Should I Keep Breastfeeding?

[maddycat]

I was just diagnones with celiac about a month ago (some of you may have seen my other post about pregnany triggering celiac, in my case it did).

I am currently breastfeeding my 6 1/2 month old son. I don't have supply issues at all, he eats well and is gaining weight well. I enjoy breastfeeding and it is really going well for both of us. I have lost all of the 35lbs I gained when pregnant but am doing well, I've been eating gluten-free for about 2 months now and feel good.

I just found out that I have osteopenia and mild anemia (folate, magnesium, vitamin d and calcium blood levels are all ok). My general dr wants me to start taking fosamax for the osteopenia- I don't know if I should while breastfeeding (they haven't done much research on it since it is mostly prescribed to post-menopausal women).

My mother is trying to convince me that I should wean my son right away to focus on my health and recovery. She thinks that breatfeeding deprives my body of nutrients becase so much of what I get goes into the breatmilk. Also she thinks that the supressed hormones while breastfeeding may play a role in the otseopenia (like when women have problems in menopause/decreased hormones with osteporosis).

On the other hand, everything I read says breastfeeding is very good for babies of celiacs.

I'm so torn and don't know what to do?! Any thoughts are appreciated.

-Marcia

[Lisa]

Andrea, bumping this to you.

[CarlaB]

This is probably something you should discuss with your doctor. I can only tell you what I'd do .... I'd breastfeed for a year to give my child the best start and hope that my son had added protection against triggering his possible celiac gene. I would figure that the gluten-free diet was helping me and that I could take the meds in a few more months. But that is just me. I have never heard of breastfeeding being a cause of osteoporosis. Cutting down on sugar and simple carbs, plus weight bearing exercise is good for your bones in the meantime.

Good luck with your decision.

[AmandaD]

I was diagnosed with Celiac last September, with very mild osteopenia in my hips and lower back and lower vit D levels. I continued breastfeeding and am almost finished. My daughter is over 2 now. My doc seemed fine with me breastfeeding. So, essentially, I nursed for 2 years (probably all of those I had Celiac).

I'd keep doing it until you're ready to stop. You're probably preventing a future little Celiac...AmandaD

[AndreaB]

Lisa....

I don't know about osteopenia. I second Carla on talking to your doctor and getting some weight bearing excercise.

My initial response is to continue breastfeeding as long as you can....unless the doctor thinks it will put your health at further risk. It would seem as long as you got your nutrients in, both of you would benefit. Make sure you take a good prenatal. I take freeda pre-natals. You would also want to make sure you were getting your calcium. If you are still on dairy you would probably want to cut it out for 6 months to give your villi some time to heal. Nutrition now make a good children's calcium, Freeda has calcium mint, and Nature's Way has a good calcium with magnesium and vitamin D which is what I now take. I've read a lot of stuff that dairy actually contributes to bone density loss. Obviously not everyone has problems with dairy but it seems to be more of a problem among celiacs, firstly due to damaged intestines. From what I've read gluten, dairy and soy can all cause intestinal damage. If you can swing it I would highly recommend removing the other two to help with the healing process.

As you know, baby will get nutrients before you so it is very important to take vitamins. Have you been taking any?

[maddycat]

As you know, baby will get nutrients before you so it is very important to take vitamins. Have you been taking any?

I was on prenatals before the celiac diagnosis but then took a while off while finding one that was gluten free. I just started taking a prenatal that is gluten free a couple weeks ago (it is a 4 a day with over 100%dv on most essentaial nutrients) NOW brand from a local health/natural pharmacy.

I am also looking into calcium and vitamin d suppliments- anyone have any good gluten-free reconmendations for that?

I think I will talk to my ob as well as my dietician next week about their thoughts on bf'ing and deficiencies/osteopenia meds.

[AndreaB]

The calciums I listed are gluten free.

Are the meds necessary? What do they do?

[de caps]

I was dx with celiac disease while breast feeding my daughter. My celiac disease was triggered by this pregnancy. A bone density did show that I had osteoporosis. I continued to bf my daughter but did not start actonel until I weaned her at 18 months. I did however increase my calcium and vit d ( I was deficient). I have now been on the actonel for three months. I chose to continue bf for its benefits for my daughter. You will have to choose what YOU feel is best for you. I was told that you can not bf and take osteoporosis meds. Good luck.

I take the nature's made brand they are gluten-free and state it on the bottle. If you go to their web site you can print out a coupon. naturemade.com

[ylimaf]

Breast feeding is good for babies. Most illness's are less harmful while breastfeeding. You need to get in touch with La Leche League!!! They are your best hope for answeres. They have listings of harmfull medicins that will go through the breast milk. They have a list of doctors practiced in breastfeeding that can answer questions for you. Tell mummy to hush. Theyre was a time when the medical profession thought is was healthier to bottle feed. Before that they thought that breast feeding was better. Now they are back to breast feeding again. If you believe in God, why would you tell him that he didnt know what he was doing? Yet theyre are people who continue to do just that. God knew what he was doing when he made us to breast feed. If you dont believe in God well this is just what our bodies do. This is how they function. La Leche League can help alot.

[Michi8]

Breast feeding is good for babies. Most illness's are less harmful while breastfeeding. You need to get in touch with La Leche League!!! They are your best hope for answeres. They have listings of harmfull medicins that will go through the breast milk. They have a list of doctors practiced in breastfeeding that can answer questions for you. Tell mummy to hush. Theyre was a time when the medical profession thought is was healthier to bottle feed. Before that they thought that breast feeding was better. Now they are back to breast feeding again. If you believe in God, why would you tell him that he didnt know what he was doing? Yet theyre are people who continue to do just that. God knew what he was doing when he made us to breast feed. If you dont believe in God well this is just what our bodies do. This is how they function. La Leche League can help alot.

You've had lots of good responses so far. I also recommend to continue to breastfeed. There are too many benefits for your child, and for you own body (eg reduced risk of breast cancer) not to. It's hard when well meaning family and friends try to pressure you with their opinions, but remember that a lot of their fear comes from general misinformation. Do get in contact with a lactation consultant and/or La Leche League for support!

Also, try contacting an organization like Open Original Shared Link. They can provide you with information to determine the safety of drugs during breastfeeding and pregnancy. This is a Canadian-based organziation (don't know the equivalent in the US), but you may find some useful info through their website.

Michelle

[prinsessa]

Along with taking more Calcium, I would also take extra Magnesium and Vit D (or get a little more sun if you don't get enough). I think someone already suggested this. Personally I would continue bfing, but I think that is something you should talk about with your doctor.

[Suzie-GFfamily]

Marcia,

I was diagnosed with celiac disease in June and my bone density scan shows osteoporosis.

My baby is almost a year old, and like you, I am uncertain what to do. I would really prefer to continue breastfeeding- but I am concerned that this could cause further deterioration of my bone density. This baby is my last one, and I had breastfed each of my older children for a couple of years. I had really hoped to do the same with this child.

Under normal circumstances, it has been shown that bone density decreases during breastfeeding- although research seems to suggest that there is recovery after weaning (and the recovery can actually begin once the mother's menstrual periods resume). Apparently, this bone resorption will occur even if the mother takes additional calcium supplements.

So far, I've been unable to find any research studies on the bone health of breastfeeding women who have osteopenia or osteoporosis. So I have lots and lots of questions, but no answers yet - will breastfeeding cause a greater deterioration of my bone density? will weaning help? would the osteoporosis meds be contraindicated while nursing? can I improve my bone density through exercise and diet? do I actually have osteoporosis or is it osteomalacia (which apparently can look the same on a bone density scan)?

Sometimes at night I get really scared when I imagine my bones deteriorating in order to provide calcium for the breastmilk. The middle of the night is the time that it all seems very frightening, especially since I recently read that more bone resorption takes place at night due to inactivity (in the book "Stand Tall") and my child has recently started to nurse more frequently at night.

I haven't decided what I will do - I'm waiting for an appointment with an osteoporosis specialist and will discuss these concerns.

The research that I have found on osteoporosis and celiac disease does suggest that a gluten-free diet can lead to some increases in bone density over the first year- so this is a plus and reason enough for me to never cheat on the diet.

Suzie

[Kody]

I was just diagnones with celiac about a month ago (some of you may have seen my other post about pregnany triggering celiac, in my case it did).

I am currently breastfeeding my 6 1/2 month old son. I don't have supply issues at all, he eats well and is gaining weight well. I enjoy breastfeeding and it is really going well for both of us. I have lost all of the 35lbs I gained when pregnant but am doing well, I've been eating gluten-free for about 2 months now and feel good.

I just found out that I have osteopenia and mild anemia (folate, magnesium, vitamin d and calcium blood levels are all ok). My general dr wants me to start taking fosamax for the osteopenia- I don't know if I should while breastfeeding (they haven't done much research on it since it is mostly prescribed to post-menopausal women).

My mother is trying to convince me that I should wean my son right away to focus on my health and recovery. She thinks that breatfeeding deprives my body of nutrients becase so much of what I get goes into the breatmilk. Also she thinks that the supressed hormones while breastfeeding may play a role in the otseopenia (like when women have problems in menopause/decreased hormones with osteporosis).

On the other hand, everything I read says breastfeeding is very good for babies of celiacs.

I'm so torn and don't know what to do?! Any thoughts are appreciated.

-Marcia

Okay, I'm aware that I'm a guy and all, and I hope I'm not freaking you out or anything jk

anyways, if I were you, I'd keep breastfeeding. As for the nutrients, I'd take supplements and keep eating healthy.

I just found out then when I was barely a year old my Mom put me on dairy milk (she didn't know any better back then) so that she could breastfeed my 1 year younger brother. Anyways, she said my forehead like got all swollen and it didn't go away until she changed my diet. That's one reason I know I'm allergic to dairy as well.

Also, everywhere I read it seems like breastfeeding is the healthy thing to do for your baby. Which makes sense to me. Seems to me like all kinds of problems happen when women don't breastfeed their babies/don't do it long enough.

As you probably guessed tho, I've never tried it. So I wouldn't know.

[Jestgar]

Hi, I just did a quick search on PubMed for you. Pregnancy and lactation can cause a bone loss of up to 5%. I didn't read the articles, so I don't know how long the women were breast feeding. It reportedly returns to normal once you stop.

It seems to me that just correcting your diet by going gluten-free will begin to help your bone density, and will a few more months really make all that much difference in terms of your bones responding to a drug?

I agree with the others, take your vitamins, eat well, take calcium supplements appropriately so you absorb as much as possible, and talk to your doctor about delaying the Fosamax. There are many benefits to continuing breast feeding.

[Jestgar]

I just read through a section of an article that reviewd many studies on bone loss in lactating women. Most of them were after 6 months of breast feeding, and all of them returned to normal after weaning. It also said that calcium supplements didn't help, but that was in women with normal absorption, so you are kind of a wild card for this one.