Maternal antigen avoidance during lactation for preventing atopic eczema in infants

To assess the effects of prescribing an antigen avoidance diet to lactating mothers of infants with atopic eczema on the severity of the eczema.

The register of clinical trials maintained and updated by the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group.

All acceptably controlled comparisons of maternal antigen avoidance prescribed to lactating mothers of infants with atopic eczema, regardless of the degree of antigen avoidance (number of foods eliminated from the diet) or its duration.

Data were extracted by the author from published reports, and supplemented by additional information from trialists contacted by the author.

One trial involving 17 women was included. Based on this single small trial, maternal antigen avoidance was associated with a nonsignificant reduction in eczema severity.

The unimpressive results of this single trial should be interpreted with caution both because of its small size (n=17) and because the trial compared exposure to cow milk and egg with exposure to soya milk (soya can itself be allergenic). Maternal reports of changes in the severity of their breast-fed infants' eczema following ingestion of certain foods should be pursued by performing multiple (preferably double-blinded) challenges and dechallenges with the suspected foods.