When should pregnant women supplement calcium
Release time : 09/05/2025 09:30:04
Calcium is an essential mineral for the formation of bones and teeth, with about 99% of it deposited in the skeleton.
However, calcium is not always constant within the human body.
On the one hand, calcium absorbed through food is transported to the skeleton by blood.
On the other hand, calcium from bones is continually being excreted through the kidneys into urine.
Therefore, calcium supplementation has become a mandatory course for expectant mothers.
Pregnant women should take calcium supplements until when? Although calcium supplementation not only helps to the development of children's bones, but also prevents osteoporosis in pregnant women. However, calcium supplementation is not enough.
If pregnant women over-calcium supplementation, the calcium deposits in the placental blood vessel wall, causing placental aging and calcification, less secretion of amniotic fluid, baby can not get from the mother adequate nutrition and oxygen, threaten the health growth of the baby.
Additionally, a hard skull can cause prolonged labor during childbirth, which increases the likelihood of cesarean delivery.
Therefore, it is important to adequately and sufficiently supplement calcium during pregnancy.
Scientific calcium supplementation only takes 36 weeks
The Chinese Nutrition Society also provides standard dietary allowances: 1000mg per day for 4-6 months of pregnancy and 1500mg per day for 7-9 months of pregnancy
There are two ways to supplement calcium: dietary and pharmacological.
Supplementation with food is the safest, most effective, and more acceptable way to increase calcium intake. As long as pregnant women consume foods rich in calcium, such as dairy products, animal liver, eggs, legumes, nuts, shellfish, sesame paste, seaweed, seafood, hawthorn, and some green vegetables, they typically do not require additional supplementation with calcium supplements.
However, if the body's needs cannot be met through food alone, such as persistent poor appetite or loss of taste, it is advisable to consult a doctor before taking calcium supplements for supplementation.
When to Supplement Calcium for Pregnant Women. Pregnant women can supplement calcium in four stages: the initial stage (0-12 weeks), the intermediate stage (13-26 weeks), the late stage (27 weeks - full term) and the post-partum period.
In the early stages of pregnancy, it is the stage of formation of various organs and tissues of the embryo. The nutritional status of the mother is crucial for the continued growth and normal development of the fetus. Calcium requirements are approximately 50mg per day, similar to those of healthy individuals, and there is generally no need to specifically supplement with calcium. One to two milk can be considered daily.
The mid-term pregnancy is the most vigorous period of fetal skeleton formation and development, so the daily calcium demand of pregnant women gradually increased to 1000 ~ 1200mg.
In order to let the baby grow normally, we should eat milk, beans and soy products, shrimp skin and green vegetables every day. Besides that, we need to take more sun, do more muscle stretching exercises.
The late stages of pregnancy are a period when fetal growth and development is most rapid. If not supplemented with sufficient calcium, pregnant women may experience symptoms such as leg cramps, loosening of teeth, gestational hypertension syndrome, joint and pelvic pain.
Therefore, mothers should adjust their nutrition according to their own physical conditions and continue to take calcium supplements.
During the postpartum period, sufficient calcium supplementation is not only beneficial for rapid recovery of the mother herself but also enhances the quality of breast milk.
Healthy lactating mothers contain about 35mg of calcium per 100 ml milk.
A nursing mother needs to consume about 4-6% of the calcium in her bones, so she must pay attention to calcium supplementation.
Misconception 1: Consuming calcium-rich foods and various vegetables at the same time. Many mothers prefer to supplement their calcium intake through food, eating a variety of calcium-rich foods every meal and also consuming a wide array of other vegetables to complement their nutritional needs.
In fact, it may backfire.
Because many vegetables contain oxalic acid and phytic acid, these substances when consumed together with calcium can inhibit its absorption.
Misconception 2: Consuming bone broth will prevent calcium deficiency. Experimental evidence shows that after steaming for two hours in a high-pressure cooker, the fat in the marrow floats to the surface, but the calcium in the soup is still minuscule--the calcium in the bones will not easily dissolve.
Therefore, it is not the case that consuming bone broth will prevent calcium deficiency.
Additionally, when it comes to bone soup for calcium supplementation, it is important to consider the utensils used for boiling. It is advisable not to use a pressure cooker but rather a clay pot to stew the bones to prevent excessive aluminum from being dissolved in the bone soup and harming the body! Misconception 3: Sunbathing through a glass window. Many pregnant women are aware that sunlight exposure can help produce Vitamin D in the human body, which plays a significant role in promoting calcium absorption.
However, not all expectant mothers can endure the scorching sun in the blazing summer, thus hoping to stay indoors and sunbathe through a glass window.
But since UV rays can't penetrate glass, it's a waste of time to do this.
Misconception 4: Milk with added heat can aid in calcium supplementation. However, if the heating time is excessively long or the temperature too high, it can lead to calcium loss and even precipitation of calcium! Therefore, it is advisable not to heat milk for too long or at an unreasonably high temperature. The ideal temperature for heated milk should be around 70 °C.
Pregnant women should pay attention to calcium supplementation. The diet plan of nutritional balance can make them more effectively absorb calcium.
Since the amount of calcium required by a mother at different stages of life varies, we have specially designed nutritional diets for expectant mothers according to these two key periods.
Package 1: Pregnancy Early Calcium-Rich Meal Plan Breakfast: Steamed bread (flour 100g), 250ml fresh milk, boiled eggs 1 Lunch: Rice (jing rice 100g), braised beef (beef 75g), stir-fried fresh mushroom and rape leaves (fresh mushrooms 50g, rape leaves 150g) Dinner: Rice (jing rice 100g), steamed bass (bass 125g), stir-fried eggplant Snacks: 250ml yogurt, 4 cookies (25g each) Package 2: Postpartum Stage of Midterm Calcium-Rich Meal Plan Breakfast: Puff pastry (flour 100g), 250ml fresh milk, boiled eggs 1 Lunch: Rice (jing rice 125g), braised pork belly with seaweed (pork belly 110g, seaweed 50g), stir-fried shrimp skin and rape leaves (shrimp skin 150g, rape leaves 10g) Dinner: Rice (jing rice 125g), Chinese chrysanthemum and lily (chrysanthemum 150g, lily 25g), poached shrimp (sea shrimp 150g) Snacks: 250ml yogurt, 4 cookies (25g each) It is widely known that the calcium needed for baby's skeletal formation in the womb comes from the mother's intake of calcium. The amount of calcium consumed by expectant mothers is far greater than that of ordinary people. Simply relying on dietary intake is not enough.
Therefore, it's essential to ensure that pregnant women consume adequate calcium during their pregnancy, as this is beneficial for the health and development of the baby.
However, calcium supplementation is also about the method, so what are the precautions for pregnant women to take calcium supplements? Ma Net Dictionary will reveal it to everyone immediately.
【Calcium Intake is Not Unlimited】Pregnant women who excessively supplement calcium can lead to the precipitation of calcium in the placental blood vessels, causing the placenta to age and harden. This can result in reduced amniotic fluid secretion, and the fetus's head becoming too hard.
In this case, the baby cannot receive sufficient nutrients and oxygen from the mother's body, and an overly firm skull can also prolong the labor process, posing a threat to the baby's health.
Therefore, it is important for pregnant women to take calcium supplements scientifically and avoid over-calcification blindly.
【Calcium supplementation requires a small amount of multiple times】When taking calcium supplements, it is advisable to choose a smaller dose of calcium tablets, which can be taken in two or three divided doses daily.
For the same 500ml of milk, if it is divided into 2-3 times to drink, the effect of calcium supplementation is better than drinking all at once.
Vitamin D should not be taken in excess. Apart from taking Vitamin D, it can also be synthesized in the body through sunlight exposure.
It is sufficient to produce enough vitamin D by just spending more than half an hour outside in the sun.
Conversely, excessive consumption can lead to side effects such as loss of appetite, fatigue, irregular heartbeat, nausea, and vomiting.
*The medical information presented in this text is for reference only.
If you experience discomfort, it is recommended to seek medical attention immediately. The diagnosis and treatment should be based on an in-person medical consultation.