Hi
Please can I get some advice on kefir in prenancy.
My daughter in law is just 6 wks pregnant and has been taking omeprazole for acid reflux for several years. She would very much like to come off these, at whilst pregnant. As myself and several other members of my family have had amazingly beneficial result taking kefir for acid reflux, I’m hoping that it is safe for my daughter in law to try whilst pregnant.
She also has a NON active auto immune condition called systemic sclerosis making her high risk for miscarriage so I wouldnt want to upset the balance but GPs have no real heplful advice on this.
I would be grateful for any imput.

Hi – is she taking any other medication (besides the omeprazole?) One option would be to swap to Gaviscon (NB the low sodium version) but discuss with her GP before contemplating any changes. So long as the Kefir is made from pasteurised milk it should be safe. If you are going to try it start with small quantities and build up slowly

https://iythealth.com/kefir-during-pregnancy/

she has tried Gaviscon but its not helping, she’s not taking any other meds.
Chuckling goat seem to be a reputable company as they regularly have to test their kefir for any nasty bacteria, would goats milk be better as more easily digested?

Make your own! Its easy and great fun (not to mention cheap) I highly recommend the fermenting friends facebook group or if you can get to London the lovely people at The Fermentarium do some terrific courses..

thank you, thats great advice….I do make my own and it is great fun, but when recommending to others, especially someone who is not keen on the whole idea , I thought better to be cautious.
thanks again.

I think this is a question for a specialist (eg. registered dietician or obstetrician). If you cannot contact these yourself, the midwife or family doctor should be able to.

Here in the UK mould-ripened soft cheeses are not recommended during pregnancy, whereas hard cheeses *even those made from unpasteurised milk* are considered safe. Kefir seems closer to soft than hard cheese. Futhermore a quick Google suggests it is possible for kefir to harbour pathogens such as Salmonella and Listeria.

There are commercial freeze dried probiotics marketed for pre and post natal use (eg. Nexabiotic, claims 23 species) which might be worth reading up on?

I read different things when looking for information. An official website here in the Netherlands states that buttermilk (also fermented milk and much more popular here than kefir) is allowed as long as it is made with pasteurised milk. Here they also make a difference between soft and hard cheeses, but soft cheeses are allowed when made from pasteurised milk. You can buy kefir here in supermarkets made from pasteurised milk, so I guess that would not be a problem during pregnancy.

By the way, I am not an expert in this and I realised after I wrote the reply that pasteurisation might make the kefir useless because the bacteria are killed. When I looked for more information I find different reactions to this question (the fermentastion is often after the pasteurisation). Maybe try the pasteurised kefir to see if it works for the acid reflux?