Mothers with both untreated and treated coeliac disease have been found to have an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Recent studies show a link between a mother having undiagnosed coeliac disease and having a baby born with a low birth weight or born prematurely.

This is not seen in women who are diagnosed with coeliac disease before pregnancy who are on a gluten-free diet. The following summary of a recently published study looks at how diagnosed maternal coeliac disease and undiagnosed coeliac disease affects birth weight and the incidence of premature birth.

Information used in the study was collected on all registered births in Denmark over 25 years between 1979 and 2004. Data were then collected on whether the mother had coeliac disease and the time of diagnosis, whether it was before or after pregnancy. Out of a total of 1,504,342 babies born during this time, 1,195 babies were born to women with diagnosed coeliac disease and 346 were born to women with coeliac disease which was undiagnosed at the time. Information was then collected on birth weight and babies who were born prematurely. These results were compared to a group of women who did not have coeliac disease.

Women with coeliac disease who were following the gluten-free diet at the time of conception and throughout pregnancy were found to have no increased risk of having a reduced birth weight, a small or very small for gestational age baby or a premature baby compared to women who did not have coeliac disease. However, women with untreated coeliac disease who were undiagnosed at the time of giving birth were found to have a higher risk of having a premature baby or a baby who is small or very small for their gestational age.

Reference: Khashan et al. 2009. Human Reproduction. DOI:10.1093/humrep/dep409

The above summary of this research is based on information published in the January issue of the Coeliac UK magazine Crossed Grain