Allergies and Breastfeeding

Exclusive breast-feeding (excluding all other foods) of infants for the first 6 to 12 months of life is often suggested to avoid milk or soy allergies from developing within that time frame. Such breast feeding often allows parents to avoid infant-feeding problems, especially if the parents are allergic (and the infant therefore is likely to be allergic). There are some children, who are so sensitive to a certain food, however, that if the food is eaten by the mother, sufficient quantities enter the breast milk to cause a food reaction in the child. Mothers must themselves sometimes avoid eating those foods. However, there is no conclusive evidence that breast-feeding prevents the development of allergies later in life.