I'm Pregnant And Dad Has Celiac

[jesscox]

Ok I had never heard of Celiac, until I met my current boyfriend. He was diagnosed with it about 2 year ago and has been gluten-free since. I am 10 weeks pregnant (with my 2nd child, 1st-Dad does not have Celiac) and he has concerns about me having a miscarriage. I am more concerned with my diet. It seems like no matter what I eat, gluten-free or not I feel sick. So I am not sure if I need to be more careful with what I eat.

How high are the chances of me having a miscarriage and what are the chances of the unborn child carrying the celiac sprue and having active celiac?

Any comments would help at this point.

Thanks,

[tarnalberry]

You're in the first trimester - it's normal to feel sick regardless of what you eat.

The chances of you miscarrying are unique to your situation. The fact that HE is celiac doesn't change a thing with respect to YOU carrying a pregnancy to term.

The chance of the child having celiac is approximately 1 in 20 (5%), since his father has celiac. Because of this, you may find that if he/she doesn't seem to grow well or is colicky or gassy or otherwise fussy/upset, that YOU need to eat gluten free, since gluten can pass through in breastmilk. The baby may have it at birth, may develop it when he/she is older, or may never develop it, but it's good to be aware that even a brand new baby can have difficulties with YOU eating gluten. Breastmilk is still best for a baby in this situation, but mom would need to make dietary changes.

[jesscox]

Now with my first pregnancy I was not able to breastfeed. Something in my family, I was not able to produce any milk, as my mom was unable to as well with all 3 of her children (me being the youngest). Will this be a huge issue if I can not breastfeed again? I plan to give it another go when I have this baby.

His concerns are higher because he has had 2 other incidents with women from his past having miscarriages during their first trimester.

Sorry I feel so out of the loop with this. I just want to learn as much as I can.

[tarnalberry]

True, inherent inability to produce breastmilk is highly uncommon (our species wouldn't have survived!), but there are a number of things that can contribute to that effect that you should seek support on.

"There are many reasons a mother may not produce enough breast milk. Some of the most common are an improper latch (i.e. the baby does not connect efficiently with the nipple), not nursing or pumping enough to meet supply, certain medications (including estrogen-containing hormonal contraceptives), illness, and dehydration. A rarer reason is Sheehan's syndrome, also known as postpartum hypopituitarism, which is associated with prolactin deficiency; this syndrome may require hormone replacement. Malnourishment of the mother is a significant problem for women in developing countries, as malnourished women are often unable to produce breast milk" (from Wikipedia).

Improper latch, particularly in the first few days, is a HUGE reason. The frequency of nursing (every two hours around the clock those first few days, no exceptions) is important because it is the time when your breasts transition from hormonal control to supply-on-demand control. So, the frequent removal of even small amounts of milk helps increase receptors for prolatic in the breast ducts so that more milk will be created in the future.

Open Original Shared Link is a really fascinating look at the process. I fully believe that our cultures "don't have enough supply" concerns come from a lack of support for breastfeeding, particularly good support for latch issues. (My friend's daughter wasn't diagnosed with her obvious tongue tie until she was three months old, and that most definitely impacted supply since should couldn't latch properly. My daughter needed a lot of help from OT's and PT's to get the latch established well, though my family history is one of oversupply, so it didn't create a huge supply issue for me. I don't know anyone personally who had supply issues due to pituitary dysfunction after birth, but that's another thing to look into, since it can be treated. The key for all of these things, though, is LOTS of INTELLIGENT support in the first two or three weeks.)

Yes, yes, I realize this is my soap box, and there really are reasons why breastfeeding won't work, regardless of choice. And it's fabulous that you are going to try breastfeeding again! (Line up the numbers of those LLL leaders for quick reference in the early days! ). In that case, formulas are generally gluten free (you'd probably want to call to confirm), but non-human dairy is sometimes hard for babies to digest and can manifest similarly to gluten issues. There is some evidence that formula fed babies with the potential to develop celiac are at a slightly increased risk, but there are pros and cons to everything, and it's no guarantee.

No research I've read gives any evidence that a parent with celiac genes (but not celiac, or having untreated celiac) increases the risk of miscarriage. There are *other* genetic issues that can increase the risk of miscarriage (most spontaneous miscarriages are because the fetus is not viable). And, at the end of the day, it's usually impossible to really narrow down why one occurred.

You're doing the right thing - researching and figuring out how to best take care of yourself. That is the only thing you can do, but it is the best thing you can do.

[cassP]

yes- above poster has given you a lot of great information.

im no expert- but i think you should not worry about miscarrying... try to relax- i do not think there is ANY link between celiac genes and having a miscarriage (**unless YOU had Celiac and were not eating gluten free).

my sister in law had trouble breastfeeding in the beginning-> she wasnt producing enough milk... but my sister in law has a bad habit of not hydrating herself enough... after a rough start, she was able to do it. she had also gotten this herbal tea at a local herb shop specifically for Mom's to produce good milk.. (im not 100% sure if it was gluten free or not and cant find the link)

anyways- you should try your best (if it's possible) to breastfeed and to deliver vaginally... these both have been suggested to delay the onset of celiac.--> but of course, delivery and breastfeeding can all be thwarted by very serious circumstances, so dont ever feel pressured.

follow your docs orders and try to eat really healthy- but dont worry about your boyfriend having celiac- its not going to affect your pregnancy

[JeepWidow]

tartalberry - you mentioned that gluten passes through breast milk I was under the impression that this was not true. What is your source on this, I'm intested to do more research to learn if I've been misinformed.

[tarnalberry]

Not sure who told you that breast milk doesn't contain gluten, but they are definitely wrong.

Open Original Shared Link

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Secretion of dietary antigens into breast milk has been extensively documented. The presence of these antigens is of relevance because they could be involved in the modulation of the immune response in neonates. The objective of this study is to determine the gliadin concentration in milk, colostrum, and serum samples from healthy lactating mothers on a normal diet. Gliadin levels in milk samples from a group of six mothers after a brief period of gluten restriction were also determined. The molecular weight of secreted gliadins was also analysed.

METHODS: Gliadin concentration was determined with a highly sensitive competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, modified so as to eliminate anti-gliadin antibody interference. The level of gliadin/IgA anti-gliadin immune complexes in milk, colostrum, and serum samples was determined.

RESULTS: Gliadin was detected in all 49 milk samples. Its concentration varied between 5 and 1200 ng/ml (mean, 178 ng/ml). In colostrum (n = 14) gliadin levels were higher (range, 28-9000 ng/ml; mean, 883 ng/ml), not being detectable in one case. Gliadin was detectable in 14 of 31 serum samples, in which levels were lower than in milk and colostrum samples (mean, 41 ng/ml). Neither a correlation between gliadin levels in milk, colostrum, and serum samples from the same subject nor a relation between gluten intake and gliadin concentration in milk samples from six subjects under a 3-day gluten-free diet could be found. Higher levels of immune complexes were observed in colostrum samples than in milk and serum samples. No correlation was detected between gliadin concentration and the level of immune complexes. The analysis of milk and colostrum samples by immunoblotting showed bands of immunoreactive gliadin presenting Mr similar to those of native proteins from wheat extracts.

CONCLUSIONS: Very high levels of gliadin were detected in milk samples from healthy mothers on an unrestricted diet. Gliadin levels were higher than those reported for dietary antigens in other studies. Breast milk contained non-degraded gliadins and gliadin/anti-gliadin IgA immune complexes.

Open Original Shared Link

Abstract

Samples of breast milk were taken from 53 women following the ingestion of 20 g of gluten. The samples were analysed for the presence of gliadin by a double-antibody sandwich enzyme immunoassay. Gliadin (5-95 ng/ml) was detected in 54/80 samples collected at various stages of lactation. Maximum levels in milk were found 2-4 hours after ingestion; gliadin could not be detected in serum. The transfer of gliadin from mother to infant might be critical for the development of an appropriate specific immune response to gliadin later in life.

BTW, the same holds true of dairy and egg, and probably other proteins as well.

[cassP]

i recently read about the gluten in breastmilk too.

and the authors suggested that we may also have a problem with dairy-> if the cows were fed wheat

[JeepWidow]

Looks like I'll have to continue my research.