11 replies to this topic

[laelfin]

My husband and I are planning on starting a family soon and I was curious if anyone knows about additional complications related to my celiac disease diagnosis. Is there anthing I should plan for?

[seeking_wholeness]

Hi, laelfin!

I have two kids, ages 3.5 and 1.5, but I just found out I have celiac disease a few months ago (and so do they!). Well, my body is just now starting to get interested in maybe having another one, so I have to consider my options....

First of all, it is not uncommon for a woman with (undiagnosed) celiac disease to experience repeated miscarriages. It might be a good idea to hold off on conceiving until you have a good grasp of the gluten-free diet and a repertoire of meals that you know you can eat safely, so your body doesn't end up deciding that it can't support a pregnancy after all!

Another consideration is, can you maintain the gluten-free diet EVEN IF YOU HAVE TERRIBLE MORNING SICKNESS? I had serious trouble with food aversions with both of my pregnancies--I couldn't even LOOK at fresh vegetables without starting to gag, and I just about lived on Pop Tarts and Pizza Hut! Even so, I LOST weight (10 and 6 pounds, respectively) during the first trimester of each pregnancy. I also COULD NOT force myself to cook for the duration of the pregnancies; it made me feel too ill, and I would rather have gone hungry. If I were to conceive again, I would HAVE to cook and eat gluten-free meals regardless of my cravings and aversions, and I'm not sure I could do it! I just read that morning sickness may be attributable to vitamin deficiencies (which are, of course, almost guaranteed to be a problem if you have celiac disease), so here again is another reason to consider postponing conception until your body is well on its way toward healing.

I did just read here at celiac.com that birth outcomes are no worse for mothers with celiac disease than for "healthy" mothers, which is certainly reassuring. The baby, of course, may turn out to have celiac disease as well, but that is a different can of worms! Breastfeeding is an excellent way to get your baby off to a good start and support his or her developing immune system, which would be especially important if he or she were to turn out to have celiac disease. These are just the things I have thought of, being in a position similar to yours right now. I don't mean to scare you off of having a family, but pregnancy is a roller coaster under the best of circumstances, and celiac disease may make day-to-day coping a real challenge! I wish you and your husband the best of luck as you start your family!

[Connie R-E]

laelfin,

Yes, there is a higher incidence of miscarriages with celiac disease....
I experienced more than I wanted! --even being gluten-free for 5 years, and taking vitamins!
My doctor noticed that my progesterone was to low to "hold" a pregnancy, so my advice would be to have your progesterone levels checked very early on--like as soon as you get pregnant! I ususally miscarried at 3-4 weeks, so well before that window!
Don't let being celiac deter you from trying to have a family, just work a little more closely with your doctor.

Good luck!
Connie
--32 weeks pregnant with boy #2 !

[andyc]

I am not sure if this has anything to do with celiac disease - But it probably has something to do with malabsorption -
I had a miscarriage and a pregnancy where there was a problem. I do however have two great kids. With each of them I gained a tremendous amount of weight and they were big babies - very healthy. So I guess it all depends upon your nutritional status at the time of the pregnancy. I would take vitamins and make sure that the foods I ate where gluten-free.

[hapi2bgf]

I'm in a similar position to all of you. I started dropping weight and then got pregnant before I knew I was in trouble with undiagnosed Celiacs. I had a text book pregnancy except for the fact that I was skin and bones. The baby gained enough weight and was fine. So far she has tested negative to Celiacs, but she does have some serious poop issues that are beginning to make me wonder about her (She is three now). I am now ready to have another child and I am terribfied that the Celics will cause problems during the pregnancy or to the baby. I'm at the point of thinking about eating absolutely nothing that is processed and nothing that I did not make myself. I think it is overreaction, but I am scared for the baby.

The second issue is what do you do once the baby is born? I breast fed my daugther for the first year, she got everything according to the schedules and recommendations and she ended up with a peanut allergy, slight hearing loss due to the numerous ear infections, two ear tubes, and a poop problem that has me concerned. And that was following the text book rules about when to introduce all of the foods etc.

Do Celiac Mom's have trouble breast feeding? If formula is used, should it be gluten free?

Should Gluten be introduced later than most "normal" babies?

Just think these are my question before I am pregnant!

[plantime]

Hapi, Overreacting? Not on your life! No processed foods and only what you prepare is pretty much the only guarantee a celiac has of uncontaminated food. I think (IMHO) that you should at least have the gene test done on your child, since celiac disease is genetic. I don't think there would be any problem with breastfeeding, as long as the mom is getting enough to eat.

[scribble]

I'm a celiac -- eight weeks pregnant -- and the only problem i've run into is food aversions. many of the gluten-free foods disgust me right now (especially rice bran and rice flour). And, as of this week, I'm totally grossing out on flax. the biggest bummer is that i'm actually craving many forbidden foods -- mcdonalds cheeseburgers, pizza, etc. -- and i, of course, can't satisfy these cravings. i'm just doing the best i can, but it can be tough. other than that, i've been ok.

[Connie R-E]

Congratulations, scribble!

"...i'm actually craving many forbidden foods -- mcdonalds cheeseburgers, pizza, etc..."
Maybe you just need more fat in your diet!! I used to crave bacon!
It was the only fatty food I ate...

Good luck!
Connie
~ 9 months and 5 days...and still waiting!

[KayJay]

Pizza cravings? I just made a rice pizza last week (got the recipe on this site) I thought it was really good. I don't know if you could tolerate rice but if you can it is worth a try.
good luck

[judi]

Cany anyone suggest a prenatel viatamin that does not contain gluten? Is there one over the counter or do I need to ask the doctor. I just found out I am pregnant with my 6th child and want to get viatamins asap.

Thanks for your help.

Judi

[hapi2bgf]

I use Nature Made Vitamins. It does not require a prescription and states gluten-free on the bottle. I bought mine at BJs (warehouse store).

So far I am 5 months along, had several gluten accidents last month, but the baby is just fine.

FYI: You may want to look into the sonogram schedule at least as far as your OB is concerned. I go to a great OB but she could careless about Celiacs. The High resolution sonogram meant I went to a Specialist. She recommends seeing her Celiacs pregnant Mamas at 28 and 34 weeks in addition to the normal 20 week check up. I don't know if she would have preferred that I came in before 20 weeks.

Good luck!