I have been reading various items on the internet re: Coeliac, from the logical to the ridiculous!
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One that i thought about was a reference to the high prevelence of Coeliac (Celiac) Disease
being related to the early introduction of 'Gluten' to a babies diet ie: before 6 months.
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Which got me thinking, How would that be possible ?
Two things came to mind (you can probably think of a lot more).
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1. When babies are been weaned onto solids, a lot of mothers might think,
I'm not going to feed my baby 'muck' out of a jar and decide to give them good
wholesome home cooked food puree'd (potatoe, veg, maybe meat and a bit of gravy or sauce)
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Oh Oh, is there wheat flour in the gravy or sauce or bread stuffing in the meat ? ?
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2. When children are teething, a mother will give the child a 'CRUST OF BREAD' to chew on.
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Can you think of any more ? ?
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Unfortunately the young mothers who should be aware of this have no reason to read
this notice board until maybe the damage has been done and symptoms start to manifest.
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According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, introducing gluten prior to 3 months or after 7 months increases a baby's chance of developing celiac disease. Here is a link to the study

Here is one of the key points of the study:



Perhaps introducing gluten at the wrong times causes the celiac "switch" to tilt farther toward activating because the youngster's system is simply not ready to deal with such complex proteins. Also, introducing it while breastfeeding seems to be an important factor. Introducing large quantities at one time as one would do in an older baby could be problematic.

We introduced gluten at 5 months for our current baby. We did it at 6 months for each of our older kids (while breastfeeding). One developed celiac disease and one did not.

Hi cruelshoes,
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Checked your link and it seems your source and my source are in disagreement ! !
What's the saying ? Doctors differ, patients die ! !
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I'm not medically qualified so I can't say which is correct!
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Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition
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1. Should gluten be given to infants before 6 months if they have no family history
of atopy or gluten enteropathy?
As you know, SACN originally considered the introduction of gluten on 27th March 2002 and
agreed that it would be prudent to continue with the COMA recommendation on gluten in
infant foods, as outlined in its 1994 report Weaning and the Weaning Diet:
“Where there is a family history of atopy or gluten enteropathy, mothers should be
encouraged to breastfeed for six months or longer. Weaning before four months should
particularly be discouraged and the introduction of foods traditionally regarded as
allergenic should be delayed until six months at the earliest.” [paragraph 11.1.4]
“To prevent coeliac disease the cereals given to infants less than 6 months should preferably
be gluten free, such as rice or maize.”[para 11.1.8]
SMCN acknowledged that confusion could arise from the context in which the above two
statements were made. The subgroup however reiterated that a substantial body of evidence
indicates that the early introduction of gluten could influence the risk of developing coeliac
disease in early childhood. It was moreover unable to identify any nutritional case for feeding
gluten-containing solids to healthy infants before the age of 6 months. If mothers choose to
wean before the age of 6 months, it is recommended that foods containing gluten should
not be introduced.
In summary, SMCN reiterated COMA’s recommendations and emphasised that they
apply to all infants, not just to those at risk by virtue of a family history of atopy or
coeliac disease. The Committee advised that foods containing gluten should not be given to infants below the age of 6 months.
2. Should oats and oat ingredients be given to infants before 6 months?
Members noted that studies have shown that adults with coeliac disease can tolerate up to 50g
of oats per day (Maki and Collin 1997; Janatuinen et al 2002). However, evidence of safety
of oats or oat ingredients is very limited in children and absent in infants. Hence, the safety of
oats in an infant’s diet particularly before the age of 6 months cannot be based on the
evidence of tolerance in adults.
More importantly, it is recognised that there is a significant risk of oat products being
contaminated with wheat during processing or packaging. As even a small amount of gluten
can trigger allergic response in infants, the Committee felt it prudent to avoid oats and oat
ingredients before the age of 6 months. In summary, Members agreed that, a
precautionary approach should be adopted and that oats should not be given to any
infants before 6 months of age, even when there is no family history of atopy or coeliac
disease.
I hope this helps to clarify advice on giving gluten-containing foods to infants below the age
of six months.
Yours sincerely
Dr Sheela Reddy
SACN secretariat
References
Maki M and Collin P (1997). Coeliac disease. Lancet 1997; 349: 1755-59.
Janatuinen EK, et al (2002). No harm from five year ingestion of oats in celiac disease. Gut 50; 332-335

my source reference

Yes, it certaily does seem that our 2 sources are contradicting one another. The date on yours is 2003, and the date on the AAP study I cited above is 2005, so perhaps some additional study data was available for the AAP one.

I think more research is definitely in order on the matter. I feel good about the choice we made with our current baby. Our pediatrician read the AAP study and agreed that our timing was right. I guess only time will tell if we did the right thing.

Hi again cruelshoes,
Some more references you might like to look at.
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Celiac News
March 2004
Does Breast Feeding Protect Against Celiac Disease?
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Extract:
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Recommendation
In order to reduce the risk of developing celiac disease in early childhood, gluten should be introduced into the infant’s diet gradually in small? amounts at age five to six months, while breast-feeding is continued.
Breast-feeding for at least one month after the introduction of gluten may further reduce the risk of developing celiac disease in early childhood.
It is not known if this will reduce lifetime risk or just delay the age of developing celiac disease. Additional genetic and environmental factors likely play a role in the development of
celiac disease.
Unfortunately the Swedish study did not define what a “small” amount was.
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reference



EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION
FRIDAY, June 30, 2006
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Extract:
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Reminder warning on early introduction of gluten products
Koning said feeding wheat (or barley or rye) products to infants before they’re 6 months old isn’t recommended because once an immune response develops “immuno-memory builds up and it doesn’t go away.”
Indeed, Koning noted that in Sweden some years ago gluten was introduced into baby food, which led to a five-fold increase in celiac disease.
The problem disappeared when gluten was removed.
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reference
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It is really hard to know what to believe, maybe the criteria in Europe is
different than in the USA.
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It seems even the Canadians are leaning towards
the idea of 6 Months ? ?
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Regards,
David

My Mom says that the pediatrician told her to start all of us on cereal added to our milk at 1-1/2 to 2 months old because it helps babies sleep through the night. My Mom is Celiac, my sis and I have Celiac (although she can't eat enough wheat to test positive). My brother will never be tested unless it's against his will (yes, a wee bit of attitude there).

I also saw one of the old brochures from that time (50's) that spoke about how much healthier and more sanitary bottle feeding was (as opposed to breastfeeding). Point being that we know now that they were wrong about a lot of "info" back then. I have to wonder what info we are being told now that will be known as incorrect 50 years from now.

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Hi Karen B,
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Don't I know it, what's relevent today is rubbish tomorrow !
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It's an everchanging world we live in, just look at computers
we all want the latest model with the best Operating System.
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Before the 12 Month Warranty has expired it's outdated, outmoded and obsolete ! !
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Well unfortunately I wont be around in 50 yrs to find out.
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Here's a link to an article on the Irish Coeliac Society Site, it's about hospital
experiences and was posted some time ago, it would be funny if it wasn't so true.
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Hospital Experiences
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Best Regards,
David
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I have to give the hospital my Mom was in some credit. With fluorescent notecard on the door and all over the room, they did make sure she received a gluten-free diet. What they missed was that the doc said no solid foods for 24 hours after surgery and when I walked in the next morning, she was chowing down on ham, eggs and grits! Fortunately, she didn't have an intestinal perforation. Judging from her doc's reaction, the diet SNAFU was not a new experience.

I always have a hard time reading posts like these. I find them very negative because they (intended or not) suggest that as parents of kids with Celiac Disease we could have "prevented" or "delayed" this from happening.

My daughter was exclusively breast fed for 5 months of her life. At 6 months she started foods which included rice cereal, fruits, veggies, and oat meal (I prepared her own baby food and know the only possible source for gluten in her diet until she was 10-12 months old was the cereal) I also continued breastfeeding for a little over a year. She was diagnosed at 18 months!


I really believe I am the disclaimer for all the parents who read this and think "if I had only...." I am the one who did everything "right" according to these studies and it changed nothing, we are still a celiac disease family and have been since my daughter was 18 months old. Thats life and I'm positive there is NOTHING I could have done differently to change this (besides never introducing gluten to my daughter).

*So please if you are a parent new to celiac disease reading this information... don't be to hard on yourself.... sometimes celiac disease is just a part of what life had in store for your family.

Please don't take my post as any slam on my Mom -- she followed the prevailing wisdom of the time as dispensed by the doc. I don't think any parent "gives" their child Celiac (except through their genes).

Some people have Celiac from the beginning, some develop it as a response to some event. I honestly wonder how much of a difference does it make. If wheat is introduced at 2 months, does that mean you might develop Celiac at 30 instead of 40? Somehow, I think great stress will always play a role in immune system disorders.

Hi Kibbie,
I fail to see why you find this posting 'negative', I started this thread on the basis of
a medical quote about celiac disease.
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I'm certainly not suggesting that parents of coeliac children are negligent !
Maybe the Medical Profession are not as in tune as they should be,
by keeping would-be parents abreast (no pun intended) of matters.
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Anything that I have quoted is nothing new or strange, this information is in
the public domain and easily accessable.
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Parents shouldn't put themselves on a 'Guilt Trip' because they weren't fully aware
of the possible implications of introducing gluten before a certain time, it's maybe the
lack of up-to-date medical information from the profession that was the problem.
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Having said all that, I firmly believe that that if we are susceptible to celiac disease (genetically)
it's not so much 'if as when'! I was diagnosed @ 56 years of age,
I had quit cigarettes after 40+ yrs smoking
(they say smoking defers the onset of adult Coeliac Disease)
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By introducing gluten to your daughter 'maybe' it just meant she developed celiac disease
sooner rather than later, which may in itself not be such a bad thing !
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Your daughter will be adjusted to the regime before going to school and be infinitely
more knowledgeable about her medical condition, than had she developed it later in life
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At 59 I'm still learning ?
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Best Regards,
David

Well, I know gluten proteins do pass into breastmilk. There are pub med studies that have proven this already. Infants have and continue to have Failure to Thrive and Celiac is fortunately mentioned in literature with FFT, although added to that is parental neglect...
And we do know that gluten sensitivity in the mother (whether identified or not) would cause her to have leaky gut with or without symptoms which then throws even more glaidin into her breastmilk.

Infants breastfed get an early introduction to gluten, more than strickly formula fed babies. Even if the literature states bf babies are protected, my personal experience is they are not and that must mean in my personal experience there are a set of factors that create an avenue for Celiacs to develop in my bf babies. Even if I can't get a single soul to believe me, I believe it.

We all have to make the best choice for our kids for our situation based on the information that is available at the time. It was not my intention to say that you did something wrong. I hope you are not trying to say that I did something wrong in how I chose to introduce gluten to our baby. We did as much research as we could and discussed it with the pediatrician at length first. Perhaps it is not a "silver bullet." But I think you can agree that we all do the best we can to keep our kids healthy.

As I said above, my 2 older children were both introduced to gluten at 6 months while I was breastfeeding. One developed celiac and one did not. This was long before I had heard of celiac (but I had already been sick for a dozen years). I don't feel guilty for the choices I made back then.

I totally concur. There was no history of celiac in our family, exclusively breast fed (DD)for 6 months before starting on solids gradually-and on rice cereal and homemade babyfood-only fruits and veggies. She had no symptoms and was growing perfectly until age 4. Thank God I listened to my heart and took her to the Dr (when symptoms started), and thank God that he tested her right away. + test results. Our ped's GI told us NOT to restrict our son's diet at all and they will test him when he turns 2, unless symptoms arise or we want him tested early. All high allergen foods should be introduced carefully, plus--if you've got the gene, that's one thing, if not, should you worry about restriction? maybe there should be a standard for gene testing.

We all do the best we can for our children at a given time, you can always look back and say "shoulda, woulda, coulda" when we really need to focus on the present and making their lives better for the future!

Take care all,
-Rachelle

I breastfed my son for 9 months. As told by the doctor I introduced rice cereal to my son at 4 months, but i backed off for a month because he didn't seem to tolerate it well. At 5.5 months I started giving in rice and oatmeal cereals and then fruit and vegetable baby food. My son had celiac symptoms from birth practically. He constantly spit up, had horrible sleeping patterns, and ate constantly. He was a large baby but his growth started to slow down at around 6 months. When I switched him to formula, which was gluten free, his spitting up stopped but his diarrhea continued because at 9 months old I was giving him solid gluten foods. As a new first time mom, I followed all recommendations but my son still got celiac disease very early. I believe that genetics largely determine when you will develop celiac symptoms, provided gluten is being ingested. There are most likely many gene products associated with the onset of celiac disease, not just the ever so popular Hla-DQ's. Of course there are many environmental factors, but I really think that genetics are main factor.

All of the conflicting evidence makes it so confusing!! We don't have any kids (yet), but when we do, we'll be BFing for as long as we can. We won't be introducing gluten AT ALL. If they choose to eat gluten as a teenager, I won't stop them. See, DH and I BOTH have it (and we both have extensive family histories of celiac disease as well). His first symptom was that he couldn't stop puking up breast milk, then every formula on the market (in 1983) and finaly he could only have goats milk. Since we both have it, I don't think there's a very big possibility our kid won't have it!!

Personally, I view gluten as POISON. That POV has really helped me not WANT gluten at all. I can't bring myself to even think of giving my child poison. We don't have gluten in the house at all, I'm not gonna risk CC or anything.

Maybe I'm wrong, but each fam has to make this decision for themselves, and I can't see doing it any other way!

Thanx for the links tho!

It looks like we are all saying the same thing... however I have talked to several moms who have young children just diagnosed with Celiac Disease and the prevailing response I get from them is that they wished they had done something differently to prevent this.

When they tell me that, I ask what they think they could have done differently and nearly every time I hear "I wish I would have nursed my child." and "I wish I would have nursed longer." During our conversation typically studies like these come up.

My response was simply directed at a group of people who may read those studies and think that there was something they could have done.

I honestly think everyone posting on this topic generally believes the same thing.... and I personally do not think your post was negative however I have seen how some people take the "breast feeding" thing to heart. If you knew me you'd know that I truly believe that everything we do as parents is in the best interest of our children and our families. Even if what I did with my child is drastically different than what you did with yours. In the end the kids who grow up to do great things are the ones who were loved and taught how to love celiac disease or not!