Gluten and pregnancy

[Chlandy]

Hello, just looking for peoples experiences. I am not coeliac (had the test last year, due to bad bloating), anyway never got to the bottom of the bloating it never caused me pain just had a hard round tum time to time! Me and my partner were trying for a baby from July 2018, (we already have one son born nov 2016, which I ate gluten through). In October my friend told me about her sister in law who was trying for 4 years for a baby, cut out gluten and fell pregnant, ate gluten lost the baby, so cut it out again and remained gluten free and had a healthy baby! Anyway October I decided to try gluten free and fell pregnant the end of the month! This could be coincidence but through fear of mc, I'm 12 weeks next week and haven't had gluten since....but realised I've accidentally eaten gluten this weekend! I'm now in a complete panic! My scan is next Friday and I've spoken to my midwife and she had no idea about gluten and miscarriage/fertility connection (unless coeliac)... so just wondering if anyone else has any stories/experience on this? Thank you x

I had the opposite experience in a way... I have gluten sensitivity so I don’t eat gluten. We tried for 2 years and finally got pregnant (on a gf diet). When pregnant I craved gluten foods and ate them with no consequence. After the baby was born, the symptoms came back so I stopped eating gluten again.

Obviously very different to your experience but just to say as far as I’m aware there is no evidence that gluten could cause a miscarriage. I wouldn’t worry about it!

I think everyone is different. When I was pregnant I reacted very badly to gluten, writhing around in agony after eating gluten (healthy baby though). I also know someone who can't eat gluten when not pregnant but can when pregnant, again healthy baby. If it causes you pain and bloating cut it out but I wouldn't worry about the health of your baby through eating gluten when you haven't actually been diagnosed with anything.

I am gluten intolerant but started eating gluten from around 15 weeks pregnant as I suffer from hyperemesis and so limited to what I can eat. I'm now nearly 28 weeks pregnant and no issues so far. I wouldn't worry too much if you can. I haven't been told eating or not eating gluten can cause miscarriage. I lost my first baby in the first 8 weeks and didn't eat any gluten then so I dont think its linked.

Thanks ladies! That's really reassuring! When I was going through tests for my bloating I cut out gluten and still had the bloating and obviously my test for coeliac came back clear, so I was never told I had gluten intolerance or sensitivity I literally only cut it out October, on the off chance it would help me fall pregnant and then fell pregnant that month! I kinda wish I hadn't because now I don't know if it was coincidence or to do with the gluten! I'll definitely relax now though especially as you've mentioned you have intolerance/sensitivity and still had healthy pregnancies :) thanks so much for the reassurance! I'd love to eat gluten again I miss it so much ha, I may try introduce it again slowly and see if it effects me once I've had my 12 week scan :). Thank you xx

When I was going through tests for my bloating I cut out gluten and still had the bloating and obviously my test for coeliac came back clear

If you cut out gluten whilst being tested for Coeliac then it will have come back clear.

You have to be eating gluten every day for about 6 weeks before you are tested for coeliac. It's called the gluten challenge

Sorry my comment wasn't clear only saying in brief :) I had the blood test first, before cutting anything at all out, the blood tests were for a number of things including coeliac when everything came back clear I followed low fod mop with a dietician to try work out what the trigger was for my bloating... never ever got to the bottom of it, but as it has never caused me pain, literally just bloated never worried too much about it and was signed off from my dietician. Sorry should've made it clearer :) thank you x

Low fod map*