Pregnancy And Celiac Disease
If you have celiac disease and are well controlled because you
stick rigidly to a gluten-free diet, you are as likely as anyone
who has not got celiac disease to have a healthy pregnancy and
baby.
Those who have celiac disease and who do not have a completely
gluten-free diet have an increased risk of problems for
themselves and their baby.
Pregnancy is demanding on the body; the mum not only needs a
good supply of all the necessary nutrients to keep her healthy
but also to support the development of the baby. To do this she
will need to eat a good, balanced gluten-free diet. Foods rich
in folic acid, iron and calcium are particularly important.
General Principles
Your diet should be as healthy as possible. Keep to the "5" rule
for fruit and vegetables. Try and eat 5 different varieties
every day. Fruit juice counts as 1 variety however many glasses
of it you drink.
Eat food naturally rich in calcium: milk, cheese and yoghurts,
sardines, pilchards etc. Commercially produced gluten-free
flours and mixes are often enriched with calcium. It is a good
idea to use skimmed or semi-skimmed milk and low fat yogurts and
cheese so you can keep the fat content down. Avoid unpasturised
milk and soft cheese or mould-ripened cheeses as they can carry
bacteria.
Eat food rich in the mineral iron, it can be found in lean red
meat, eggs and fish