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any vaginal babies with allergies, eczema or asthma - Page 3

post #41 of 72
I was a vaginal baby - I had excema and have allergies.

My DS was a vaginal baby - he is allergy free.

Babies in third world counties do not have allergies or eczema
This is interesting. Do you have any sources for this? Sounds a bit all or nothing to me. I know that Indigineous Australians have allergies to several of the same things Western cultures do, infact, they are a little more sensitive to some Western foods etc - as shown by their poor health stats. Of course, in a traditional lifestyle they wouldn't be drinking cows milk or eating peanuts either.

When it comes to allergies I wouldn't beat yourself up. There's mounting evidence its genetics.
post #42 of 72
C-section babies may be more likely to have food intolerances/etc, but you will find loads of vaginally birthed babies who have food intolerances. My DD was homebirthed, no vaxes, no antibiotics for either of us, very healthy diets, exclusively BF...had eczema and is intolerant to dairy, wheat, oats, egg, nuts, and coconut. None of my friends' kids had "ideal" starts and they're all healthier than my DD. So basically it's a crap-shoot IMO.
post #43 of 72
Both my brother and I were vaginal, breastfed, hippie babies raised on organic veggies, goat milk and a healthy supply of dirt.

We both have allergies and excema.

My ds and dd were both vaginal, breastfed babies. Both have allergies.
post #44 of 72
Originally Posted by cdklontz View Post
Are there any moms out there that have children from vaginal deliveries that have food allergies, eczema or asthma?
Sure, tons. I'm one of them. I was born vaginally but I have seasonal allergies and am allergic to almost all raw fruits and vegetables (oral allergy syndrome).

My brother was born vaginally and has seasonal allergies.

My ds was born vaginally and he had a tiny bit of eczema on the inside of his elbow in the crease . . . it's gone away but has had me a bit worried.

When I was growing up (& where I was born) the area had a lot of coal-fired power plants (and hence a lot of pollution). There seems to be some research that indicates that exposure to that kind of pollution can lead to allergies. My brother and I are the first ones in the family to develop seasonal allergies. We also had a very, very healthy diet growing up and were breastfed.

C/s may increase the risk but it's not like a vaginal birth is any sort of guarantee.
post #45 of 72
I had two vaginal babies.

Dd1 we thought had allergies but it turns out she has Celiac Disease (an intolerance to wheat gluten). Futher testing shows that dh has it too, and probably his sister and her baby (they still need to be tested).

Dd2 had a LOT of feeding problems from day one. She was born with a very severe form of allergies that affect her GI system. She got a feeding tube at 3 months old and still has one today due to limited diet (doesn't use it much though). You can look up her disease at www.apfed.org/ee.htm . She also had eczema as a baby and has asthma and the usual enviro and food allergies that are more common. I also have asthma, allergies, and have mild eczema, and it turns out I also have EE! But not as bad as hers. My father has severe eczema, asthma and allergies and almost died from it.

I really strongly feel that most allergies are inherited or they develop due to mutations from chemicals in our environment. Bfing can delay them sometimes. I don't know much about the vag birth canal thing, but if allergies are in your genes you are going to get them. The only question is when.
post #46 of 72
my VBAC daughter has gluten allergy (celiac actually), and can't handle much sugar or pasturized milk. when she was little she was intolerant of corn, soy, milk, wheat, and oats.

I also have celiac and don't have lots of pasturized milk well. I was born c/s.
post #47 of 72
Me, c-section
Little brother, vaginal
Grew up with pets.

Both of us have had allergic reactions to cat dander, assorted pollens, and dust.
post #48 of 72
Both my kids were vaginal births- both had eczema. (DD grew out of hers- hoping DS will too, but his is worse than hers ever was).

DH was vaginal birthed also, and he has awful seasonal allergies.
post #49 of 72
I have a ton of allergies and they trigger pretty bad eczema. I was born without drugs vaginally. My brother was also born naturally and has excellent skin and no known allergies. I really think it is largely genetic.
post #50 of 72
My brother was born vaginally, without drugs, and breastfed... lots of seasonal allergies, allergic to cats, etc.

Both my kids were born vaginally, without medication. #1 was premature and got a bit of formula the first couple days he was eating (before my milk came in around day 5)... he has allergic conjuctivitis, but that's about it. #2 was born out of hospital, full term... never a drop of formula, and ebf for 5.5 months (bf for 22 months). He has contact allergies (detergents and such) where he gets mystery hives. He also has seasonal allergies. No asthma, thankfully, but he gets colds ALL the time, ear infections with the colds, etc. His immune system is much lower than his brother's. I think he just got the bad genetics (probably the same ones my brother has).

I know tons and tons of kids with major allergies/asthma/etc. that were born vaginally, and tons of kids that are perfectly healthy born via C/S. An increase risk does NOT mean your child will have a problem. It just means that in a large sample group, they saw a slightly higher number in one group than another. If 1 in 100 has allergies when born vaginally and 5 in a 100 has allergies when born via C/S, you've got a large difference in risk, yet the risk is still very low, kwim? (note that I totally made up those numbers )
post #51 of 72
My son was born vaginally and has excema and food allergies.
post #52 of 72
i was a drug free vaginally birthed kid, and i have a few allergies. my dd was drug free vaginally birthed and gets sneezy during pollen season, and gets keratosis on her arms, and my ds was a csection after an epidural and general anesthesia, and was given abx iv for 2 days, and he gets eczema on his neck and in light spots on his legs and cheeks from time to time. he also has some mild food sensitivities, but so do dd, dh, and i.

i think it's a combo of birth and genetics.
post #53 of 72
My oldest was a vaginal birth (I can't remember if there were drugs involved - I'm not the birth mom) and she has a nut allergy and excema.

Youngest was a c-section at 28 weeks and she's never had any allergies.
post #54 of 72
Haven't read all the replies so I don't know if this has been mentioned, but there is an mdc mama who has done a lot of research and has a blog on this topic: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=941070
post #55 of 72
DS1 was born vaginally and drug free and BF for over a year. He has severe eczema and we are tracking down his allergies. He seems to catch every "bug" that goes around too. I think it's largely genetic, poor little guy just got all of it!!
post #56 of 72
Ah mama. Don't beat yourself up.

I have an allergy to nitrates/sufates. My husband is mildly allergic to some cats.

I had 2 completely natural births. We didn't introduce solids until 7 months. We used only organic foods. Both children are still nursing. We do extremely delayed and selective vaccinations

My older daughter has eczema and reactive airway asthma. It's getting better but it was VERY severe (she was hospitalized for it once and many many ER visits). She is also allergic to cats/dogs/eggs

My younger daughter has had 2 bouts of pneumonia (she will be 2 this week). Don't know about any allergies yet

We don't smoke. No history of asthma.

I have spent many days wondering what I could have done to cause this with my older daughter. It seems so unfair.

We have to remember that we need to move forward and not beat ourselves up for perceptions of what we think we did wrong.

There is no way to know if these things would have been present without a c-section. I don't know if my older would have had her issues if I had not smoked before I got pregnant. Who knows.
post #57 of 72
Both of my vag-born kiddos have asthma. There are so many other variables to the cause of asthma that you CAN control. Don't smoke around the baby, don't let others smoke around the baby. Control allergens, eat a healthy diet, etc etc. My favorite asthma blog, should you need one (for reassurance and/or asthma info) is www.theasthmamom.com

Be gentle with yourself, mama. Your baby is lucky to have a mom willing to look for ways to keep her healthy; just don't stress yourself out too much with all the info available.
post #58 of 72
In my family, my sister, brother and I were all born vaginally. (Which sounds weird to say that way!) Of the three of us, two have asthma and one, my brother, had pretty bad eczema as a child. We were all breast-fed too. As PP have pointed out, there are just so many variables in this equation.
post #59 of 72
Originally Posted by cdklontz View Post
Are there any moms out there that have children from vaginal deliveries that have food allergies, eczema or asthma? I would love to know that c-section babies aren't the only ones. I would love for you to share your stories, experiences, advice, etc.
Both my kids were vaginal. I couldn't eat dairy or peanuts with ds while he was nursing. I am pretty sure he has some food sensitivities, but haven't had him tested yet. Dd has eczema on her feet/legs. I would worry more if I couldn't breastfeed my kids, but then again, both of them were breastfed for at least a year so who knows...

If there is one thing I learned in parenting is to stop worrying about the coulda/shoulda. There will always be things that I woulda/coulda/shoulda done. I do the best I can with the knowledge/experiences that I have at the time I am doing it. That is all I can do as a parent and I am confident it will be good enough. Even if there are things I would change if I could.

Your baby will be fine, and honestly, if s/he has allergies or eczema, I would doubt it has anything to do with a c section. The bacteria in the birth canal can't be that great for stopping allergies and stuff. They come in contact with bacteria constantly after they are born... I haven't seen the articles, though.

Don't beat yourself up about what you can't change. Learn from it and move on.
post #60 of 72

Two of mine had eczema as babies, one now has asthma. The eczema was food-related. All were born at home.

Sometimes, crap happens. You had that c-section for a reason, and if you hadn't, you might not have that precious babe in your arms to worry about. Asthma sucks, but if I hadn't breastfed my asthmatic son, he might not have made it through some of his more severe attacks. Sadly, the years of having him glued to my nipple were not as effective at preventing allergies as LLL would have me believe. You deal with it, you accept that life unfolds as it should (though not always as we want it to) and welcome whatever comes.

Do you want to talk about your feelings about your section? We'll listen if you do.
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