Michelle,

I have two children with celiac.  If this child is confirmed as having
celiac disease, my suggestion might be to consider eliminating the
gluten in the child's diet first before suggesting mum eliminate the
gluten too as elimination diets can be stressful and discouraging for
mums.

Since breastfeeding often delays the onset of celiac disease until the
child begins solids, it seems likely that the amount of gliadin from
mum's diet isn't the most important factor at work.  However, mum needs
to know that it is possible to pass the gliadin on in her milk and then
she can then make her own decision.  Mum may also want to consider
having herself tested for celiac disease as there is a 10 % chance she
has it too.

A gluten-free diet can seem overwhelming at first, but like all things,
you grow into it because you have to. There are some great cookbooks and
commercial products out there.  The dramatic and overwhelming turnaround
after eliminating gluten is worth all the trouble.  Celiac disease is
underdiagnosed and it is great that her doctor is considering it.

Lactose intolerance is often a problem in celiacs when they are first
recovering.  Giving enzymes to the child to help him digest the lactose
can deal with this issue until his intestines recover.  Once the
inflamation is gone, he will likely be able to handle lactose.  This
could take about 6 months.

One last thing, it is important to let this mum know how helpful
breastfeeding can be to a child whose intestines need to recover.  Once
a child is off gluten, their intestines heal much quicker than an adult
with celiac (who has had a longer time to damage their tissue) It stands
to reason that breastmilk will help this healing take place even faster.

Some good sites for Celiac info:

http://www.aafp.org/afp/980301ap/pruessn.html

http://www.ozemail.com.au/~coeliac/sprue.html

http://www.aafp.org/patientinfo/celiac.html

http://www.celiac.ca/eframes.htm

I also found some helpful info in two favourite books:

Prescriptions for Nutritional Healing by Balch & Balch

Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child by Zand, Walton & Rountree

Janet Vandenberg RN, BScN, IBCLC
Newmarket, Ontario

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