My Husband Is A Celiac - I Am Not - gluten-free For The Baby?

[Celiac's Wifey]

Hi All!

This is my first post.

My husband was diagnosed celiac at age 11 and has followed a gluten-free diet pretty closely for years. He is 31 now, and we are pregnant with our first! Fortunately we had absolutely no problem getting pregnant.

I am not a celiac, nor am I gluten intolerant. I am wondering if I should be following a gluten-free diet as a precaution during this pregnancy. I searched the site a little, and online, but could not find any concrete information. We have our first prenatal appointment next week, so I will ask our OB, but I know the disease is sometimes little understood by those who don't specialize in it...

Any information, thoughts on this, or scientific links would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[JustCan]

First, congrats! Unfortunately, I don't think there's really a consensus on this. My situation's a little bit different. I'm the one with celiac disease and we have a 6 month old son. So, I was of course gluten free while I was pregnant and still gluten free while I'm now breastfeeding. I will tell you that my son was recently diagnosed with allergies to nuts and eggs when his only exposure was through my milk so I believe foods including gluten can go through breastmilk. I'm now nut and egg free as well. I have no idea about in the womb though, seems less likely. Plus, there's no guarantee the baby will have celiac even though it's at a higher risk for it. Hopefully somone else has more information.

[lovegrov]

I wouldn't, and I think most celiac experts would agree.

richard

[karenhockley]

Congratulations this is a really exciting time for both you and your husband but unfortunately there is nothing you can do to prevent Celiac in the baby.

I was diagnosed when I was 9 months old and had no problems getting pregnant with my 3 children. The best thing you can do is get the baby tested after he/she is born. The best person to discuss this with would be your family Doctor.

I hope you have a wonderful pregnancy and enjoy every minute of it. It truly is a miracle.

[heathen]

I'm fairly certain you can eat whatever you want. You might actually want to give your new little one gluten early on. There is a theory that if you expose the kids early, you may "prime" the immune system to not freak out on gluten later on.

[OptimisticMom42]

Are you already gluten light because of your husbands dietary needs? I don't think science has gotten to this issue yet. They only just got to celiacs in the mother increases the risk of autism in the child. So if you're willing and already gluten light, I'd say go for it. It's such a short period of time and I know I would always wonder if it would have made a difference. If he's short or she's a late walker or the first time he throws up...........the first time she gets a rash..........

And having seen the effects gluten has had on my son, I will be encouraging my children to have gene testing done before allowing my grandchildren to eat gluten.

[karenhockley]

I read an article by a Dr Guandalini about celiac not too long ago. Although he doesn't say anything about what to do when your pregnant and one of the parents are celiac he does go on to say that in the mid 1960's there was evidence suggesting that prolonged breastfeeding was protective against celiac. Prolonged meaning at least 2-3 months after gluten is introduced into the baby's diet. And his advice for introducing gluten is not too early and not too much. Feeding gluten to a baby within the first three to four months of life actually favors developing the disease. Delayed introduction seems to postpone it.

With my three kids my doctor recommended that I waited till they were 6 months old to start introducing food.

If you want more information about this doctor or want to read his article (I found it quite interesting, but that's just me!) he is a Pediatric gastroenterologist Stefano Guandalini MD, serves as professor of Pediatrics at the university of chicago and is section chief of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at the university of chicago medical center.

[dream77]

I've been following this thread.

I just discoverd y'day I was about 2 weeks pregnant.. I've been gluten free only 3 weeks and did no expect to get pregnant so fast .

I am very concerned about the health mental and physical because ofall he articles I am reading on celiac and autism, celiac and other things, what the antigliadin antibodies are doing to it.. .. i am actually contemplating terminating the pregnancy because I am so freaked out already..

I am undiagnosed (strangely undiagnosed) with positive antigliadin antibodies

Any perspectives on this ?

[Celiac's Wifey]

Hi All,

First of all, thanks for the replies. I really appreciate it.

We did ask our OB, and she indicated a conviction that gluten I ingest will not harm the baby in utero. We were at least a little reassured when she immediately knew what we were talking about, and indicated that she'd cared for other patients with similar circumstances. She did recommended that we test after birth, (which we would have done anyway) and suggested that I go gluten free while / if breast feeding if I'm more comfortable with that, until test results are in.

That said, I have gone 'gluten lighter,' for my own peace of mind, though its a little hard to kick it completely ; ) (And if someone else is pregnant and wants a great recipe for gluten-free banana nut muffins with flax meal for those baby-brain-nourishing omega 3s I will be happy to send it. My husband loves them.)

*Dream 77* I just saw your post, and I want to encourage you to keep your baby. Celiac's is genetically linked but it is NOT directly inheritable. Which means that if you terminate your pregnancy you may have done so for absolutely no reason. Fear & anxiety about things being wrong are really common in pregnant ladies! Our hormones are going nuts, everything is changing.... instead of focusing on the scary possible outcomes, read some of the pregnancy books that discuss pregnancy anxiety. "What to Expect when your Expecting" is really helpful, and I really enjoyed "The Girlfriend's guide to Pregnancy" because it made me laugh aloud. You should also speak to your doctors about your fears and concerns. The other thing is that infertility can be a huge problem for celiacs (see many many other posts on this forum) and if you terminate this pregnancy, you may never have another chance to carry a child. In any pregnancy something *might* go wrong, but after the first trimester, over ninety percent of pregnancies in the United States have healthy outcomes. (As a public school teacher (middle school) who has also worked with students all over the asbergers/ autism spectrum, I can also tell you that TWO of my most capable and favorite students in the last six years were on the spectrum.) I hope you choose to keep your baby.

-CWxx

I've been following this thread.

I just discoverd y'day I was about 2 weeks pregnant.. I've been gluten free only 3 weeks and did no expect to get pregnant so fast .

I am very concerned about the health mental and physical because ofall he articles I am reading on celiac and autism, celiac and other things, what the antigliadin antibodies are doing to it.. .. i am actually contemplating terminating the pregnancy because I am so freaked out already..

I am undiagnosed (strangely undiagnosed) with positive antigliadin antibodies

Any perspectives on this ?