It's interesting that you should mention the starting of solids and food allergies, Gonneke.

In the USA, new guidelines have just been issued on the subject. The information hasn't yet filtered down through all the various governing bodies (like the American Academy of Pediatrics, etc) so it hasn't yet been disseminated far and wide, but that may just be a matter of time. 

According to a colleague of mine, who is a pediatrician, allergist and pulmonary specialist, the research on which the new guidelines are based is sound. 

One thing I have heard repeatedly over the past few years if that delaying the introduction of complementary foods has NOT had the expected results of lowering the rates of food allergies - in fact, the opposite seems to have occurred. Very strange, but apparently true. (I am no expert on the subject.)

The new guidelines recommend beginning solids at 4-6 months of age (versus the currently advocated 6 months), and to even include highly allergenic foods (containing milk, eggs, peanut, tree nuts, soy, or wheat).

·    ‘Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food Allergy in the United States’ - http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/clinical/Pages/default.aspx
·    ‘The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology’ article, entitled ‘Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food Allergy in the United States: Report of the NIAID-Sponsored Expert Panel‘: http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(10)01566-6/fulltext (especially Section 5.3)

I wonder what the powers-that-be will be recommending 5-10 years from now, once we've had a chance to see how the new guidelines pan out??

Fay Bosman, IBCLC
www.nwmothernurture.com 

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