In> Lactose intolerance is a possible occurence in celiac disease.  The
 In> gluten dammages the mucosa of the gut causing a shortening (blunting)
 In> of the villi (digit like protrusions from the mucosa).  Lactase (enzyme
 In> that digests the lactose is located at the tip of the villi and if the
 In> villi are shortenend there will be a decrease in the concentration of
 In> the enzyme, hence the possibility of lactose malabsorption.

I'm making some assumptions here -- BM contains no gluten, an
infant was never given anything other than BM since birth;
the villi would not be damaged and lactose intolerance wouldn't be
a problem -- Would there be a reason to even suspect celiac disease at
that time?

I do recall many years back a woman attending our LLL group who had
a child (toddler?) with celiac disease and she said that was why she
was still breastfeeding.

Jo Clark, LLLL and lurker extraordinaire