Thank you for your inquiry.
The potential efficacy of dietary preventive therapy during pregnancy is most adequately and succinctly expressed in the recently published ICON Guidelines for Food allergy by Drs. Wesley Burks, Mimi Tang, and Scott Sicherer. The quote and its source from The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology is noted below.
Thank you again for your inquiry and we hope this response is helpful to you.
"It is unclear whether restricting maternal diet during pregnancy or lactation affects the development or clinical course of food allergy. Several organizations have published guidelines aimed at dietary recommendations in the ‘‘high-risk infant,’’ which is typically defined as the infant without evidence of clinical allergy but with a sibling or parent with atopic disease.2,5,87,88 The American Academy of Pediatrics and the NIAID-sponsored guidelines, as well as the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy Guidelines, do not recommend restrictions on consuming potential food allergens during pregnancy or lactation.2,88,89 These recommendations are similar to those suggested in the latest revised European statement.90 The NIAID guidelines further recommend that all infants be exclusively breast-fed, without maternal diet restriction of allergens, until 4 to 6 months of age, unless breast-feeding is contraindicated for medical reasons. Introduction of solid foods should not be delayed beyond 4 to 6 months of age. Potentially allergenic foods can be introduced at this time.
Studies are ongoing to help further address the issues of dietary avoidance during pregnancy and lactation and the role of early versus delayed allergen exposure in the development of clinical disease. SOURCE: The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Vol. 129, Issue 4, Pages 906-92, 2012."
Sincerely,
Phil Lieberman, M.D.