Breastfeed to prevent allergies

Breastfeeding helps to prevent allergies or the severity of allergies. Even if allergies are common in your family, it is probably a good idea to breastfeed! When you breastfeed, your baby is less likely to have allergies, especially if you breastfeed exclusively, with no additional foods or drinks until about the middle of the baby’s first year of life.

Even if people in your family tend to be allergic to milk, remember that this is an allergy to COW’S milk. Your baby will not be allergic to YOUR milk.

The most common allergens are soy, wheat, eggs, dairy, nuts and corn. If you are very concerned about the likelihood of transmitting allergies to your baby, you could remove or reduce the greatest risk foods from your own diet. But remember that if you are worried about your baby being exposed to a possible allergen through your milk, the problem is that if you stop breastfeeding, the risk of allergies in your baby is even greater because formula itself is a foreign protein that your baby might be allergic to.

Also, breastmilk comes “pre-digested” and is the easiest food to digest. Unless you are advised otherwise by a qualified professional, your best bet is to breastfeed. And if a doctor does suggest that you should not breastfeed, it would be a good idea to get a second opinion. There are a couple of extremely rare medical conditions that mean you might have to stop or reduce breastfeeding and do so under close medical guidance.

But unless your baby has something like this, breastfeeding should definitely be on the menu!