Celiac Disease and Pregnancy
By TMoM Team Member Suzy Fielders
When I was first diagnosed with Celiac Disease, my oldest daughter was already two, so I had no clue what impact it’d have on being pregnant. I found out quickly though it makes quite a difference when I was pregnant with my other two daughters.
What is Celiac Disease?
For those that don’t know what Celiac Disease is… it is an autoimmune disease. When I tell people I can’t eat gluten, they tend to assume or think it’s an allergy; however, it’s not one or even close.
People with allergies suffer antihistamine reactions when they ingest something they are allergic to. In contrast, people when people with Celiac ingest gluten their body’s immune system incorrectly views it as a bad foreign object. Once it does that the immune system incorrectly attacks the small intestines thinking its getting rid of the “bad” foreign object, even though its actually causing damage to the person’s small intestines. If this continues this ongoing damage will most likely lead to cancer of the small intestines. So bottom line if you have Celiac Disease gluten is bad!!
Additionally, there’s a secondary component of Celiac, which causes malabsorption issues. That means no matter how many foods, vitamins, or minerals a person with Celiac often can’t absorb those nutrients, at least not completely, through their small intestines. It turns out this is very important for someone who is pregnant.
Celiac Disease During Pregnancy
The first major difference of having Celiac while pregnant was since it’s an autoimmune disease. It’s one of the higher risk factors for increasing the chances of congenital disorders. When combined with the fact I was over 35 with both of my last two pregnancies that increased my risk. Therefore, I opted to get the genetic testing done for both. It was a great way to ease my worries, plus it allows you to find out the gender of the baby (with about 99.9% accuracy) early in the pregnancy (around 10 to 12 weeks). Luckily, all our results turned out fine.
Remember that malabsorption issue I mentioned above that plays the other big difference during a Celiac pregnancy. With both of my last two pregnancies I had bad morning sickness. For my middle daughter it ended when I hit my first trimester. But, for my youngest it didn’t let up until a couple weeks into my second trimester.
Between the sickness and the malabsorption, I had a tough time gaining weight during the last pregnancy. With my middle daughter, I gained within the healthy normal amount by the end of the pregnancy. However, with the last one, once I got over the morning sickness, I had actually lost a couple pounds. The doctors assured me that was normal for how sick I was.
As the second trimester continued and got near the end, I had still not gained much weight. I’ll add – I ate – what felt like all the time! Things didn’t change much during the last trimester but with check ups and extra ultrasounds we found the baby was doing just fine and growing fine. The doctor shared that she was likely taking all those nutrients I did absorb! Although that meant there wasn’t much left for me. I did have to get B12 injections during pregnancy as it kept getting low.
By the end of that pregnancy, I had gained only 7 pounds total. Now I know many women’s first thought will be they wished they had only gained that – but knowing the reason behind the lack of weight gain I hope they realize they are lucky to have normal weight gain and mark one thing off their list of things to worry about during pregnancy!
Importance of a Supportive Medical Team
Throughout it all my doctors – not just the ObGyn but my gastroenterologist PA and my integrative health specialist – were great at keeping me on track and healthy throughout both pregnancies.
Whether you have Celiac Disease, another autoimmune disease, or some other chronic issue, having a healthy pregnancy and baby is within your reach. Just remember to listen to your body, partner with your doctors, and keep in mind every pregnancy is different.
*Photos by M. Gioeli Photography & Urban Bloom Photography
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