What is the best calcium to take during pregnancy?

For a full-fledged bookmark and formation of the organs of the unborn baby, a sufficient supply of nutrients is necessary. They get to the baby through the placental system from the mother's body. In addition to proteins, fats and carbohydrates, minerals, especially calcium, are important building materials. It forms the skeleton of the fetus, is the basis of dental tissue, and participates in physiological cellular processes. The role of this chemical, the required amounts, signs of deficiency, ways of replenishing the calcium depot - we will consider such questions in this article.

What is calcium for?

The bulk of calcium in the body is contained in bone and cartilage tissue. The mineral forms inorganic salts that make up the human skeleton. Scientists estimate that up to 98 percent of calcium is found in bones, teeth and ligaments. The remaining two percent are scattered throughout all the cells of the body and are involved in many vital processes:

Promote the transmission of impulses between the cells of the nervous system.
Ensure the normal functioning of the glands of internal and external secretion.
They are assistants in the utilization of fatty acids.
They activate hormonal processes.

Another vital effect of this chemical is the triggering of the blood clotting system in response to damage to the integrity of the blood vessels.

In addition, calcium takes part in the contractile activity of muscle tissue. This mineral regulates the tone of smooth muscles, which is part of the female reproductive system.

Lack of calcium leads to a violation of the tone of the uterus and makes natural delivery impossible.

Metabolism

For the renewal of the cells of the skeletal system and the normal functioning of the internal organs, a daily intake of calcium is required in the body. As a rule, dairy products and vegetables are the main sources of it. Passing through the digestive tract, it is absorbed at the level of the initial sections of the small intestine. This process is influenced by vitamin D produced in the skin by UV rays. Bowel diseases of an inflammatory or dystrophic nature or lack of insolation significantly reduce the absorption process and can lead to the development of calcium deficient states.

Once in the blood, the mineral can bind to plasma proteins or remain in a free state. Its concentration in the bloodstream is maintained at a constant level. In this process, the hormones of the parathyroid glands play an important role. This chemical element is excreted in the urine or through the gastrointestinal tract.

Endocrine disorders can alter the level of calcium in the blood. This situation is most often observed in patients with cell lesions:

pancreas;
adrenal glands;
thyroid gland.

In diseases of these organs, the deterioration of mineral metabolism is most often diagnosed. Also, calcium deficiency is characteristic of patients taking hormonal therapy.

Need

The need for calcium varies widely throughout life. Its peak occurs during childhood, pregnancy and lactation. The first is associated with the active growth of the child's skeleton, an increase in the volume of bone tissue, the second - with the formation of the musculoskeletal system of the fetus and natural feeding.

Calcium requirements during pregnancy increase by the third trimester and can be as high as 1.5 grams. This is due to the active formation of the skeleton of the unborn child during this period. For the normal development of bone tissue through the placental blood flow, the fetus receives up to 300 mg of this chemical element. In addition to participating in the mineralization of the supporting apparatus, calcium takes part in:

bookmark and growth of teeth;
physiological development of internal organs, nervous system;
differentiation of connective tissue (hair, nails, skin).

In the last three months of pregnancy, a mineral depot is created in the child's body, reaching 30–35 grams in weight.

During lactation, a woman loses calcium. Up to 300 mg of this metal per day is excreted in breast milk.

According to research data, the mineral is washed out of the mother's skeletal system throughout the entire period of breastfeeding and begins to accumulate immediately after the termination of this physiological process.

Deficiency symptoms

Violation of mineral metabolism has an extremely negative effect on the state of the whole organism. During pregnancy, natural conditions are created for the development of deficiency conditions associated with the formation of the fetus. According to the observations of health professionals, about 20 percent of pregnant women experience such problems. They become especially noticeable in the third trimester. During this period, the development of the musculoskeletal system of the future baby takes place, which means that a significant amount of building materials passes from the mother's body to the child.

Calcium loss is accompanied by characteristic clinical manifestations, the combination of which helps the gynecologist to quickly suspect a pathological condition. These include:

Nervous system disorders. A pregnant woman is in constant emotional excitement, complains of insomnia, a decrease in the memorization of information, the appearance of subjective unpleasant sensations in the extremities.
Unusual food preferences, including craving for chalk.
Deterioration of the condition of the skin, their dryness, the appearance of peeling.
Hair loss or changes in hair structure.
Dental pathology associated with the leaching of calcium from the body.
Increased muscle tone, sudden cramps, most often in the muscles of the lower extremities.
The rise in blood pressure is higher than the usual indicators.

The above symptoms indicate the complex nature of disorders in the body with a deficiency of minerals.

Currently, researchers are actively studying the relationship between an insufficient concentration of calcium in the body and the occurrence of such a serious complication as gestosis. The clinical picture of this pathology in many ways resembles a severe violation of mineral metabolism.

It is possible that one of the reasons for the development of gestosis is calcium deficiency.

Long-term consequences

The limited intake of minerals during pregnancy has long-term consequences for both the baby and the woman. In the first case, changes in the skeletal system occur almost immediately, in the first months after birth. In the second, the pathological process has low activity and develops imperceptibly over a long period. Let us consider in more detail what a disturbed mineral metabolism can threaten:

A calcium deficiency state increases the likelihood of a child developing a pathology called rickets. This disease develops in infancy and is associated with a violation of bone mineralization.

Calcium loss during gestation can increase the risk of osteoporosis, a disease in which the structure of the bone tissue changes. Bones become fragile and prone to spontaneous fractures, even after minimal traumatic exposure. Such changes are more common in older women.

How to replenish?

The role of calcium during pregnancy is enormous, so it is vital to maintain normal levels of this chemical in the body. The main way that allows you to replenish the mineral depot is alimentary. It is with food that we get all the necessary building materials. However, it is not always possible to cover the growing needs with food. In such situations, the gynecologist may prescribe medications. Let us consider the nutritional features and the use of medications in more detail.

Diet

The chemical composition of food used during pregnancy is very important, since the mother's food provides the unborn child with the necessary substances. Therefore, during this period, it is worth revising your diet. If we talk about calcium, then in the dietary recommendations for the time of gestation are present:

Dairy products. Choose foods that are low in fat. It is in this case that the absorption of calcium in the parts of the digestive tract is maximal. Excess fat interferes with the penetration of the mineral through the intestinal wall and increases transient losses.
Vegetables and fruits. Plant fruits contain many irreplaceable chemical elements. A high concentration of calcium is found in the inflorescences of broccoli, legumes, nuts. However, you need to be careful when compiling a menu from these products, as they can cause an unpleasant phenomenon - flatulence. Heat treatment of vegetables has practically no effect on the mineral content. It is recommended to cook soups in vegetable broth.

Not all foods have a positive effect on mineral metabolism. According to dietary recommendations during pregnancy, you should refrain from meals from:

sorrel;
spinach;
beets;
oatmeal.

These products interfere with absorption or increase the excretion of alkali metals from the body. It is also necessary to limit the consumption of coffee, fast food, chocolate, salt.

By properly building your diet, you can avoid many problems, including calcium deficiency.

Drugs

What to do if a lack of minerals occurs against the background of a balanced diet? In such cases, pharmaceuticals come to the rescue. The drugstore shelves are piled high with products designed for pregnant women. Vitamins, dietary supplements, trace elements - what should you take? What calcium will not harm your baby? The gynecologist should answer these questions. Self-medication and self-prescribing any medication can be dangerous to the health and life of the unborn baby.

Monocomponent and combined preparations

Calcium during pregnancy can be taken as a monopreparation or multivitamins with several components can be used. The first remedies are more effective in eliminating the symptoms associated with a deficiency of this alkali metal. They contain various calcium salts, the chemical structure of which greatly affects the absorption and assimilation of the mineral. The composition of modern drugs includes active organic salts that show the best results in research.

The absorption of calcium depends not only on the chemical structure of the salt, which is why many pharmaceutical companies began to produce combination preparations. They contain a combination of calcium and vitamin D. Such medicines help to saturate the body with a mineral, as well as to deposit it in the bone tissue. This group of medicines includes:

Calcium-D3 Nycomed;
Calcium Active;
Vitrum Calcium;
Calcitab.

Depending on the dosage, the above medications can be used for both prophylaxis and therapeutic purposes.

Multivitamins

The dose of calcium salts in multivitamins allows the use of these drugs only to prevent a deficiency state. When they are used, the body receives the necessary minerals and vitamins, supporting the normal functioning of all organs and systems. Such funds are an additional source of useful chemical compounds.

In most women, a combination of multivitamin complexes and a balanced diet contributes to the normal bearing of the fetus.

When diagnosing deficiency conditions, it is advisable to use monocomponent or combined drugs, the instructions of which indicate the possibility of their use for therapeutic purposes. Among the representatives of multivitamins, Elevit Pronatal, Vitrum Prenatal and others are popular.

Side effects and contraindications

Calcium preparations during pregnancy do not have any negative effect on the fetus. If necessary, they can be used from the first trimester. Lactation is also not included in the list of contraindications, therefore, the development of a deficiency state during this period can also be corrected.

Side effects are rare. Basically, they are associated with the effect on the body of additional and auxiliary substances. Among them:

dyspeptic disorders;
violation of the stool;
skin rashes.

There are few contraindications for the use of calcium supplements. These include endocrine pathology of the parathyroid glands, cancer, severe disorders of the urinary system.

If you drink calcium according to the instructions for use and the recommendations of a gynecologist, then there will be no negative consequences either for the mother or for the unborn baby.