Sounds like a big reason is increased breastfeeding - parents not needing to go back to work as quickly/or in person were able to breastfeed more/for longer, which is known to improve gut health and reduce allergy rates.
Goes to show yet again how utterly insane the US is for having zero maternity leave.
I completely agree. We really need to change that for everyone’s health and wellbeing. But I just want to add that the formula shortage probably had a huge impact on the increased breastfeeding rates too.
Oh god, I can’t imagine how stressful that must have been for so many people. Like, regardless of your choice of feeding methods (if you have a choice), not being able to reliably feed your baby has got to be the worst feeling possible, the most constant high stress.
As someone who desperately wanted to breastfeed but whose body said "ha ha no, you get 2 oz... a day" I felt like the worst mom in the world.
Edit: Also have a friend who literally had friends and family all over the country looking for the one hypoallergenic formula their baby could tolerate and mailing it to them (he was venmoing them of course) and driving hours every weekend to scour stores for it. I never once saw it in my local stores, so I hope there weren't babies who needed it in our area. It was a total nightmare and they were so glad to be done with formula
yep, their baby had that, and I think there was other stuff the baby wasn't tolerating well, because another straight dairy free formula wasn't working. Mom was also gluten free and had supply issues so having to cut out dairy, soy and some other stuff for elimination purposes was rough on her.
There were recipes being shared for homemade formula that were incredibly dangerous too. Some included honey which can give botulism to babies. It was really scary seeing how quickly and widely they were shared on Facebook and TikTok.
I know there are always stories of people getting pumped breastmilk from strangers and that’s also super dangerous. Hospitals that take donated milk have high standards and requirements for storage etc. But random lactating lady you met on FB? You don’t know what she’s eating/smoking/diseases she’s carrying, or how well it’s stored.
Great news for someone with LOTS of allergies who found out they were pregnant on February 2020! My kid has no food allergies so far (except a milk allergy she grew out of at 1 year), but some mild hay fever a few times a year.
Man my pandemic baby nephew (July 2020) has developed a TON of food allergies, & even though they run in our family (& are many of the exact same food allergies that I have), his parents insist that the “lockdowns” did this to him somehow.
Doesn’t matter that their state never had any sort of real meaningful lockdown, it must be the pandemic’s fault!
Gotta love people who intentionally go against the science & choose to believe in whatever they’re feeling at any given moment.
Someone suggested in this thread that increased rates of breastfeeding might be the explanation for fewer allergies.
I non-exclusively breastfed for 6 months and it was hard AF despite not working thanks to a traumatic birth and shitty providers throughout so less stress from mom, another explanation, definitely wasn't the case in my situation and probably not the breastfeeding either.
Forgot to mention, my daughter had a mild milk protein allergy we didn't discover (read: first pediatrician has lit me about) until she was a few months old, but she outgrew it by a year. Having to eliminate dairy from my diet was extra hard because of my other food allergies.
Other people kids born during the pandemic don't seem less healthy or more allergic to me either anecdotally, and maybe less so than average.
Sounds like a big reason is increased breastfeeding - parents not needing to go back to work as quickly/or in person were able to breastfeed more/for longer, which is known to improve gut health and reduce allergy rates. Goes to show yet again how utterly insane the US is for having zero maternity leave.
I completely agree. We really need to change that for everyone’s health and wellbeing. But I just want to add that the formula shortage probably had a huge impact on the increased breastfeeding rates too.
Oh god, I can’t imagine how stressful that must have been for so many people. Like, regardless of your choice of feeding methods (if you have a choice), not being able to reliably feed your baby has got to be the worst feeling possible, the most constant high stress.
As someone who desperately wanted to breastfeed but whose body said "ha ha no, you get 2 oz... a day" I felt like the worst mom in the world. Edit: Also have a friend who literally had friends and family all over the country looking for the one hypoallergenic formula their baby could tolerate and mailing it to them (he was venmoing them of course) and driving hours every weekend to scour stores for it. I never once saw it in my local stores, so I hope there weren't babies who needed it in our area. It was a total nightmare and they were so glad to be done with formula
Absolutely horrible. I know it’s especially rough when it turns out baby has a milk allergy of some kind.
yep, their baby had that, and I think there was other stuff the baby wasn't tolerating well, because another straight dairy free formula wasn't working. Mom was also gluten free and had supply issues so having to cut out dairy, soy and some other stuff for elimination purposes was rough on her.
There were recipes being shared for homemade formula that were incredibly dangerous too. Some included honey which can give botulism to babies. It was really scary seeing how quickly and widely they were shared on Facebook and TikTok.
I know there are always stories of people getting pumped breastmilk from strangers and that’s also super dangerous. Hospitals that take donated milk have high standards and requirements for storage etc. But random lactating lady you met on FB? You don’t know what she’s eating/smoking/diseases she’s carrying, or how well it’s stored.
I hadn’t even thought about that. Must have been so stressful for parents.
This was my first thought as well
Take that (debunked) hygiene hypothesis! This makes me feel a little better about having my youngest in early 2021.
Great news for someone with LOTS of allergies who found out they were pregnant on February 2020! My kid has no food allergies so far (except a milk allergy she grew out of at 1 year), but some mild hay fever a few times a year.
Man my pandemic baby nephew (July 2020) has developed a TON of food allergies, & even though they run in our family (& are many of the exact same food allergies that I have), his parents insist that the “lockdowns” did this to him somehow. Doesn’t matter that their state never had any sort of real meaningful lockdown, it must be the pandemic’s fault! Gotta love people who intentionally go against the science & choose to believe in whatever they’re feeling at any given moment.
Someone suggested in this thread that increased rates of breastfeeding might be the explanation for fewer allergies. I non-exclusively breastfed for 6 months and it was hard AF despite not working thanks to a traumatic birth and shitty providers throughout so less stress from mom, another explanation, definitely wasn't the case in my situation and probably not the breastfeeding either. Forgot to mention, my daughter had a mild milk protein allergy we didn't discover (read: first pediatrician has lit me about) until she was a few months old, but she outgrew it by a year. Having to eliminate dairy from my diet was extra hard because of my other food allergies. Other people kids born during the pandemic don't seem less healthy or more allergic to me either anecdotally, and maybe less so than average.
Oh yeah, absolutely! I wonder how the formula shortage would factor into a longitudinal study of that as well.
That's true. We were luckily done with formula when that came up. It would have been hell for us!
[удалено]
Your post or comment has been removed because it expresses a lack of caring about the pandemic and the harm caused by it.