Importance of Calcium During Pregnancy

A recent study has shown why calcium supplementation is important for pregnant women. There is a higher demand of calcium while women are pregnant and their fetus is developing. It is important for women who do not drink much milk to make sure to get enough calcium supplementation. Most prenatal vitamins only contain 100mg-2oomg of calcium. In the study below women were given 950mg of calcium a day. The results showed that mineral bone density in women receiving calcium showed a significant increase.  

Importance of Vitamin D3 and Calcium During Pregnancy

Another recent study has shown the importance of Vitamin D3 and Calcium supplementation in pregnant women. The study stated that Vitamin D and Calcium play major roles in calcium homeostasis and skeletal development. The study stated that 60% of women in the first trimester had Vitamin D deficiency. The study concluding that Vitamin D and Calcium supplementation is extremely important for pregnant women.  

Below are the two abstracts of the studies and the references. 

OBJECTIVE: Calcium demand is increased during pregnancy. However, few randomized controlled trials examined the effects of calcium supplementation on bone mass during pregnancy. This study determined effects of calcium and milk supplementation on maternal bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover in pregnant Chinese women with habitual low calcium intake. METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, 36 Chinese pregnant women (24-31 years, 18 gestational weeks) were randomly assigned to the following three arms (12 each): I, usual diet; II, “I” + 45 g milk powder (containing 350 mg calcium); or III, “II” + 600 mg calcium/day from gestational age of 20 weeks to 6 weeks post-partum (PP). BMD was measured post-treatment using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Dietary intakes, 24-h urinary calcium, bone resorption (urinary hydroxyproline) and formation (serum osteocalcin) biomarkers were examined at the gestational age of 20 and 34 weeks, and 6 weeks PP. RESULTS: A dose-dependent relationship was observed between calcium intake and BMDs. The BMD values were significantly higher in subjects with calcium and milk supplementation than those in the controls at the whole body and spine (p < 0.05) but not at the hip sites. We found significant decreases in changes of urinary hydroxyproline, and significant increases in serum osteocalcin during the intervention period in the calcium/milk intervention groups than those in the control group (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Calcium/milk supplementation during pregnancy is associated with greater BMD at the spine and whole body and suppresses bone resorption in Chinese women with habitual low calcium intake.

Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2010 Jan 1. [Epub ahead of print]

Effect of milk and calcium supplementation on bone density and bone turnover in pregnant Chinese women: a randomized controlled trail.

Liu Z, Qiu L, Chen YM, Su YX.

Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Calcium and vitamin D play major roles in calcium homeostasis and skeletal development, especially during pregnancy. This study was conducted to determine changes in calcium, 25 hydroxy [25(OH)] vitamin D3 and other biochemical factors (PTH, osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase, magnesium, phosphorus) related to calcium homeostasis and bone turnover during pregnancy and compare the values to those of non-pregnant women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a cohort study, 48 pregnant women, in their first trimester of pregnancy (12+/-2.7 weeks), from 5 prenatal care centers, and 47 non-pregnant women randomly selected from the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS) population were enrolled. These pregnant women were followed in their second (26+/-1.9 weeks) and third trimesters (37+/-3.2 weeks) of pregnancy. Samples were drawn from June 2002 to March 2003. Including criteria were healthy women with no background of disease. Women using photo protection and calcium and vitamin D supplementation were excluded. A questionnaire was used to obtain demographic information for both groups. Venous blood samples were taken after 12-14 h of overnight fasting to measure serum calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, alkaline phosphatase, PTH, 25 (OH) vitamin D3 and serum osteocalcin levels. The repeated measures analysis of variance and t-test were used for statistical analysis. Data were matched for age and weight in both the case (in the first trimester) and control groups. RESULTS: Significant differences were found in the mean serum levels of osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase between the three trimesters of pregnancy (p< 0.001). Osteocalcin was significantly higher in the first trimester as compared to second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Alkaline phosphatase was significantly lower in the first trimester as compared to the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and their controls. There was also a significant difference in osteocalcin in the second and third trimesters and alkaline phosphatase in the first and third trimesters of pregnancy in comparison to the control group. The mean values of osteocalcin were 12.7+/-8.5, 8.1+/-6.9, 5.6+/-5.0 and 13.9+/-7.9 ng/ml, respectively, and mean values for alkaline phosphatase were 115+/-38, 125+/-37, 174+/-61 and 134+/-35.0 Iu/l, respectively. In the first trimester, alkaline phosphatase was lower and osteocalcin was higher than in the second and third trimesters. In the first trimester of pregnancy, 20 and 40% of women had 25(OH) vitamin D3 < 10 and < 20 ng/ml, respectively, and 19% of women had serum calcium levels < 8.6 mg/dl. CONCLUSION: 60% of women in the first trimester, 48% in the second and 47% in the third trimester had either severe or moderate vitamin D deficiency. It is recommended that the importance of calcium supplements with vitamin D in pregnant women be stressed for these individuals.

J Endocrinol Invest. 2006 Apr;29(4):303-7.

Changes in calcium, 25(OH) vitamin D3 and other biochemical factors during pregnancy.

Ainy E, Ghazi AA, Azizi F.

Endocrine Research Center, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, P.O.Box 19395 – 4763, Tehran, IR Iran.

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