"Andrew H. Carter" asked:
> What about a mother who has an allergy to lets say peanuts,
> could it not be conceivable that it is passed on to her
> child. Think in terms of AIDS, passed on from mother to
> unborn child or a heroin addicted mother passes her
> addiction on to her unborn child.

A mother passes her antibodies to her fetus, but it's estimated that the
transmitted antibodies are effective for only the first six months or so and
then the child (with the help of a few vaccinations) produces its own. I
don't know if it's so that proteins created through allergen exposure are
passed along, so it's likely a good thing that an infant's diet is
remarkably different from that of an older child. It too raises the question
of how long the "allergy" would last.

As far as AIDS is concerned, the virus is passed from mother to child. The
effects of the virus are also passed along (think in terms of rubella).

An addicted mother passes the drug along to her baby, not her addiction. The
child goes through post-natal withdrawal, but not because of the combined
psychological/physical process commonly called "addiction."


> Could not the child then get an allergic reaction on first
> exposure, especially now that almost everything causes an
> allergic reaction to someone? Many advabces in medicine
> have been made, but still the scientists are
> discovering/creating now conditions all the time.

One of the latest things discovered about the immune system and
antigen-antibody responses is how truly short passive immunity from
vaccination is. This is MHO, of course, but since allergen-antibody
reactions operate the same way, this could actually be good news for allergy
sufferers who can avoid their allergens for a period of time.