The PrEggNut Study

What is the purpose of the study?

By 1 year of age, 10% (1 in every 10) of babies will develop a food allergy. Evidence to date suggests that the ideal time to prevent food allergy may be during pregnancy and breastfeeding, but little is known about the effect of what mothers eat during pregnancy and breastfeeding on the risk of food allergies in their babies. This research is testing whether the amount of eggs and peanuts a mother eats during pregnancy and breastfeeding has an influence on her baby’s food allergy development. Study results will be used to develop national recommendations about how much egg and peanut to eat during pregnancy and breastfeeding to reduce egg and peanut allergies in babies.

Who is eligible to participate?

Pregnant women who:

are less than 23 weeks gestation (singleton pregnancy), and
have at least two family members (themselves, partner or child/ren) with or with a history of medically diagnosed allergic disease (asthma, eczema, hay fever or food allergy), and
plan to breastfeed for at least 4 months, and
do not have egg or peanut allergy.

What does the study involve?

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two study groups: a ‘standard egg and peanut diet’ group (which is typical for most women) and a ‘high egg and peanut diet’ group. Participants will be asked to follow the diet advice for their group from 22 weeks gestation until their baby is 4 months of age (or until breastfeeding ceases). The outcomes of egg and peanut allergies will be compared in the babies of the two groups at 1 year of age.

Who is conducting the study?

The PrEggNut Study is being conducted by the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth (Chief Investigator: Dr Debra Palmer) and is funded by a project grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council. It is a large, multi-centred study being conducted in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne and is aiming to involve over 2100 participants.