Is peanut butter really taboo?

[Anonymous]

Someone on the "cheese" thread referred to peanut butter as taboo. I've seen opinions about peanut better, but nothing so defined as people's opinions about soft cheeses or deli meats (which I'm moderate about anyway). I don't believe my doctor's info said anything about PB.

I didn't eat much PB during my first trimester, but I've been eating it regularly (a tablespoon or more every few days) during this trimester. No history of nut allergies in my family. Still, am I the only one being so "risky"?! It's not like I can't live without it, but it is good and has more protein than chocolate!

[pamD]

The research isn't clear. I think the AAP says peanuts are OK, especially if you don't have a family history of allergies. But some foreign medical organizations (I am thinking UK and NZ) recommend staying away.

I personally stayed away from peanuts b/c of our family history. (FWIW, DD ended up with an egg allergy, and I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with my consumption of eggs while pregnant.)

[Anonymous]

I never heard of staying away from PB, although the dr. did tell me to be careful about what I ate if we had a history of allergies - we dont, so I eat whatever.

[Anonymous]

If you do a google search, you will find a lot of reports on various studies done on this issue, some of which have been conflicting.

[Anonymous]

I would warn you that if you have morning sickness, you should stay away. There's nothing worse than puking peanut butter.

[Anonymous]

I ate it, no issues

[Anonymous]

I ate a ton of peanut butter while pregnant, and while breastfeeding. I think unless you have a family history of allergies, the peanut butter fear is probably unnecessary.

Of course, I also drank Diet Coke (caffeine AND aspartame!) and ate lunch meat, so...

[Anonymous]

I think some of the concerns is that if you eat peanuts then your child may be at risk for peanut allergies. Purely anecdotal but I lived off p.b. & j sandwiches for both my pregnancies and neither of my kids have any allergies so who the heck knows!

[Anonymous]

I've read that you should try to avoid it during nursing - although even that advice apparently now is being revised and relaxed - but there's no restriction during pregnancy. I come from a family with lots of allergies (including life-threatening peanut allergy in one of my parents) and ate peanut butter during pregnancy anyway. I tried to avoid it while nursing but certainly ate Thai food on occasion that contained peanuts. My oldest has no food allergies and loves PB&J; I'm hoping the same will be true for #2. Bottom line is that there is really no conclusive research that mandates avoidance, but lots of people steer clear at different points on the basis of better safe than sorry.

[Anonymous]

I made sure to ask my doctor about this, as peanut butter is one of the staples of my diet. He said there's about equal evidence on both sides; therefore, he didn't have a strong recommendation one way or the other, particularly considering that babies' immune systems don't really start developing until after birth.

I have PB&Js 2-3 times a week, a package of peanut butter crackers at least once a week (and those were one of the few things I could eat during the first trimester), and PB on Ritz crackers another couple of times a week. If we had a history of allergies in our families, I might cut back, but don't see any reason to since we have no history of concern.

[Anonymous]

I think I was the poster that listed other taboo foods of pregnancy (on the "cheese" postings). I didn't mean to freak you out, OP. It was in reference to everything in moderation of the taboo foods and if you do find yourself eating a Reese's cup or pbJ sandwich (gotta love those cravings) don't worry yourself sick.

You'll also find some of the same taboo foods listed on the same "list" when bfing, again, because it can be passed to the baby.

For everyone one study, one opinion, one perspective that tells you reason X, you'll find reason Y that disputes that (so do vegetarians not eat any nuts during pregnancy?).

Personally, I think the pb is more of a scare to discourage you from eating it because of all the calories, sugar, and fat in it which can pile on the pregnancy pounds unnoticably.