Starting Gluten Free While Pregnant

[strawberrygm]

hello!!

i have been planning on switching my house to completely gluten free on feb 1st for a couple months now.

found out last night i am pregnant. assuming 6-8weeks along. going to doc in the morning.

will it be ok to go ahead and swap during the pregnancy?

have any of you done this?

[strawberrygm]

i should add that i have never had trouble getting pregnant, i havent been tested for celiac. my daughter has it and my sons show signs. i am hoping that by swapping the whole house over, it will of course banish any chance of CC at home and that my boys will react positively to the change, as well as hubby and myself.

i am going to ask my doc to order a celiac panel on me, just to be sure.

my pregnancies have been fairly normal, i suppose.

1st i gained 64 lbs, had a 5lb 12 oz baby after emergency csection, cord wrapped around her neck and her heart had stopped.

2nd i gained 28 lbs, he weighed 7lb 7oz scheduled csection.

3rd i gained even less, he weighed 8lbs 7oz, scheduled csection, gestational diabetes went away at birth.

i am still over weight, extremely, so i am sure i will be watching my sugar like crazy again. going gluten free could definately help in that aspect (cutting way back on the carbs that is, right).

[Coleslawcat]

  On 1/26/2010 at 5:55 PM, strawberrygm said:

hello!!

i have been planning on switching my house to completely gluten free on feb 1st for a couple months now.

found out last night i am pregnant. assuming 6-8weeks along. going to doc in the morning.

will it be ok to go ahead and swap during the pregnancy?

have any of you done this?

I haven't, but there is nothing inherently healthy about gluten even if you can tolerate it. So long as you are still eating a balanced diet and making sure to get all of your nurtrients and fiber from other sources I think it would be fine. My only concern would be do you get lots of morning sickness or cravings? The food aversions/cravings could make it extra hard to switch up your diet right now.

[nmlove]

A gluten-free diet can also lead to deficiencies in certain things, like iron, folate, etc. simply because gluten-free foods aren't fortified with them like a "normal" gluten diet. Iron and folic acid can definitely affect a pregnancy. I'd make your ob aware and they can test for that. Mine always does an iron test along with the diabetes test anyway. Congrats!

[tarnalberry]

Folic acid is the only likely deficiency on a gluten free diet (because gluten free breads aren't fortified with it). Eating gluten while having an intolerance/celiac is MORE likely to cause deficiencies, since absorption is likely compromised.

That said, you should be taking a prenatal vitamin anyway, have your iron checked (many, MANY women should take extra iron, particularly starting in the second trimester, but you need blood tests first), and take extra calcium. (Not to mention just eating enough protein!) A diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats is going to get most everything you need. (HAHAHAHA! I know, easier said than done when pregnant. I've been living that for the past six months. But that is the theory. )

[strawberrygm]

well, i could go ahead and swap the home over, and then if it turns up that i need extra stuff or just cant manage the cravings, i could always eat those things outside of the home.

thank you all so much for the advice so far. keep it coming! i really appreciate it!!

[chilligirl]

  On 1/26/2010 at 10:08 PM, strawberrygm said:

well, i could go ahead and swap the home over, and then if it turns up that i need extra stuff or just cant manage the cravings, i could always eat those things outside of the home.

thank you all so much for the advice so far. keep it coming! i really appreciate it!!

I was in the middle of being diagnosed with celiac (positive blood test, was waiting to see the specialist) when I got pregnant (after nearly 5 years of trying!). My doctor immediately had me go gluten-free - I've been gluten free since two days after I found out I was pregnant.

From what I've read and what my doctor told me, there are a bunch of reasons for me to be gluten free:

- if I'm eating gluten, my bowel will be unhealthy, and I won't absorb the nutrients the baby needs

- if I'm eating gluten, I'm producing IgA antibodies, which not only attack my intestinal lining, but also can attack the placenta

- if I'm eating gluten, I'm MUCH more likely to miscarry

- if I'm eating gluten, so is the baby, and the baby is already at much higher likelihood to have celiac, since I have it.

It hasn't been a big deal at all for me to go gluten free.

I eat a healthy balanced (gluten free) diet. I take a high-quality prenatal vitamin daily, which contains 1000mg of folic acid. On top of that, since most pregnant woman take the same PLUS get folic acid from bread and such, I take an extra 400mg folic acid supplement. I also take a fish oil supplement, but that's got nothing to do with celiac - just good health

I'm 16 1/2 weeks pregnant, and everything is going perfectly so far. The baby is measuring a week big, which is not unusual for me family (we have huge babies).

I plan to breast feed, and, since I'm gluten free, baby will not be getting gluten through my breast milk. I haven't decided when, if ever, I'll introduce gluten to baby. There's so much conflicting information out there! I'm hoping that either our pediatrician will be really informed, or that he'll be able to refer us to a geneticist for advice.