Chile (Universidad del Desarrollo) UDD Nutrition Alumni wrote a book inspired by her daughter’s food allergy experience
And now what how? This was the question asked by the UDD Nutrition alumni, Concepción campus, Nicole Figari, when her second daughter was diagnosed with a food allergy when she was just over a week old. She says that “being a mother, not even a first time because I already had an older son, knowing about food and cooking, I put myself on the other side of the desk as a patient. My denial was absolute, I told the pediatrician that she knew that allergies were overdiagnosed, but after two days I realized that it was obvious.
In such situations, mothers must undergo a strict food restriction diet to prevent the transfer of allergens through breast milk. Nicole says that she knew exactly what she had to do in theory, but that the process was difficult for her anyway.
“I thought, if I have all the tools to do the right thing, which is costing me so much, how strong that must be for a mom who can’t cook, who in many cases is the first, and at the same time she’s exposed to all the allergies. “I don’t know what to do,” she said. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do.”
And so she started uploading different recipes to her Instagram account that were popular with other mothers in the same situation, until her first book was born with the initial question: “Now what?” My daughter has food allergies.” He said the article was a way to document all the research behind the process.
“The most important thing for me was that there was a more detached feeling to the process and to be able to share it and make this mother’s life easier. Today I can stand on the other side of the table. I know how hard it is and how it affects my mother’s life. In addition to writing the book, it gave me the professional experience of feeling what patients feel.”
After her first experience, Nicole published a second book. This time the focus is on supplementary feeding. While this is not a direct continuation, as it is not just about allergies, it is a way to continue to contribute and support parents in this new phase of raising their children.