I am expecting my first baby and as an allergy sufferer (I suffer from atopic eczema and hay fever) I know my baby is at higher risk of getting allergies too. Are there any changes that I can make to my diet during pregnancy that can reduce the risk of my baby developing an allergy?

Sharron, Isle of Wight

It is a common and very understandable worry that if you have allergies, you may pass them on to your baby. While genetic factors probably make a child more susceptible to developing eczema and hay fever as well as asthma, there are also a number of environmental factors, including in some cases certain foods, which may cause them to be triggered.

It is rarely an intolerance to a food alone that pulls this trigger and there is no good evidence that cutting out a raft of foods such as dairy, eggs and wheat while pregnant will give your child any protection. That said, if you have benefited from excluding foods such as dairy yourself, then it would be wise to continue with this, although it is vital that your diet is not compromised nutritionally in any way. Try asking your GP to refer you to a registered dietitian to be sure that your diet is up to scratch if excluding any food groups.

One interesting development in the area of inherited allergies is in the world of probiotics or “good bacteria”. Preliminary research shows that women who have at least one close relative or partner with atopic eczema, asthma or hay fever who took a particular probiotic known as Lactobacillus rhamnosus while pregnant and while breast-feeding helped to reduce the chances of their “at risk” children developing these allergies.

During the first days after birth, a baby's immune system can switch to being either allergy-prone or non-allergy prone. Researchers have suggested that which way it switches could be influenced by the type of good bacteria you eat and pass on via the placenta and breast milk.

More research needs to be done, but it may be worth trying a supplement called Vinalac which contains this particular type of good bacteria (as well as vitamins and minerals, including the 400 micrograms of folic acid that every pregnant woman should take daily). Check it out at www.probiotics4infanthealth. com.

One more point to consider is that serious allergies to nuts and nut products and some seeds affect about 1 to 2 per cent of people in the UK. Your baby may be at higher risk of developing a nut allergy if you or the baby's father, brothers or sisters have certain allergic conditions such as hay fever, asthma and/or eczema. If your baby is in this higher-risk group, you may wish to avoid eating peanuts and peanut products when you're pregnant and breast-feeding.

Some studies have questioned this advice, however, suggesting that it could make them even more prone to problems. The Food Standards Agency is carrying out a review of all the research to date and will decide on whether this advice needs updating, so I would check with your GP before taking any action.

If you have nutrition questions for Amanda, e-mail her at amandaursell@thetimes.co.uk

Beating allergies: how to lower the chances

If you as parents and any other of your children do not have eczema, asthma or hay fever, there is a 1 in 10 chance that your baby could develop it. If only one parent has these allergies, there is a 1 in 4 chance. If both parents, there is a 1 in 2 chance. Visit www.eczema.org for more information.

To include probiotics in your baby's diet, try a follow-on milk that contains them. Also a probiotic bacteria, in the form of The Organic Pharmacy's Strawberry Probiotic Powder, can be mixed into it A Dutch study from 2007 suggests that mothers who drink organic milk during pregnancy and while breast-feeding can help their babies to beat eczema, asthma and related allergies. The conditions can also be kept at bay if children drink organic milk themselves.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that drinking (and bathing in) soft water helps to reduce the severity of eczema. Research is underway at Nottingham University to prove this and whether or not it could benefit babies.