Last updated: October 2026. This article is for general information and is not a substitute for personalised advice from your doctor, midwife, or paediatrician. See our Editorial Policy.
Quick answer: A new study in JAMA Network Open (published October 12, 2026) found that mothers who ate a more Mediterranean-style diet during pregnancy were less likely to have a baby with both colic and eczema. Each extra point on the Mediterranean diet score was linked to about 15% lower odds, and each weekly serving of seafood to about 25% lower odds. It is an observational study, so it shows a link, not proof that food prevents colic. Colic and eczema were not clearly linked to diet when looked at separately.
What the study looked at
Researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute used data from Project Viva, which recruited more than 1,300 pregnant women from prenatal clinics in Eastern Massachusetts between April 1999 and November 2002, according to Harvard’s release. Earth.com reports the analysis included 1,324 mother-baby pairs.
Mothers filled out food questionnaires during pregnancy. The team scored diets two ways: a Mediterranean Diet Score (high intake of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and healthy fats, with moderate dairy and lean protein scores well) and a Dietary Inflammation Index (a higher score means a less healthy pattern, with more red or processed meat, sugary drinks, sodium and refined grains). When babies were about six months old, mothers answered whether the baby had episodes of inconsolable screaming and whether a health professional had ever said the baby had eczema, per Earth.com.
What they found
According to Harvard’s release, 26% of the infants had colic and 5% had both colic and eczema. Among the findings:
- Mediterranean-style eating: each higher Mediterranean Diet Score point was associated with a 15% reduction in risk of having both colic and eczema.
- Inflammatory eating: each higher Dietary Inflammation Index point was associated with a 34% higher risk.
- Seafood: each weekly serving of seafood during pregnancy was associated with 25% lower odds of the colic-and-eczema combination (Earth.com describes this as lower odds; Harvard’s release says “lower chance”).
- Other allergenic foods: dairy, eggs and nuts were not linked to having a baby with both conditions. Earth.com adds that peanuts showed a marginal link to colic without eczema, which the researchers described as only slight.
The associations were strongest among babies whose mothers had a history of allergic conditions, Harvard reports. Earth.com notes that diet quality showed no clear link to colic or eczema on their own, only to the pairing, and that the researchers suspect babies with both may have a distinct, allergy-related form of colic. That remains a hypothesis.
Lead author Emily Oken said in the release: “Our findings provide yet another reason to help pregnant women achieve a healthy, balanced diet, with a particular emphasis on eating seafood.”
What this study does not show
- It is observational. Earth.com says the team recorded what women already ate rather than assigning diets, so the results show a link but cannot prove the food made the difference.
- The group with both conditions was small. Earth.com reports just 61 babies, under 5%, had both colic and eczema.
- Reports were self-reported. Mothers reported both colic and eczema, and the reports were not checked against medical records, according to Earth.com.
- The sample may not match every family. Earth.com reports every mother had prenatal care and health insurance, and nearly three-quarters had finished college.
- The data are old. Women joined between 1999 and 2002.
- It does not say a “bad” pregnancy diet causes colic. Earth.com notes the cause of colic is still poorly understood, and diet explained only a link with the colic-plus-eczema group.
What it means if you’re pregnant
Nothing here suggests changing your diet out of fear. Oken told Earth.com the advice is the eating pattern the score rewards: plenty of whole foods, olive oil and other healthy fats, and less red meat. Earth.com notes that U.S. guidelines already encourage eating seafood during pregnancy, but few pregnant women follow them closely. The average mother in Project Viva scored 4.6 out of a possible 9, which Oken described as about half as healthy as it might be.
Practical ways to read it (our interpretation, not the researchers’ instructions):
- Add, don’t restrict. Think of swapping in beans, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and olive oil rather than cutting foods out.
- Ask your midwife or doctor about seafood. Not all fish is suitable in pregnancy, so ask which types and how much are right for you. We have not set out amounts here.
- Don’t avoid allergenic foods on the strength of this. Earth.com notes that a 2019 AAP review and a 2023 The Lancet review both concluded the evidence does not support avoiding foods during pregnancy as a way to prevent allergies in babies. Our guide on eggs and peanuts in pregnancy and baby allergy risk covers that.
- Affordability matters. Oken said support should go beyond messaging, to policies and programmes that make healthy diets accessible and affordable, such as WIC and SNAP in the U.S.
If your baby already has colic
This study is about prevention at the population level and does not offer a fix for a crying baby today. Talk to your paediatrician if crying is intense, your baby is feeding poorly or has other symptoms. If you use gripe water, check the lot against our post on the Babies’ Magic Tea gripe water recall.
The bottom line
A well-regarded cohort found that a Mediterranean-style diet and regular seafood in pregnancy were linked to lower odds of babies having both colic and eczema. It is promising but observational, based on self-reports from a fairly small group with both conditions. Treat it as one more reason to eat a varied, whole-food diet in pregnancy, not as a guarantee, and not as a reason to feel guilty if your baby is colicky.
If you’d like the checklists and trackers that help busy parents stay organised, the New Parent Starter Bundle has printable guides for pregnancy through toddlerhood.
Sources
- Healthy diet during pregnancy associated with reduced risk of infant colic, eczema — Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, October 12, 2026 (journal reference: Oken E., et al., “Maternal Prenatal Diet and Colic and Eczema Among Infants,” JAMA Network Open, DOI 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.38472)
- Mediterranean-style diet during pregnancy lowers risk of infant colic and eczema — News-Medical, October 12, 2026
- What a mother eats while pregnant may affect her baby’s risk of colic and eczema — Earth.com, October 12, 2026
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