HealthWatch: Mom's Diet Could Affect Child's Risk Of Allergy, Eczema

BOSTON (CBS) - In one of the largest reports of its kind, researchers in London find that a mom's diet can affect her baby's risk of allergies.

Researchers from Imperial College London analyzed more than 400 studies involving 1.5 million people and found that when moms took fish oil supplements during late pregnancy, and while breastfeeding, their children had a 30% lower risk of having an egg allergy at age 1, and when moms took probiotics, there was a 22% lower risk of their children developing eczema.

Women who are pregnant should not change their diets based on this report alone and should still follow the dietary advice of their obstetricians, but it is something doctors will surely look at carefully.

The researchers did not find that a mom's intake of fruits, vegetables or vitamins affected their children's risk of allergy or eczema.