Nutrition Counselling Strategies for Infant Allergy Clients – Where to Start?

These are my favourite clients. But also the ones I tread very carefully with. Often these families have been dealing with minor or major symptoms for months without much support. Unfortunately, they often come to me desperate for help.

How do I approach counselling these families?

Get The Story

I usually start my sessions in an open-ended way, asking parents to tell me “the story” of their baby. This gives them some time to get everything out that is on their mind.

From there, I will backtrack through their story to try to put together a timeline. It is definitely case-by-case, but questions I may ask include:

• When did you first suspect your baby had food allergies?
• What symptoms were they exhibiting at that time?
• How did you determine which foods were suspect?
• Have you seen an allergist? What were the results of the appointment?
• Did you use any special formulas or did the breastfeeding parent remove any foods from their diet?
• When were food removals attempted and what were the results?

Next Steps

There is a lot of variance in the types of infant allergy clients that come to see me. Some have received good advice along the way, some have received poor advice and many, no advice. Which category the family falls into will determine my next steps.

For those who have had good advice and I am in agreement with the current management:

• I will reinforce the current approach and ensure all nutrient requirements are being met in both infant and breastfeeding parent (if applicable).
• Clients with IgE-mediated allergies often fall into this category as they are more likely to have definitive symptoms or positive tests with an allergist.

For those who have received poor advice that I may be in disagreement with:

• I give my honest opinion about food removals, reintroductions and challenges, but always recommend they discuss with their primary care physician or allergist prior to making any changes.
• Infants with non-IgE mediated allergies or eczema often fall into this category where sometimes symptoms can fall into more of a grey zone or testing is not as clear cut.

And for those families who have had zero advice:

• Often these infants come to me after suffering for many months with symptoms that may or not be related to potential food allergies. Parents usually have made attempts at removing foods (often many foods), changing formula, etc.
• It is so important to hear these families out and understand why they made the choices and decisions they have. Most of the time, if they feel heard and understand your rationale for your advice, they will be more receptive.
• With these families, it is particularly important to look at the overall adequacy of the infant’s diet, but especially the diet of a breastfeeding parent who may have removed many foods, which unfortunately happens far too often.

From here, many of these families both need and appreciate ongoing support and guidance. I offer follow-up in a timeframe that makes sense for the situation at hand, depending on upcoming MD appointments, food challenges, etc.

Infant food allergy clients can certainly be a challenge, but are also so rewarding to work with and help along their journey.

Have you had any particularly tough infant food allergy cases? Hit reply – we’d love to hear your story.

And, if you’re looking to improve your confidence with infant nutrition in general, our flagship course, Infant Nutrition Essentials, is just about to open for our yearly registration. Jump on the waitlist HERE to access our best price point.

Charlene & Julie