Pregnant Diet Slip Up Panic!

[Marg E]

Can any pregnant coeliacs/mums with kids help?? I'm planning on getting pregnant and am scared about gluten free diet slip ups. Obviously I'll be vigilant, but what happens if I slip up while pregnant? Has anyone experienced this? Is there a risk for the baby? Any research on this issue would be great. Maybe I shouldn't eat out anywhere while pregnant, what do you think? Thanksx

[Ursa Major]

Marg, all you can do is be vigilant. But the occasional accidental glutening, while uncomfortable for you, won't permanently harm the baby. You can't be too paranoid, because if you are in constant fear, that will harm the baby more than you getting glutened.

It is best not to go out more than once a month anyway, and I don't think you need to stop doing that while you're pregnant.

As long as you are in good health, take your prenatal vitamins, make sure your mineral and vitamin levels are optimal (and don't forget to make sure you get enough folic acid), get plenty of rest and eat healthy food, and stay away from gluten, you are doing all you can.

It isn't possible to avoid gluten 100%, all the time. There is too much of it surrounding us. So, don't be afraid of getting pregnant. Every pregnancy has its risks, that is a fact of life. I think the occasional glutening is a fairly small risk in comparison to some others.

I was eating a lot of gluten during all of my pregnancies (I didn't know about celiac disease then), and while I did have a lot of miscarriages (and that isn't a risk if you are eating gluten-free), the five children I managed to carry to term were big, healthy babies. It doesn't look like my illness had any effect on them.

[dionnek]

I am 14 weeks pregnant and was dx with celiac 8 monhts ago. I've had several accidental glutenings since I found out I was pregnant, and I don't think it's done the baby any harm (my dr says it will be fine). I just got my regular glutening symptoms, which for me last almost 2 weeks, but luckily I haven't had any sever D or vomitting with the pregnancy - that was the one thing I was really worried about.

[Guest cassidy]

There are tons of people here who has successful pregnancies while eating gluten because they didn't know they had celiac. That always reassures me. I have been glutened twice since becoming pregnant. My symptoms were very reduced compared to what usually happens when I am glutened, which was a nice surprise. I am still very, very careful but I do take comfort in knowing that a crumb every now and then is nothing compared to people who ate tons of it everyday because they didn't know that they shouldn't.

I have determined that being pregnant is like a marathon. You do your best but you can't be perfect all the time. You are pregant for so long that there are going to be days when your glutened, days when you don't eat your vegetables, forget to take your vitamins, inhale a couple of lung-fulls of second hand smoke, etc. Ss long as your try your best to be good, you are probably doing better than most people who eat at McDonalds all the time, drink a ton of coke, never exercise and still have healthy babies.

Good luck!

[Guhlia]

Your immune system is weakened when you're pregnant. This may keep your glutening reactions at a minimum. Though, I would stay vigilant with the diet while pregnant, I wouldn't stress yourself out if you get glutened. Your baby will pull all the nutrition he/she needs to develop properly and you will likely be the only one lacking nutrition, if at all. Many undiagnosed Celiacs even go into "remission of symptoms" while they are pregnant. This doesn't mean that Celiac goes away, but it does mean that often symptoms are lessened. I hope that helps. That's what I've gotten out of the research I did before getting pregnant.

[Marg E]

Thanks Ursa Feel much better. This is a brilliant website! x

[Marg E]

oops I mean thanks everyone, am a newbie, still getting the hang of how to work this website! x