[concerned lady]

Hi all!

If a pregnant mom eats gluten, and if her unborn baby (her fetus) is gluten sensitive, here are a couple of questions:

1) Does the gluten she ate, get into the placenta, and then into the umbilical cord, and then into the fetus' bloodstream?

2) If the gluten she ate, does get into the fetus' bloodstream, what happens to her gluten-sensitive fetus?

Carol
http://cantbreathesuspectvcd.com

[KimS]

I have thoughts on this but have not found anything scientific to back up my personal findings:

My one child was born very healthy (7 1/2 lbs, 22 inches long, immediate 9/10 on apgar) but began to 'fail to thrive' (gained only 1/2 expected weight) within 2 weeks of being born even though I had what would probably be considered an 'oversupply' of milk.

For three years, he only gained 1/2 the weight he should've. For the last three years, off gluten and other foods, his bone growth has shot up but his weight, though steady, has not increased as expected (which is what happens with children who have 'simple' celiac).

Therefore, I think that the sensitivity may be inherited but there may be a lot of 'filters' in place within the mother's system... then once outside in the real world, the molecules, dust, etc. that will invariable enter the baby's system, unfiltered, and have a more profound effect on the infant's system.

That's what I think happened to my son, anyway. He did have many other 'allergies' right off the bat too though and I think 'unfiltered' exposure to all of them took it's toll.

[annelb]

This is not about delayed reaction. It is about allergic IgE reactions and these can occur in a fetus.

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/conte...16/7149/1926/a

Evidence from aborted fetal samples shows that from the second trimester onwards fetuses are capable of producing an allergic reaction. There are several theories on how sensitisation occurs. Some research shows that antigens from the mother can cross the placenta, whereas other work suggests fetuses can swallow IgE from the amniotic fluid, causing sensitisation

Looks like maternal IgA and IgG antibodies get into the amniotic fluid too.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...play&DB=pubmed

Hum Reprod. 1995 Dec;10(12):3297-300.

Materno-fetal immunoglobulin transfer and passive immunity during the first trimester of human pregnancy.

Jauniaux E, Jurkovic D, Gulbis B, Liesnard C, Lees C, Campbell S.

Academic Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University College London Medical School, UK.

Passive transfer of immunity from the mother to the first trimester fetus is of particular interest because of the reported high incidence of serious fetal sequelae due to congenital infection. We have examined the relationship between maternal serum, coelomic fluid and amniotic fluid concentrations of immunoglobulin (Ig) and complement. Ig fractions G (IgG), A (IgA), and M (IgM) and complement factors 3 (C3) and 4 (C4) were measured in 34 normal pregnancies between 6 and 12 weeks of gestation. The concentrations of specific antibodies for Toxoplasma gondii, cytomegalovirus (CMV) and rubella were also measured on 21 matched samples from the same study group. IgG and IgA concentrations were detected in all coelomic fluid samples whereas IgG was only measurable in two amniotic fluid samples. IgG and IgA concentrations were respectively 28 and 128 times lower in coelomic fluid than in maternal serum and probably reflect fetal serum concentrations. Significant positive linear correlations were found between gestational age and the coelomic concentrations of IgG (P = 0.001) and IgA (P = 0.014). There was no obvious association between immunoglobulin concentrations in coelomic fluid and maternal serum suggesting increasing active transport across the placenta with advancing gestation. IgM, C3 and C4 were not detected in coelomic or amniotic fluid samples. Specific antibodies were found in 13 out of 63 samples of coelomic fluid and in 32 out of 63 samples of maternal serum. They were found in coelomic fluid only if they were present in maternal serum. These results suggest that maternal IgG and IgA are potentially available to the embryo as early as the 6th week of gestation. The presence in the coelomic fluid of the IgG fraction, both total and infectious agent-specific transferred via the placenta, indicates that they may provide limited protection against congenital infection in the first trimester.

PMID: 8822462 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

My second child had "colic" from the time he was born. I was not GF and he was breastfed. He continued to have GI problems until he went GF at age 22. I too wonder if the problems can begin before birth.

Of course, I am gluten sensitive and so are both of my children. What about a woman who is not GS/CD (double copies of DQ4) but her unborn child has a copy of a celiac gene from the father?
Anne

[graceperson]

Originally Posted by concerned lady

Hi all!

If a pregnant mom eats gluten, and if her unborn baby (her fetus) is gluten sensitive, here are a couple of questions:

1) Does the gluten she ate, get into the placenta, and then into the umbilical cord, and then into the fetus' bloodstream?

2) If the gluten she ate, does get into the fetus' bloodstream, what happens to her gluten-sensitive fetus?

Carol
http://cantbreathesuspectvcd.com

I think about this all the time with respect to my children. I was soooo sick when I was pregnant. By the time I gave birth to my second child I was totally checked out and I could hardly walk. (You'd think someone would have noticed?!) From a health perspective, my kids were generally ok. My second son (born while I was at my worst) had low platelets (as did I) but was overall ok. I will say that he seemed sort of lethargic all the time. It wasn't until he was 4-5 when we took him off gluten (with me) that he really seemed to come to life. I guess I think he didn't really have full nourishment until we took him off gluten. Until then he was always running on empty.
I was so bad off with my second child that he not only got compromised nutrition, but he also had to have suffered from the toxicity of my overall system. Can't be good.

I could see my older son "going down" about the age of seven. He was getting really spaced out and had these horrific rashes all over his body...chronic sinus infections. That was about the time I was crashing too so fortunately I feel like we "nipped it in the bud".

Here is one thought though. I can't see how anyone could have been sicker than I was with my second child. I was such a mess. However, now, with a gluten free diet, both my kids are doing great. They appear to be very healthy (rarely get sick), and they seem to be able to focus just fine in school. So, I do think kids are resilient, and given the right environmental conditions, they can bounce back.

Grace