Home Blogs Calcium Supplements Cut Blood Lead Levels during Pregnancy

Calcium Supplements Cut Blood Lead Levels during Pregnancy

We are subjected to toxins everywhere these days, including lead. Be it the ceramic cutlery you eat in or the fancy car that you drive, you can get exposed to lead through many agents, which then gets accumulated in your body, especially in your bones over the years. In minor levels, it does not do much harm. However, overexposure or lead poisoning can cause a long-term dent in your health, resulting in heart disease or brain damage. Since lead is similar to calcium in its chemical formation, it is easier for it to get deposited on our bones. Most adults carry it in their skeletons all their life without even realizing it.

However, if you are a mother to be, this could pose a problem for your unborn child. Infants are at a higher risk of lead exposure from their mother’s body. Usually when the baby is still growing in your womb, your bones dissolve a little to transfer the necessary calcium required to help the baby develop a strong skeletal frame. Now, if your bones carry some amount of lead, it also will get transferred to the baby. A high level of lead exposure can cause arrested development, cognitive defects, or low birth weight. Like in adults, lead does not leave the baby’s body altogether. It keeps getting accumulated and starts to show its side-effects well into adulthood.

Let calcium lead the way. This is a preventable problem. Up your calcium intake during pregnancy. Not just through dairy products but also through supplements. However, do consult your physician to know the recommended dietary requirement and the best food to supply calcium that is easily absorbed by your body. What this means is that your body now has the necessary calcium required for your own body’s wear and tear function as well as enough to let it seep to your baby to aid him or her in developing a stronger, healthier body.

The external calcium in your body prevents your bones from dissolving and letting the calcium or the lead from getting transferred into the womb. Don’t just rely on blood tests alone. If you have been exposed to lead environmentally or through your occupation, ensure that you mention this to your doctor during the prenatal check-up. Lead can get stored in your body for decades and your baby has a greater risk of being exposed to it through you than any other means. This can help your doctor in ascertaining the level of calcium supplements to be recommended along with your other vital prenatal vitamins.

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