Allergy risk facts and factors
If a child’s parents have allergies, the child has a 40–80% risk of developing any one of the allergy problems, such as asthma, eczema or hay fever. The particular risk for developing food allergy is less clear.
The allergy that a child develops might not necessarily be the same as the parents’ allergies. For example, a father with hay fever and asthma might have a child with egg allergy and eczema.
How to reduce your child’s risk of allergies
If you have a family history of allergic disease, you can take some simple steps that might help reduce your child’s risk of developing allergies, while maintaining a healthy diet.
Eat a well-balanced and nutritious diet while pregnant or breastfeeding
This might sound like commonsense advice for all pregnant or breastfeeding women. But some women who have allergic diseases wonder whether they can prevent their child developing an allergy by avoiding things that cause allergies.
In general, avoiding potential allergy-causing substances while you’re pregnant or breastfeeding will not reduce the risk of your baby developing allergies. In fact, avoiding too many foods can be dangerous, because the baby won’t receive important nutrients.
The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy recommends that you do not restrict your diet to avoid potential allergens while you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Breastfeed
The Australian Government recommends breastfeeding for babies until they are at least six months old. Babies can continue to be breastfed for as long as it suits mother and baby while water and solids are also introduced.
Use a partially hydrolysed infant formula
If you can’t breastfeed or your baby is weaned before six months of age, use a partially hydrolysed milk formula. This formula contains milk proteins that have been broken down into smaller proteins. Studies have found that using partially hydrolysed milk formula might prevent the development of allergies in children with a high risk of developing an allergic disease.
This type of formula should not be used if your child already has an allergy to cow’s milk, though. In that instance, see your health professional.
Introduce solids from six months of age
The current recommendation on infant feeding by the World Health Organization is to introduce solid foods from the age of six months. You can introduce new foods gradually (every 2-3 days). There are no particular allergenic foods that need to be avoided. The introduction of solids before four months can be associated with an increased risk of food allergy.
