Hi all,

I'm just wondering if there is a definitive link between celiac and premature labor/deliveries. I'm currently 31 weeks and had a labor scare on Friday, and I doubt my doctor knows much about celiac (I just changed docs) and I want to know if I'm more high risk than I would otherwise be. Thanks.

Oh, I've known about my celiac since april 06- went gluten-free until oct 06 and had my biopsy and I had severe damage. It was recommended I not get pregnant for 1 year and we had an unplanned pregnancy after just three months. I'm also fairly certain I get glutened with some regularity, although I actually cannot tell when it happens. So I wouldn't consider my celiac to be particularly well controlled at this point, unfortunately.

Marjorie, obviously, you can't help being pregnant now. What you CAN control is your diet. You absolutely NEED to ensure a completely gluten-free diet now! Also, the reason for problems with pregnancies (and yes, premature labour and miscarriages are definitely symptoms of celiac disease) is malnourishment. If your intestines don't absorb enough nutrients to support a growing child, you may have a miscarriage.

Please have your levels of essential vitamins and minerals tested as soon as possible (ferritin, vitamin D, vitamins B12, folic acid, magnesium and calcium come to mind), so you know where you need to supplement (if necessary intravenously) to ensure the survival of your baby, as well as your own recovery from celiac disease.

I sincerely hope that everything goes well for you and your baby.

I think after one episode of premature labor, you are by definition "higher" risk, celiac or not.

Ursula has good points. Have your levels checked and then see if your OB can refer you to a dietician who knows about celiac. Many don't, some good ones do. It may take some looking to find one.

I am sitting here with knots in my stomach. I was just recently diagnosed with Celiac's disease and I lost a baby at 20 weeks due to premature labor a few months ago. We are trying to concieve another child right now, I have only been gluten free and not perfectly so ( as I am learning) for about 1 month. My heart aches with the idea that I have to wait any longer to concieve, but I need advice.

Should I wait to get pregnant?
Can I eat strictly from now on and be okay during a pregnancy?
I don't want to repeat this situation as you can imagine, so please help me

I am afraid that it would be much better for you to wait at least six months before trying to conceive again, to give yourself time to heal. Otherwise you may end up losing another baby, which is a lot more heartbreaking than waiting a little while.

I had eight miscarriages (and it is a miracle I have five healthy children anyway), because of undiagnosed celiac disease, I am sure. I don't wish that on anybody. Please be patient and wait, and before you try conceiving again, make sure you have adequate levels of essential nutrients, for both yours and your baby's sake.

I'm 32 weeks now - at my last appointment they screened me for pre-term labour.. I'll find out more this week
I'm definately gluten and wheat free, and have had a good pregnancy up until now. Hopefully they find nothing! (I've been having pre-term signs for a couple of weeks now, but didn't realise them as signs)

I'm also having trouble absorbing iron, even though I'm taking my supplements as per usual and keeping up a great diet... my count was lower than the low levels that are still OK in pregnancy

Maybe your doctor could give you iron injections? Iron is so very important for both you and the baby! I hope everything is going to be okay.

Try taking it easy, resting a lot, as little stress as possible etc. With my youngest daughter I should have had twins, but lost one. I know I would have lost her as well, but pretty much stayed in bed for two months (every time I got up I'd start bleeding), until the danger was past. She was born big and healthy and full term.

My doctor said it didn't matter what I did, as there was nothing that could be done if I was meant to miscarry. But she was wrong, and I instinctively knew better.

I was gluten free for 6 months before I got pregnant.
No matter how much I tried to stay gluten free while I was pregnant I couldn’t. I couldn’t get enough to eat no matter how much food I took with me to eat.
Well I ended up having my little girl at 35 weeks.

From what I understand from my doctor that is pretty well educated when it comes to celiac he said that yes I was a higher risk being that I had it.

I had my baby at 30 weeks (he's 15 now) and had placenta abruptia with my daughter (she's 11) that healed on its own. Both kids are healthy and in AP/honors classes in school.

The medical field is well prepared for premies, now more than ever. Since you're so worried, talk to your OB about it. She will help you through your fears about how your baby will fare if you do have her early.

Breathe.

(edited for content - I didn't mean to sound like premies have no problems and it's okay to go into preterm labor. I meant that it's not as bad as it used to be and that doctors and the medical field are well prepared to handle them and they do far better now than ever. :-)

I am glad your kids are doing great. But the above is still poor advice, as not all pre-term babies will do as well as yours. If it is possible to prevent pre-term labour, you should always strive for that.

When babies can't go home to be with their mothers right away and have to stay in the hospital in an incubator for weeks, how can that be considered 'no problem'? If it is necessary for the babies survival, so be it, it can't be helped. But to say there is no need for worry when a baby comes too early, that is just wrong.

And kat_019, if you say you couldn't get enough to eat without eating gluten foods while you were pregnant, that probably shows that you don't know much about nutrition. Because you absolutely CAN get plenty to eat without grains, and not be hungry.

The only reason you were higher risk was, that you weren't gluten-free, and were still damaging your villi. And because you were as a result not absorbing nutrients did you have your baby pre-term, as the poor kid was starving.

I have to agree that there is a connection! I am very careful about being gluten-free and still I got glutened at least three times while pregnant. Every time it was something stupid - like accepting food from a celiac and then finding out it had spelt in it!!!!! That one was really bad. Everytime the baby would flip out for an entire day after I was glutened. The next day no movement at all. Contractions were scattered for the reaction. Terrified me. She ended up coming a week early after all. She was a healthy baby. But she was nearly delivered in the car.

So my advice, my opinion, if your are a celiac and you are pregnant be insanely strict on the diet for the duration of the pregnancy. No new foods, few restaurants, etc. Get through the pregnancy with the healthiest baby that you can. I can't even imagine the pain of a miscarriage but a miscarriage due to a gluten-free diet mistake would kill me.

FYI: Bring your own food to the hospital. The dietician knew about celiacs. The Dr knew about celiacs. Yes the hospital does gluten-free meals no problems, etc. EVERY single meal arrived with bread, rolls, toast, crackers, cookies, crumbs, crumb toppings, it was a joke. I made a party out of my stay. I brought all my special treats for meals.

Stay safe, best of luck.

Ursa -- or someone - can you elaborate on the miscarriage thing? I didn't realize it, too, was a symptom. I have had a miscarriage, a baby, two (possibly three) miscarriages, then two babies. Except for the first time when I had flu with a high fever in the first trimester, essentially I just went into labour. Twice it was in the first trimester, the time I nearly bled to death was in the second.

With the last two babies, I had contractions all through the first trimester and most of the 3rd. Why my doctor didn't do more about it I don't know, but fortunately, both made it to term.

As an aside, I think healthy, neurologically typical premies are the exception, not the rule, (depending on just how premature they are). I myself was a premie, and while generally healthy, have subtle neurological issues and a heck of a time with allergies.

Well, this is my pattern (and no, I didn't even know what celiac disease was at that time):


First pregnancy, three threatened miscarriages. I was bleeding so much, with big lumps of tissue coming out, that every time I was sure I had miscarried. And maybe I did, that there was more than one baby.

But somehow my daughter hung on. At about the fifth month, the bleeding totally stopped, and I ended up with a full-term baby.

Got pregnant again when she was six months old. Same pattern, with lots of bleeding during the first four months. Again, big, full-term baby. C-section due to breech position.

I am positive I had a miscarriage next. Then another pregnancy, bleeding for the first three months, off and on. A big, full term boy.

Almost two years later, another pregnancy, again, bleeding during the first few months. Full term baby, delivered by c-section, due to being transverse (back down, unable to turn, due to almost split uterus).

After her, three miscarriages. Then pregnant again, lost one baby of twins at about three months. I had to stay in bed for two months, until when I was five months pregnant, I didn't start bleeding every time I got up. Full term pregnancy after that, another transverse position, meaning another c-section.

Then, three more miscarriages, the last and worst one on Susie's third birthday, of all days. I went into labour (even though I was only about four months pregnant), and was in the hospital that night, being really sick.

After that I gave up to have a playmate for my youngest, it was no use.

I always had contractions for the past two months of my pregnancies, but not bad ones. With my successful pregnancies, I never had a pre-term baby. Strangely, I also ate little bread then, but suddenly liked vegetables and fruit (which I usually don't like a lot). Which was a good thing, I am sure.

The reason for the miscarriages was likely that I was malnourished (despite being overweight), due to celiac disease, and those babies couldn't live on the nourishment they got from me.

My kids were all healthy when little. Now some of them are obviously suffering from undiagnosed celiac disease (most of them are in denial). My oldest has gone gluten-free with her kids, and knows the difference. The next one admits her toddler has celiac disease (her mother-in-law has it as well), but won't be 100% gluten-free as well, even though she told me she feels better gluten-free. My son is in denial, so is the next girl, and I have the Enterolab kit for Susie, but she finds new excuses constantly as to why she hasn't provided a stool sample on the past two weekends yet (you can only ship it on Mondays or Tuesdays). I think she knows she'll be positive, and loves her gluteny food.

ok im sitting here freaking out just a little. i came here to ask a few questions about the chance of pre-term labor, but found someone beat me to it. right now im 28 weeks along and have been gluten-free since about 6 weeks along. i am pretty sure this pregnncy kick started my celiac. i lost a lot of weight in the beginning and was very sick. i have been very strick with my diet and have been gaining weight, i just hit my pre-pregnancy weight about 2 weeks ago.
i have not met one dr around here that knows anything about celiac disease, including my obgyn. i asked him if this makes me high risk or not, and he kinda just laughed at me. so i dont really bring it up anymore.
but the past few weeks i have been getting contrations, and my pelivc bones hurt. my hands keep cramping cramping up to the point they look warped. but the past 3 days or so have been whats really makeing me worry. i mopped my floors 2 days ago, it set off like 3 contractions all within about 15min.s. i was also very dizzy, but back hurt till the next day and i have been feeling pressure down there whenever i stand. yesterday i went shopping with my famliy, and just walking around the store set off the same problems.
i dont know what all to tell my dr (i have a check up on fri) i dont know if i should ask for him to look down there and make sure its all ok. or ask to see if my vitamins are ok?
all i DO know is i have two other children and have gone through both their pregnancys and have never felt like this before! i feel like somethings not right but im not sure what it is!

Ugh, your obgyn is an idiot. I say, get some help so you can get more rest. Take it very easy (easier said than done with two little kids, I know). You really shouldn't wait to see a doctor until Friday, but try to get in earlier, it sounds like an emergency to me.

Your cramps might be caused by a vitamin or mineral deficiency. Magnesium and vitamin B6 come to mind. You should have all your levels checked immediately, and get supplements to fix whatever it is that is causing the cramping.

And make sure they check the baby thoroughly! It might be starving, and needing to come early. I don't want to scare you, but you don't want a dead baby. If I would know that there will be competent doctors at your local hospital, I'd say to go there today.

If you have a hospital like I do, with the most incompetent doctors in the country (or so it seems), it may not help. But you never know.

do they check your vitamins and minerals by a blood test? and is that something they can tell you right away?
how would they know if the baby is starving, ultrasound?
and most importantly how the heck do i get the dr to take me seriously?? i am suppose to take my glucose test next Fri. so i went to the lab to find out what is in the drink they give you. the ladies there treated me like i was the biggest weirdo they ever met, and it took me two separate trips there for them to give me the ingredients and the phone number to the manufacturer to find out if it had anything hidden in it. im just afraid im going to go complain again and they wont do anything but blow me off

Yes they can tell if your child is underweight by an ultrasound....however they usually don't realize the child is under weight vs thinking they set the due date wrong.

I didn't realize this was a symptom of celiac either. I had contractions most of my third trimester(I was not gluten-free then). Ended up naming my son Braxton.....after Braxton hicks contractions.LOL

I also had low iron levels while prego and after. I had a C-section, I was three weeks overdo, I was induced for 4 days(17 hrs each day with patosin(sp?)). and all I have to say after that was I changed Dr's!!!!!!!

Yes, they test you for those deficiencies by a blood test. And if they think it may be an emergency, they can actually do the tests right away in the hospital lab.

I know, because once I thought I had a heart attack (they told me after five hours that it was 'only' severe stomach and bowel cramps, and there was nothing wrong with me and sent me home.... it was celiac disease, which I didn't know then). They took blood and tested it right away, and told me that my electrolytes were out of whack, and my potassium was low. Right, low potassium could also give you cramps and heart palpitations, it did that to me.

The best 'supplement' for low potassium is water melon, believe it or not. It has a lot more potassium than bananas.

They are having you do that glucose test while pregnant? Is that safe? Why do they want to do it?

And if those ladies in the lab think you're weird for wanting to know ingredients because of celiac disease, they are ignorant (not to mention arrogant).

Would it be possible to still switch doctors now? It doesn't look like your doctors (or your lab) know what they are doing. Your baby's life is at stake!

Are you able to get help at home (mother, mother-in-law, grandmother etc.) so you can get lots of rest?

Ursa....

It is standard here in the states to check for gestational diabetes. You drink a drink that tastes like flat orange soda and then they test you after you sit for about an hour!

i can not switch doctors ( i already did that at the beginning of my pregnancy and now i am with the only other group of ob.s in the area that accept my military insurance.
i have decided i am calling the ob office as soon as they open in the morning to see if they can see me tomorrow. i am going to tell them i need my vitamin and minerl levels check, and i am also going to request a pelvic. im worried that maybe the pressure and contractions means im dialating early. even if all they can tell me is im fine and not dialiating i will feel much better!!
i dont really have help other than the weekends my husband is home. both our famliys are on the other side of the country. my oldest helps with picking up toys and things like that which is nice but that is about it.
thanks ladies for being there when i was really scared and needed somebody that knew what they were talking about!!

Don't just take the phone call...make them see you!!!!!!!!

They did that to me (I thought I was leaking amniotic fluid!) and called and told me I was fine not to worry. WELL....my son had NO fluid when they pulled him out! Which was why he was decelling during teh contractions! THey tried to break my water to put me into labor and they couldn't~so don't just take a phone call...because they have no way of knowing without seeing you!

i went in to see the doctor this afternoon, it was the soonest i could get. i told them everything, and my husband was there which was really nice. it wasnt my dr, it was another one in the office. he gave me a pelvic and said im not dilated at all, day!! and he did some test to find out if its a possiablity that i might be someone who would go into preterm labor. they said they will call me tomorrow.
i asked about the vitamins, and he said that was nothing would be wrong if i was taking my prenatals in the morning. he said its a normal pregnancy thing. that the inside of your hands can swell and make your hand cramp. it was pointless trying to tell him what i knew about celiac, he thought he knew more. but i go in on Fri for my glucose test, and i will see my doctor so i will tell him the same thing and im going to ask for a blood test if they think i need one or not! )

I am glad you found out that you are not dilated. But other than that, this doctor really wasn't very helpful. Saying that it is normal to have your hands swell and cramp is garbage. I never had that problem, and I haven't heard of anybody else having it either. And I've been around many pregnant women, including my two oldest daughters and daughter-in-law.

I hope your doctor will order the blood tests to test for vitamin deficiencies. If you do have those (which is likely with celiac disease), taking prenatal vitamins is NOT enough. You may need extra vitamin D, and possibly a few others.

Ugh, I hate the fact that there are so many clueless doctors out there! But what I dislike even more is, that so many of them think they are god and know everything, when in fact they are morons.

I hope your husband can go with you again on Friday. Doctors tend to take us more seriously (even though that really is an insult to us) when a man is with us. Plus, it is easier to stand up for yourself when you have backup.

I can relate - my 1st pregnancy was successful but a disaster. I had no idea that I had celiac and spent the whole pregnancy eating whole wheat bagels thinking that I was being healthy. Instead - I had hyperemesis and didn't gain 1 pound until I was 5 months. The sonogram showed I was 3 weeks behind in birthweight & I developed preterm contractions at 26 weeks. I was put on a trebutaline pump and on bedrest because trebutaline pills didn't even work. I ended with preeclampia and and induction a week early. The trebutaline saved my baby! My baby was a healthy 6 lbs 1 oz but it seriously set off my celiac and thankfully I was diagnosed.

I'm now 10 weeks pregnant and crossing my fingers everyday - I've already gained a lot of weight but still feel nauseaus as hell....I'm hoping that the gluten free diet will keep away the contractions.

Hi all! I'm newly diagnosed DH, confirmed through blood tests and skin biopsy. In my case, I never knew I had Celiac before getting pregnant in Nov 2006. I had a really healthy pregnancy, but my baby was born four weeks early. I was diagnosed with DH about 10 weeks postpartum - I went back into the doctor about my rash because it flared up so badly after I delivered my baby. I really do believe that there was a correlation for me. I had trouble (despite my best efforts) gaining the needed weight in my pregnancy (I ended up with only a net gain of about 12 lbs). Reading all of your stories I'm amazed that I conceived and carried her for that long! I was very careful about how I ate and what I ate both before I got pregnant and during my pregnancy though, and I'm sure that on some level that really helped. I definitely plan to get my Celiac under control before TTC again.

My water broke at 26 weeks. They kept me in the hospital and gave me IV magnesium for two weeks. So I wonder if that's one of the things that's missing from the diet that causes the contractions, the magnesium.
My daughter finally came at week 28 and she has had some developmental problems. She was in NICU for 8 weeks.