Is It Bad to Eat Peanuts During Pregnancy?

Adam Fox
Consultant paediatric specialist.

It’s fine to eat peanuts during pregnancy, unless naturally you’re allergic to peanuts yourself. There’s no evidence that eating peanuts, or foods consisting of peanuts, while you’re pregnant impacts whether your baby develops a peanut allergic reaction.

Are eating peanuts safe during pregnancy?

The federal government used to encourage pregnant women with a family history of allergies, such as asthma, eczema, or hayfever, to consider not eating peanuts. This guidance altered in 2009 since of the absence of evidence that eating peanuts increases your baby’s risk of allergic reaction, even if you have a family history of allergic reactions.

Nonetheless, you may still feel hesitant to eat peanuts, or foods consisting of peanuts, such as peanut butter. Talk to your GP or midwife if you have a family history of allergies and are fretted. As long as you’re eating a healthy, well balanced diet, leaving out peanuts from your diet certainly won’t do you or your baby any damage.

Some professionals suggest that eating peanuts during pregnancy might even make your child less likely to establish a peanut allergic reaction. Children from cultures who eat peanuts from an early age appear to be secured against the allergy, though more research is required.

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