Is peanut butter safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about peanut butter during pregnancy?

1. Avoiding peanuts during pregnancy isn't something current research supports, and skipping them isn't recommended for mothers who don't have a peanut allergy themselves. 1
2. If anything, mothers who ate more peanuts and tree nuts around the time of pregnancy tended to have children with a lower chance of a nut allergy, not a higher one. 1
3. In a study that followed nearly 1,300 mother-child pairs, higher peanut intake in early pregnancy tracked with less peanut allergy in the child by around age 8, not more. 2
4. That same research found milk and wheat followed a similar pattern: eating more of these common allergenic foods during pregnancy lined up with less asthma and allergy in the child later on. 2
5. A longer study that followed kids into their teens found lower peanut sensitivity overall among children whose mothers ate peanuts during pregnancy, though the pattern was less clear-cut in families with a strong history of asthma. 3

Is peanut butter safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. There's no first-trimester reason to skip peanut butter. If nausea has you reaching for simple, salty foods, peanut butter on toast or crackers is a reasonable go-to. The only exception is a personal peanut allergy, which stays off-limits no matter the trimester.
• Second trimester. Protein needs go up in the second trimester, and a spoonful of peanut butter is an easy way to get some without much effort. There's still no allergy-related reason to cut it from your meals or snacks.
• Third trimester. Keep eating peanut butter as usual in the third trimester if it's part of your routine. There's no cutoff point before delivery where stopping peanuts suddenly matters for your baby.