Healthy diet during pregnancy associated with reduced risk of infant colic, eczema - Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Boston, MA—Infants born to mothers who ate a healthy, Mediterranean-style diet during pregnancy were at lower risk for colic and eczema, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. The researchers also found that regularly consuming seafood during pregnancy helped lower an infant’s risk for these conditions.

“Our own prior studies have shown that babies who had colic have higher rates of atopic conditions in later life, including asthma, seasonal rhinitis and food allergies,” said corresponding author Jenifer Lightdale, associate chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Boston Children’s Hospital and professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. “Our new study is the first to ask how prenatal diet may influence colic, and in particular the combination of colic and eczema, as babies who have both conditions in infancy may be at highest risk for various manifestations of allergies when they are older.”