Jump to content

  • You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

Do Gluten Mistakes = Miscarriage?

fweenyp

By fweenyp
in Related Issues & Disorders

Recommended Posts

fweenyp Newbie
fweenyp
Posted

I was diagnosed with celiac disease in August after having two miscarriages - for me it was finally the answer to why i could not carry to term. I am now 13 weeks and things are going well, however this weekend i by mistake ingested gluten through cross contamination and had a terrible reaction. i am now panicked that it will affect the baby and cause damage or a miscarriage. does anyone know if the baby is harmed from gluten in small doses?

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


KayJay Enthusiast
KayJay
Posted

First congratulations on your pregnacy! I hope you don't have any problems with this one. I don't know how much gluten it takes to hurt the baby. I was told not to eat out and I really don't unless I know it is gluten-free for sure. But I am sure I have had some gluten it is almost impossiable not to. I am 31wks and the baby is doing great.

I would just be very careful especially in the beginning and talk to your doctors a lot.

Good luck,

Carriefaith Enthusiast
Carriefaith
Posted

It would not be a good idea to eat gluten on purpose while you are pregnant (or any time!) but I think that one accident should not cause much harm. I think (and this is only my opinion) infertility and miscarage happens when the villi are damaged and the body cannot absorb nutrients. Essentially, if there are not enough nutrients to support a baby then, infertility/miscarage will occur. Although it appears from your post that you have been gluten free for almost 1 year, so your villi would probably be back to normal by now. I personally don't think one mistake would cause enough villi damage to stop noticable nutrient absorption to cause a miscarage. However, I'm not a doctor and you should consult your doctor if you are concerned.

Guest nini
Guest nini
Posted

I too had two miscarriages prior to carrying my daughter. I was gluten-free only during the first trimester with her because I hadn't been officially dx, and I let my OB/GYN talk me out of the gluten-free diet because he thought it was "all in my head" and said going gluten-free was "bad for the baby"... HA! Anyway. I did manage to carry her almost to term. She was born pre term and I did have complications, but I was also consuming gluten daily. I think if you are being as diligent as you can be with your diet and your dr. is aware of celiac and the prior miscarriages, then as long as they are monitoring you closely, a few "accidents" shouldn't be enough to cause a miscarriage. Congrats on your pregnancy and heres hoping all goes well!

MommyMegan Newbie
MommyMegan
Posted

I remember being TERRIFIED when I "got gluten" early in my pregnancy. I suspect that the high number of miscarriages in my family is partially due to undiagnosed celiac disease. When I got sick in my first trimester I took a couple of days off of work and really focused on hydration and nutrition as well as sleeping to let my body heal as fast as it could. My doctor, who admits he doesn't know much about celiac disease, thinks that stress -physical, mental and emotional - is the worst thing for a baby in the womb. His theory is that modern societies pressures and pace make it harder to feel justified in slowing down and listening to your body.

As hard as it might be to try to "breathe through it", remember that you are doing the best you can do and that is what matters. Life happens - you were trying to avoid gluten and ended up sick anyway - and once it does we just have to pray and smile our way through to the next day.

Good luck to you. You will be in my thoughts!

  • 3 weeks later...
hapi2bgf Contributor
hapi2bgf
Posted

Hi,

My baby is now about 4 months old. I was told gluten ingestion or contact reactions would NOT affect the baby. HOwever, I know for a fact that everytime I had a reaction - I had about 6 during the pregnancy and I am careful - but everytime I had a reaction the baby "Freakedout" in the womb. For me, about 24 hrs after ingestion the baby would kick like crazy. Then the next day the baby barely moved at alll. Very scary. I had extra sonograms to check on the babies status.

Even now, if I ingest something bad for nursing, I pay for it with fussy bad day.

Be extremely careful to avoid gluten while pregnant, Learn your reaction, and count kicks. If you have problems, demand a sonogram to check the baby is ok.

That's my two cents. Best of luck!

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. Jmartes71
      - Jmartes71 commented on Scott Adams's article in Summer 2026 Issue
      5

      Court Ruling Raises Big Questions About "Gluten-Free" Food Safety in Retirement Communities (+Video)

      That's one of my biggest fears because the knowledge of how serious is completely laxed and we the patients suffer. Thank God this poor women got the results of winning that case.It should be mandated that any doctor, care facility and every ER know exactly what celiac is.NOT just a food consumption allergy as downplayed. Its not a choice its medically necessary...
    2. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to Jmartes71's topic in Dermatitis Herpetiformis
      6

      Skin issues

      I’m sorry you’re going through all of this. It sounds very stressful, especially when you feel that your symptoms are not being taken seriously. Until you are seen next week, it may help to keep the focus very practical: take clear photos of the skin sores, write down a timeline of symptoms, list all medicines, eye drops, supplements, implants/leak history, an...
    3. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to N Young's topic in Doctors
      1

      Frustrated with Providers

      You are not being unreasonable. A negative celiac blood test after 25 years gluten-free does not rule out celiac disease, because the antibodies usually fall once gluten is removed. It may simply show that your gluten-free diet is working. I would ask the doctor to add a clear note to your chart stating that the test was done while you were strictly gluten...
    4. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to ThomasA55's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      12

      Iron loss and potential celiac.

      These articles may be helpful:
    5. Jmartes71
      - Jmartes71 replied to Jmartes71's topic in Dermatitis Herpetiformis
      6

      Skin issues

      I went to ER on the 30th because I didn't want to wait and saw dr at desk for intake. I went for NOTHING!. ER Dr was very nice but made it seem as if I was a nut case rater than coming in for real issues calmly explaining its staph! Staph, by look no blood test, no skin test. No looking in my nose and throat was given a prescription for jock cream and some...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      134,116
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      10,442
    DiDi53
    Newest Member
    DiDi53
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.7k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Skin issues

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I’m sorry you’re going through all of this. It sounds very stressful, especially when you feel that your symptoms are not being taken seriously. Until you are seen next week, it may help to keep the focus very practical: take clear photos of the skin sores, write down a timeline of symptoms, list all medicines, eye drops, supplements, implants/leak history, and any test results, and bring that to the dermatologist. If there is drainage, spreading redness, fever, worsening pain, eye involvement, or signs of infection, that needs prompt medical care. I would be cautious about assuming parasites or staph without testing, and also cautious with new supplements or putting vitamin C directly on sores, since irritated skin can get worse. A dermatologist can culture lesions, biopsy if needed, and refer to infectious disease if the findings point that way. On the celiac side, I understand your concern for your son, but being HLA-DQ2 positive does not by itself mean he has celiac disease; it means he has a genetic risk. If he is eating gluten now, this is actually the best time for proper celiac blood testing before he tries a gluten-free diet. His symptoms, weight, congestion, and family history are worth discussing with a gastroenterologist, but he should not be told he has celiac based only on HLA status. For your own care, try to keep pushing for objective testing and clear documentation in your records, because that is often what gets doctors to take the next step.
    • Scott Adams
      Frustrated with Providers

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      You are not being unreasonable. A negative celiac blood test after 25 years gluten-free does not rule out celiac disease, because the antibodies usually fall once gluten is removed. It may simply show that your gluten-free diet is working. I would ask the doctor to add a clear note to your chart stating that the test was done while you were strictly gluten-free, that you have a long history of dermatitis herpetiformis and strong clinical response to the gluten-free diet, and that celiac disease remains your working diagnosis unless properly reassessed with a supervised gluten challenge, which you may not want or need at this stage. This should help prevent future confusion. It is understandable to feel frustrated, especially after decades of being dismissed, but this may be fixable with a calm conversation and a chart correction rather than changing doctors.
    • Scott Adams
      Iron loss and potential celiac.

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      These articles may be helpful:    
    • Jmartes71
      Skin issues

      By Jmartes71 · Posted

      I went to ER on the 30th because I didn't want to wait and saw dr at desk for intake. I went for NOTHING!. ER Dr was very nice but made it seem as if I was a nut case rater than coming in for real issues calmly explaining its staph! Staph,  by look no blood test, no skin test. No looking in my nose and throat was given a prescription for jock cream and some pills ! I made the mistake of saying Im waiting on Infectious disease. She asked how did I get referral and I said I did it online.The next day I checked the status and it was denied! I did get  a referral to the dermatology office i went to last year that over charged me and did a biopsy on me stating inconclusive! I went to another dermatologist and he stated I should see Infectious disease at place i put in referral. With that I contacted that dermatologist and waiting to see if he thinks dermatology or Infectious disease is the route.I do have appointment for dermatology next week.Until then i did purchase Zahler paraGuard advance intestinal  flora support  from Sprouts. Im also very alarmed that the fact celiac isn't addressed properly infact its downplayed. When I had my son tested for HLA-DQ2 and it came out positive because he is eating everything and he is extremely skinny but he isn't dealing with severe diagestive issues because thats all he knows NOW or yet because he is still young 21.I too didn't know any difference when i was that age because thats all we know.Life changes will get him in latter years im afraid because what im dealing with.That scares me.The specialist we went to was only about congestion he is getting.He is getting congestion because he is eating what he isn't supposed too! Zero talk about celiac and HLA-DQ2 positive. Only talk was he is congested because we live in the Valley! They wanted to do surgery! I did write again to our district leader considering when I did call, the guy stated he knew all about celiac. I really wanted to tell him NO YOU DON'T but held my tongue. For my skin sores the cream given didn't do anything because ive also had in past.Ive been putting liquid vitamin c on it and taking vitamins which is making a little difference just with the last few days of doing.
    • N Young
      Frustrated with Providers

      By N Young · Posted

      I have been Gluten Free for 25 years and havent eaten gluten knowingly during that time.   Such a rocky life, I have had issues since I was 16 when physicians stated I needed to see a psychiatrist. I am now 70 years old. I also had Dermatitis herpetiformis. I had negative tests on biopsy, blood test etc but no doctor mentioned that I needed to do a gluten challenge. I went on an elimination diet and found relief on the Dermatitis within a month. I have no doubt that I am celiac and very sensitive now. Now my issue is that I changed physicians due to retirement and he performed a blood test and included a celiac test. I was very upset because I did not request the test and had not been eating gluten for 25 years. Of course the test was negative.  My question - Will this cause me any issues with health treatment if my records now have that I dont have celiac? I like this physician and I am appalled that he performed the test. (he told me his brother is also celiac).  I feel that we are still living in the dark ages. I dont want to cause problems because I rarely need health treatment since I live a fairly healthy lifestyle.  Since I am at this age and been through so much getting to this point am I being unreasonable for being upset? I am not expecting to see this physician for another 2 months.  Need to know if I can expect issues with future treatments. How can a physician not know about the gluten challenge this day and age?   
×
×
  • Create New...