Dr. Liz Miles, a key player in the University of Southampton team,  interviewed one of the volunteers  to find out what attracted her to the study, why she chose to participate in it, and how she has experienced the study so far.

Why did the volunteer participate in the study?
This volunteer joined the study when pregnant with her 3rd baby.  She decided to participate in the study to help with research that offers hope of reducing the chances of allergy developing in babies (like hers) at higher than normal risk of becoming allergic. Her older daughter and son both have allergies which presented at a very early age. 

Why is she at higher risk of having a baby  developing allergic disease?
This lady has a strong family history of allergy. The volunteer mum has had eczema periodically since childhood and has rhinitis (sneezing, runny nose) in response to some allergens such as feathers and horses. The dad also has allergic symptoms (rhinitis and watering inflamed eyes) and has had positive allergy skin tests to cats, dogs, feathers and grass.
 
Although scientists have not been able to discover an ‘allergy gene’, the chances of developing an allergy if you have first degree relatives (mum, dad, sister, brother) with symptoms are higher than in the general population. The pattern has certainly proved true for this volunteer. She has a 6 year old daughter and a 2.5 year old son, both of whom developed allergic symptoms. As newborn babies her older daughter and son presented with skin rashes (later diagnosed with eczema) within 2 weeks of birth. Her son developed severe allergic symptoms to foods including wheat, egg and dairy products. These symptoms (diarrhoea, vomiting, blistering skin rash) started a few days after he was born. He has been put on an exclusion diet by his medical practitioner and currently, after careful management, can eat eggs and dairy products.
 
How is  the new born child of the volunteer?
This volunteer is convinced that the study has made a difference to her new daughter (3 months old at the time of writing). She has rash-free skin which the mum says was not the case for her fist 2 children (who had developed rashes within the first week after birth) and has had no other allergic symptoms to date. However, the absence of allergic symptoms in this baby to date may be coincidental and not be related to the study intervention. 

Extra remark
The researcher team will not know if increasing oily fish intake in pregnancy can reduce the development or severity of allergic symptoms in these babies until the study is complete