by Claudia Boyd-Barrett posted in Pregnancy

Taking fish oil and probiotic supplements during pregnancy and while breastfeeding could help reduce your baby's risk of developing certain allergies, new research suggests.
Researchers in the U.K. analyzed the results of more than 400 studies that looked at the impact of supplements and diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding on kids' allergy and eczema risk. Of those, almost 50 trials involving more than 20,000 people examined the effects of taking either fish oil or probiotic supplements.
When women took a daily fish oil tablet starting at around 20 weeks of pregnancy and for up to 4 months of breastfeeding, their children's risk of developing an egg allergy by age 1 dropped by almost a third, the researchers found. Meanwhile, women who took a daily probiotic supplement (as either a capsule, powder or drink) toward the end of their pregnancy (at about 36 to 38 weeks) and during the first 3 to 6 months of breastfeeding saw their children's risk of developing eczema drop by 22 percent compared to those who did not take probiotics, the researchers noted in the journal PLOS Medicine.
Avoiding foods such as nuts, dairy and eggs while pregnant and breastfeeding did not appear to influence children's allergy risk, the authors reported.

The authors said the results should be considered when health officials update guidelines for pregnant women. However, experts said larger studies are needed to follow up on the findings. Also, it w...