Gluten Affects Breastmilk Supply And Quality

[Engineer2]

Just wondering if any other nursing moms have noticed that before they went on a gluten-free diet or when they accidentally ingest gluten it affects their breast milk's supply and quality? I really think my daughter's colic was a combination of her gluten allergy and also that eating gluten caused an oversupply and fore-milk/hind-milk imbalance. Back when I was an exhusted, sleep-deprived mom of an extremely colicy baby... it was so hard to find the proper information on my situation and I was given so much bad advice by medical professionals. I was told that she's grow out of her colic by 9-12 months old (didn't happen.) I was advised to nurse for only 5-10 minutes on a breast before switching to the other breast (oh ya.... really great advice for a large-breasted mom who showed symptoms of an oversupply of breastmilk... that advice really increased my supply and made nursing a horrible experience for a few months!!)

Also sometimes I get so fustrated when I hear nursing moms describe almost exactly the same problems and symptoms that my baby and I had... but they look at me like I'm nuts when I tell them that wheat/gluten-caused all my problems and they should maybe look into it and try a gluten-free diet for a week.

Just wondering about the experiences of other nursing Celiac or Gluten-intolerant moms. Breastfeeding is one of the best things we can do for our babies... and yet there is almost no special info or help out there for us.

:-)

Paula

[Eliza13]

Hi,

I have learned that suggesting that people be checked for gluten intolerance does not always work the way I would like. I know someone (Jane Doe) whose brother is a diagnosed celiac....Jane has obvious distention, uses the bathroom alot AND her mother died of Lymphoma!!!! I suggested that she be checked, and she replied: "I think I'd know if I had celiac". I told her that b/c her bro had it she should be checked regardless (I did not want to point out that her belly is as big as a house, refrained from commenting on how she stinks up the washroom....and I stayed away from the Lymphoma connection), but I can't stop thinking about the possibility that she has celiac too. It has been on my mind for a while now....can't help it.

I keep asking myself how many may be going undiagnosed. It is really frustrating that the awareness is just not out there. Another problem is getting people to understand just how serious the condition is: Most people write off the intolerance as just another "allergy" (incorrect!!!!)

[Merika]

Paula,

Are you from the ec list, cause we were just discussing this exact thing over there!

Here's an article you may find interesting. Click the link to it on www.merikaonline.com/pages/allergy.html

Allergies (which go along with celiac) DO cause oversupply and abundant milk. I had it too when I was nursing. Everyone was so impressed because I had these huge abundant milky boobs forever with my child, lol and I was otherwise pretty much on the skinny side. Little did we all know......

Merika

[Engineer2]

Are you from the ec list, cause we were just discussing this exact thing over there!

Thanks Merika, nice to know I'm not alone. What is the EC List?

[Guest nini]

When I was nursing my daughter 5 years ago, I had not yet been dx with Celiac and therefore was consuming lots of gluten. My milk supply was abundant but the quality of it was very thin and weak... I ended up having to supplement her with formula because she was not gaining any weight (failure to thrive) while nursing, and she had GERD and projectile vomiting and chronic diarrhea. I often wonder what my milk supply would have been like if I had been properly dx back then and on the gluten-free diet.

[Indea88]

My husband ,I can guarantee has Celiac and hes one of the ones who just wont deal with it? I dont get it.. Anyway I breastfed my son who is now two and has the Celiac gene and responded to a gluten-free diet when I finally figured out that his constant diarrhea wasnt normal. He was always colicky, wouldnt sleep and looked pale with dark circles under his eyes. He started solids at 6 months, mostly rice cereal. I was using Earths Best Organic baby food and some of that had barley in it. It really didnt click that MY diet was affecting him, I dont have Celiac but HE was gluten intolerant. I feel so quilty not knowing. Now it all makes sense. If I were to do it over I course I would have avoided gluten even if I didnt have Celiac but I didnt know until he was about 16 months..

[Merika]

Indea, Don't feel guilty...you did a great job finding out about celiac for your son when he was just 16 mos. Many others don't figure it out til much later. (For examply, i was diagnosed at age 31.....) You didn't create this in him, it's just how he is, and you've set him up for a wonderful long healthy life now that he eats gluten-free

Paula, the EC list is a yahoo group on the topic of "elimination communication" which is a long rhyme-y way of saying natural infant hygiene aka how women around the world and in history dealt with pottying the baby before there were diapers Food allergies and such often come up on it because moms who notice that their baby's pooping frequency/kind is off (temporarily or always) and peeing is off too sometimes can often trace it to the foods that mom or baby/toddler consumes. There's more awareness of the relationship between what goes in and what comes out There's a link to it on the site www.natural-wisdom.com

Merika