Calcium Supplements Reduce Pregnancy Complications

While calcium supplements don't prevent preeclampsia, there is new evidence that supports that calcium supplements do reduce pregnancy complications.

Calcium Supplements Reduce Pregnancy Complications, an article posted on Medpage Today by Judith Groch, MedPage Today Staff Writer, showed that calcium was effective in reducing the following complications:

* severe eclampsia

* severe gestational hypertension

* 25% reduction in severe preeclamptic complications (so while it doesn't reduce the number of cases of preeclampsia, it seems as if it can reduce the effects of preeclampsia)

* maternal morbidity & mortality

* neonatal morbidity

* mothers aged 20 or less had a lower risk of pre-term labor

In conclusion, Dr. Villar said that although calcium supplementation did not lead to a statistically significant decrease in the overall rate of preeclampsia, "treatment significantly reduced the risk of its more serious complications, which included maternal and neonatal morbidity and death and preterm delivery, the latter among young women."

So, if you are pregnant, take your calcium!