Ballarat doctor Harry Zehnwirth addressed a group of mothers on Wednesday afternoon at the Warrnambool Breastfeeding Centre to answer any questions about food allergies and intolerances in young children.

A consultant paediatrician with an interest in allergies, he said allergies in infants had reached epidemic proportions in the past 25 years.

“There are three reasons why we are seeing this increase,” he said.

“We’re not exposing ourselves to the microbiotics and good bacteria in the environment, we’re not getting enough vitamin D and we’re delaying the introduction of solid food into our infant’s diet.”

According to the Australasian society of clinical immunology and allergy, one in 10 children are being diagnosed with an allergy before 12 months.

“Breastfeeding is the best thing a mother can do to prevent allergies in their infants,” Dr Zehnwirth said.

“And it’s important to have them eating solid foods by six months and continuing breastfeeding as new foods are introduced is a good way to reduce the risk of allergy.”

Barb Glare, lactation consultant at the Warrnambool Breastfeeding Centre, said every bit of what a mother ate went through her milk.

“Breast milk gets a baby used to the environment,” she said.

“For some babies there’s a hereditary component and their immune systems are super sensitive, which causes them to react adversely.”

Ms Glare said it could be difficult to analyse the root cause of symptoms among babies.

But she said some reactions to food could include pain, unsettledness, reflux, cradle cap and eczema.

“Very often mothers are convinced to give up breastfeeding but this usually just makes it worse,” Ms Glare said.

“If an infant is reacting to a particular food, reactions can include vomiting/reflux, rashes, blood in stool or eczema.”

Common contributors to those reactions included cows milk, soy, wheat, eggs, nuts and some types of fish, she said.