Link Between Celiac Mom (On Gluten) And Under-Formed Palate?

[megsybeth]

Kind of a long shot but I was wondering if anyone knew of a link between a mom who's celiac and getting gluten (undiagnosed in my case) and giving birth to a child without a fully formed palate? My son is 4 and doesn't have a cleft palate but after two years of speech therapy a new therapist just pointed out to me that his soft palate doesn't close fully, making his voice very nasal and unclear. She thinks he'll need surgery. I was just wondering if that's a fluke or maybe it's related to malnutrition in utero?

[jebby]

Kind of a long shot but I was wondering if anyone knew of a link between a mom who's celiac and getting gluten (undiagnosed in my case) and giving birth to a child without a fully formed palate? My son is 4 and doesn't have a cleft palate but after two years of speech therapy a new therapist just pointed out to me that his soft palate doesn't close fully, making his voice very nasal and unclear. She thinks he'll need surgery. I was just wondering if that's a fluke or maybe it's related to malnutrition in utero?

Hi, I am a celiac, mother, and pediatrician. I try my best to read all of the newest research concerning problems related to celiac disease while pregnant, breastfeeding, etc. and I have not come across any info linking gluten exposure in utero to palatal formation or function in a baby/child. I am not trying to say that the 2 things are not related, just that there is currently not any research that has investigated this. Hope this helps!

[megsybeth]

Thanks, Jebby. While I have you, maybe, can any of the antibodies related to celiac pass from mother to child through BF? I know gluten itself can't, at least according to my doctor, but if Mom has celiac and baby has celiac and baby gets the atnibodies through the breast milk, could it cause malabsorption?

[rosetapper23]

I do recall reading an article several years ago linking this condition to celiac. It interested me because my niece was born with this problem....and now she suspects she has celiac disease. She refused to get tested and simply decided to follow a gluten-free diet. You might do a keyword search on celiac and palate to see if you can find the article.

[jebby]

Hi Meg,

Here is a link to an article which I recently read which summarizes research on the passage of celiac antibodies into breast milk:

Open Original Shared Link

This is a great website for information on the effects of maternal ingestion of medications, herbs, foods, etc. on the breastfeeding infant.

Jess

[shadowicewolf]

If i remember right issues such as this are do to low folic acid levels (i could be wrong). Quote from wikipedia:

Supplementation with folic acid has also been shown to reduce the risk of Open Original Shared Link, Open Original Shared Link,Open Original Shared Link limb defects, and urinary tract anomalies.

It wouldnt be much of a strech to say that it might have something in common with it.

At any rate, if you were unable to absorb what you need because of celiac, then i can see the possible connection.

(i'm somewhat of a medical nerd )