Pregnancy And Cravings

[piglips82]

I recently found out I'm pregnant. Is there any extra care I need being celiac? How do I control my gluten cravings?

[tarnalberry]

The normal advice still applies: take a prenatal with folic acid, take extra iron if appropriate, take extra calcium/magnesium, and extra vit D, get regular (low-impact) exercise, and get plenty of sleep (hahahaha!).

There isn't any special consideration for a celiac preggo other than maintaining a STRICTLY gluten free diet. Cheating is NOT an option, and I would urge even more stringent than normal contamination reduction. It is thought that celiac antibodies present in the blood may bind to and attack the placenta (Open Original Shared Link). Plenty of celiacs have had successful pregnancies, even before diagnosis, so don't be too paranoid, but that doesn't mean you can be complacent either.

I don't know what to say about controlling the cravings. Get the gluten free substitutes you can (order online if you have to), and find other things that your body is willing to eat in the meantime. (My first trimester was a lot of Udi's bread and avocados. )

[gflooser]

Congrats to you!!!! I recently found out I am preggie too, due end of Feb. When are you due? Anyhoo, I had 2 pregnancies non gluten free and my last one and this one will be gluten free. My last was pretty much the same as the other two. Just keep being diligent in your gluten free-ness!!! You can always substitute just about anything with a gluten free item. I know it's hard, but that little life (and yours) inside you is worth it!

I will say that with my last pregnancy, the gluten free one, my daughter ended up with some major food allergies. She's anaphylactic to cashews/pistachios and just got over a dairy allergy. My other two didn't have any food allergies so that is a little questionable to me? But who really knows????

Good luck with your pregnancy!