How Long Did It Take You To Get Pregnant After You Started Trying?

[Becci]

Well, me and my husband are starting for a baby... I have celiac disease and he doesn't. We have some questions as to pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and post-pregnancy..

1.) How long did it take you to get pregnant after you started trying..

2.) What birth control method did you use prior (because I heard that the pill makes it longer to conceive.. i was taking that)

3.) Did you take a prenatal vitamin prior to getting pregnant? what other vitamins would you suggest?

4.) Did you carry the baby full term?

5.) How does your Celiac react during pregnancy? better, worse?

6.) Did your baby (babies) contract Celiac from you? And if so, how long did it take to have positive bloodwork for it? Did they eat gluten the entire time?

and some other questions... just for my knowledge

-What is the percentage of my baby having Celiac disease?

-What is the risk of my baby having birth defects due to lack of nutrition? My husband and I are both borderline with vitamin and nutrition absorbtion. But we both take vitamins daily...

-Will my pregnancy make my Celiac worse?

Thanks!

[tarnalberry]

Welcome to the wonderful world of "no definitive answers". Seriously, in pregnancy, outside of the "no, don't do that", there is next to no "normal". It's mildly frustrating, sometimes. I'll go through your questions, but realize that the answer for most of them is "it depends on you".

1.) How long did it take you to get pregnant after you started trying.

This answer varies *significantly* from person to person. You're not considered to have any trouble with fertility until you are unable to conceive after 12 months of continuously trying. My husband and I were "lucky" - we got it on the first try. One set of friends took three months. Another has been trying for more than a year. And another had to have assistance, over a many, many year process.

2.) What birth control method did you use prior (because I heard that the pill makes it longer to conceive.. i was taking that)

Yes, it can take a little while for you to start ovulating on the pill again, if your ovulation was successfully prevented. I had been using FAM (fertility awareness method) in addition to condoms for prevention. I HIGHLY recommend FAM for trying to get pregnant, as the point of the method is to determine when you are ovulating. If you focus having sex on the four or five days before you ovulate, and the one or two days after, you have a decent chance of getting pregnant. Sex outside of these times cannot fertilize an egg, because there is no viable egg to fertilize.

3.) Did you take a prenatal vitamin prior to getting pregnant? what other vitamins would you suggest?

Yes, I started on prenatals as soon as I knew we would try. I also spent two months tapering off my prescription meds, and two months after that for them to have totally cleared my system. Other recommended supplements are calcium/mag, vit D, and omega-3's. Iron is good *IF* you are deficient. Some herbal teas - specifically nettle and red raspberry leaf - can be great for uterine health.

4.) Did you carry the baby full term?

I'm 18 weeks along, everything has gone just fine. I certainly hope to carry him/her to full term!

5.) How does your Celiac react during pregnancy? better, worse?

Can't really say, as I am strictly avoiding gluten and being rather strict about avoiding contamination. I haven't had any instance of glutening in the past ... oh, longer than I've been pregnant. There are intestinal side effects (particularly constipation) that are *quite* common during pregnancy, because the pregnancy hormones specifically slow down movement through the intestines.

6.) Did your baby (babies) contract Celiac from you? And if so, how long did it take to have positive bloodwork for it? Did they eat gluten the entire time?

I can't personally answer this one, of course. But read around on the site about folks posting on their kids. Some react to the gluten in breast milk (if the mom isn't strictly gluten free), some do fine on gluten, some have to stay away from it. Testing is not reliable in *any* child until at least age two, and, of course, the child would have to be eating plenty of gluten prior to testing.

7.) What is the percentage of my baby having Celiac disease?

1 in 22. Those are the odds that a first degree relative of a celiac will also have celiac disease. Since it's not as simple as a single gene, nor as simple as "have the gene, have the condition", there's no good way to be sure. It requires getting the gene(s) AND the environmental trigger that activates them.

8.) What is the risk of my baby having birth defects due to lack of nutrition? My husband and I are both borderline with vitamin and nutrition absorbtion. But we both take vitamins daily...

Also hard to say. Babies manage to survive all kinds of things, but folic acid deficiency is definitely of great concern. Iron and/or protein deficiency can be of great concern to you, as it increases your chance of pre-eclampsia. Calcium deficiency can also be of great concern to you because it can lead to osteopenia in you - generally not the baby. If you've just recently gotten gluten free down, I would honestly wait a little while until you are doing better in the absorption department. It's not just about the baby getting what it *needs* but you and the baby having an optimal growth environment where you can both be *healthy*.

9.) Will my pregnancy make my Celiac worse?

Stay away from gluten, and there's nothing to make worse. There is no autoimmune reaction without the trigger, so just make sure to avoid contamination. This is a time where you get to be a little paranoid about things, and that's OK! Being a little extra paranoid about gluten is perfectly reasonable (within limits of functioning, of course!). In theory, pregnancy *reduces* functioning of the immune system, so that a celiac reaction might not be as bad as before, but it is NEVER worth the risk.

[Becci]

Oh, Tiffany.. I Love you!!!

haha, you gave me all of the answers I was looking for.

Hopefully I can conceive quick. I have been gluten-free for over six months now, so I think it is a safe time to start trying.

As for vitamins... Do you have any gluten-free prenatal you would recommend?

Thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR BABY!!!!

[tarnalberry]

I like the Rainbow Light Prenatals I've been taking - they sit well with me. There's a thread somewhere that discusses a number of other prenatals that other folks around here have taken, which I'm sure you can find on the search.

Good luck! Try not to stress yourself out about it - expect it to take a little while to get pregnant, so that you can be pleasantly surprised if it occurs faster, rather than stressed out (which reduces the chances of conceiving) if you haven't gotten pregnant in the first three or four months.