There may be no need to avoid nuts or dairy during pregnancy, says new study

It's an exciting time, but pregnancy can feel like a bit of a dose when you take into account all of the things pregnant women are warned to avoid.

Alcohol, caffeine, some medications, trampolines, saunas, paint, high heels - the list can seem endless for mums-to-be. Most women are super careful of what they eat when expecting, but have you ever been told to stay away from certain foods to prevent food allergies? Fortunately there may be no need to follow this. New research has found no link between eschewing common allergenic foods in pregnancy and children avoiding developing allergies. A study of 4,900 expectant mums in the US found that almost three per cent of them ate a restricted diet in the belief that it would stop their babies having allergies to things like nuts, dairy products and eggs. These women's children, however, were found to be no less likely to be allergy-free than other infants in the study. "Mothers who had an older child with a food allergy or who had food allergies themselves had significantly higher odds of trying this food avoidance strategy," said lead researcher Dr Karen Robbins, an allergist at Children's National Health System in Washington, D.C. Dr Robbins said that her team were looking into why these women thought avoiding certain foods would help with allergies.