoke is banned from the house and to extend the period of time that the infant will breastfeed.
Almost universally, doctors agree that breastfeeding is an outstanding way to give your baby the edge in the fight against allergies. It is NOT true that breastfeeding passes your allergies along to your baby. In fact, if you do have allergies, the odds are that you already have altered your lifestyle so that the problem allergen is not in your system to be passed to your child.
But what you do pass along to your baby through nursing is the immunities that your mature immune system has developed which can then be passed to your infant's immature immune system. This is a natural way to equip your baby's body to fight off infant allergies. Modern research in infant allergies now suggest that breastfeeding be continued through the first year and if possible through the second year of your child's life as well.
Your best defense against allergies in your child are awareness and knowledge. Even if you have done all you can to keep your child from getting an allergy in infancy, there is always a chance he or she may develop an allergic reaction to something. The good news is that the majority of infant allergies clear up within a few years after the baby reaches the childhood years. And if mom and dad are vigilant and equip themselves with plenty of information about how to cope with infant allergies, you can reduce or eliminate the impact allergies will have on your baby so he or she will have a healthy and happy infancy in your home.
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