Calcium improves pregnancy outcomes
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In pregnant women with low calcium intake, treatment with calcium supplements can reduce the severity of preeclampsia—a potentially serious complication of pregnancy characterized by elevated blood pressure and protein in the urine—as well as cut maternal illness and infant death, according to a study by the World Health Organization.
“Pregnant women with limited access to dairy products or those with absorption issues, such as lactose intolerance, are likely to have low calcium intake and, based on our findings, should receive calcium supplements,” lead author Dr. Jose Villar, from the Geneva-based United Nations group, told Reuters Health.
Villar noted that previous reports had shown no pregnancy benefit from supra-normal calcium intake through supplementation. However, it was unclear if supplementation might improve outcomes for women with low calcium intake.
As reported in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the researchers assessed the outcomes of 8325 women with dietary calcium less than 600 mg/day who were randomized to receive calcium (1.5 g/day) or placebo supplements during pregnancy.
Treatment with the calcium supplements did not prevent preeclampsia, but it did reduce the severity, the report indicates.
Calcium supplementation was also linked to a drop in severe maternal morbidity, preterm delivery, and neonatal mortality.
“We were surprised at the magnitude of the effect that calcium supplementation had on severe complications,” Villar said. “Previous studies just haven’t had enough women to look at the impact on severe complications.”
Physicians treating pregnant women should quickly assess their dietary calcium intake and, if inadequate, prescribe calcium supplements, Villar emphasized. The amount of calcium found in prenatal vitamins is probably not enough to achieve sufficient dietary levels, he added.
SOURCE: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology March 2006.
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