Pregnancy and allergies

What pregnant women eat could have an effect on whether their offspring develop allergies and asthma, research has claimed.

Scientists at the University of Aberdeen found that women who ate apples while pregnant are less likely to have children who suffer from asthma by the age of five or who wheeze.

The researchers believe that the beneficial effect of the apples is due to levels of antioxidants called flavonoids, which work to prevent harmful effects of some chemicals in the body.

They also found that children whose mothers ate fish once or more a week were less likely to develop eczema than children of women who never ate fish. Omega 3 fatty acids could be one explanation for this beneficial effect, the researchers argue.

The findings come from the Seaton study, which studied 1,212 children born to women who had filled out food questionnaires during their pregnancy.

When the children reached five-years-old their mothers filled out a questionnaire about their respiratory symptoms and allergies as well as their children's food consumption.

The results, the researchers argue, suggest that, at least until age five, a mother's diet during pregnancy might be more influential on a child's respiratory health than the child's own diet.

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