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Can You Take Magnesium While Pregnant?

Oct 06, 2021

Yes, you can take magnesium while you are pregnant!

In fact, when it comes to superpower supplements for pregnant women, one stands above the rest: magnesium.

This powerful nutrient fights double time to prevent pregnancy complications like preeclampsia or intrauterine growth restriction while also helping with day to day symptoms like morning (or all day) sickness and brain fog.

Considering it’s so important, it may come as a surprise to learn that most women don’t get enough of it!

This makes supplementation during pregnancy and postpartum that much more essential.

Hint: The best magnesium supplement for pregnancy is Majka's Digest & De-stress Powder.

The only magnesium supplement on the market with 3 different types of magnesium plus digestive enzymes for better absorption. Oh, and it's amazing taste comes from actual freeze dried blueberries!

pregnant woman holding belly

What is Magnesium?

Magnesium is a nutrient found in different types of greens, grains, and nuts (to name a few).

Magnesium is important for a long list of bodily functions, like:

calming the nervous system,
maintaining blood sugar balance,
producing energy,
and maintaining bone and muscle health.

At face value, an ample supply of magnesium is likely to show up in your daily life in the form of less stress, better sleep, and less frequent sickness.

If that just sounds like standard health to you, you’re on the right track!

Magnesium is essential to so much in our daily life, which makes high deficiency statistics all the more concerning.

When it comes to magnesium during pregnancy, your baby needs it too! Growing babies need the nutrient for all of the above, as well as proper growth and development.

This means that if pregnant, there has never been a better time to double check your magnesium levels.

Magnesium and Pregnancy Benefits

Reduces morning sickness & nausea

Relaxes muscles and can help reduce an overactive gag reflex

Helps make leg cramps and other muscle cramping less likely

Supports healthy blood pressure in the mother (2a)

Less hospital visits over the course of pregnancy (3)

Better birth weights for the infants first 28 days (1a)

Healthier levels of weight gain in pregnancy

Reduces muscle tension

Can lower stress

Promotes a lower incidence of the following (1a):

Pre-term labor

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR)

Pregnancy induced hypertension

Gestational diabetes

Melt Stress Away with Majka's Digest & De-stress Magnesium Powder

Digest and De-stress Magnesium Powder

How to Know You’re Deficient in Magnesium While Pregnant

Common early signs of magnesium deficiency are...

Fatigue
Muscle Weakness
Muscle Spasms
Muscle Stiffness
Loss of Appetite
Nausea
Irregular Heartbeat
Difficulty Remembering Things / Brain Fog
Trouble Sleeping

A magnesium deficiency can be hard to diagnose. Many of the initial symptoms could indicate a wide variety of other health issues. (4)

Many of the initial symptoms are also silent and unseen, like weaker bones, the development of Type 2 Diabetes, and even mood changes.

The benefits from having ample magnesium in our diets are profound and thankfully, magnesium supplementation can be easy and effective along with a well-balanced diet, even for a mom to be.

pregnant woman with magnesium supplement

Why is Magnesium Important for Pregnant Women?

Nutrient needs in pregnancy are significantly higher because you’re growing a baby and passing many of your nutrients on to them.

For babies, magnesium is important for healthy growth. It supports the baby's teeth and bones and plays a huge role in development thanks to its involvement in the nervous system.

Plenty of foods that contain magnesium are part of a healthy pregnancy diet.

Though as stated above, these foods don’t pack the same nutritional punch as they used to.

Supplementing can be key, especially with the increased demands of growing a baby.

Magnesium not only benefits babies, but it’s a single nutrient that has been shown to lower the risk of serious pregnancy complications like preeclampsia, intrauterine growth restriction, preterm labor, and gestational diabetes. (1A)

The benefits of magnesium in pregnancy are impressive!

Dosing Recommendations

According to Dr. Renee Wellenstein, you should aim for 360mg per day. A rule of thumb is to add an extra 40mg per day to help you reach your target amount.

Where the normal magnesium RDI (regular daily intake) is 320mg for women, it’s a bit higher for those that are pregnant. That’s because a lot of what the mother has gets passed to the baby.

Why We Need Magnesium

Macy Coleman, a registered dietician and women’s health specialist of Wellwomen Nutrition shared some insight on magnesium and why it’s important.

She also discussed why so many pregnant women are low in magnesium levels, as well as what we can do to keep our levels up.

+ Open / Close Video Transcription

“Hi guys, Macy Coleman here, registered dietitian and women's health specialist of WellWomen Nutrition. I wanted to share some information about one of my favorite nutrients – magnesium. It's one of my favorites because it's really beneficial for women’s health. It's responsible for hundreds of reactions in the body including protein synthesis, blood pressure regulation, and blood sugar regulation. It also soothes and calms the nervous system and helps with the stress response. Two of the biggies regarding women’s health and general health are that it's anti-inflammatory and helps to metabolize estrogen.

Unfortunately in today's society, a lot of us are depleted of magnesium. It doesn't mean that we’re all running around deficient, but our levels are definitely not optimal. One of the reasons is that our soil is depleted. The food we're growing in the soil isn't getting the magnesium that it used to. Another reason is that processing food removes a lot of that good magnesium.

A big cause of depletion that's really big in today's society is stress. When we’re stressed, a normal mechanism happens where our nervous system begins to rev up. To do this, the body gets rid of that calming magnesium. However, again, in today's day and age, we are chronically stressed, which means we're dumping magnesium over and over again, and it's really hard to stay on top of that with diet alone.

There are foods really high in magnesium that I recommend my clients eat daily. These include dark leafy green veggies, nuts, seeds, and legumes. Those are all really high in magnesium and are great to incorporate into your day.

However, I do recommend most of my clients take a magnesium supplement. Two of the best forms that I like to supplement are magnesium citrate and magnesium glycinate, and that all depends on what else is going on with you. But, those are two big ways that we can try to replace that magnesium that's depleted in our bodies everyday through stress, processed food, etc. So do your best to stay on top of your magnesium."

Different Sources of Magnesium and Why They Matter

Magnesium comes in different varieties, each of which have slightly different benefits.

Magnesium Citrate

First is magnesium citrate. This is what you often see when checking out the vitamin sections of drugstores and grocery stores.

It has its perks, like fast absorption and constipation relief. The latter can be helpful during pregnancy.

Magnesium Glycinate

Magnesium glycinate has a high bioavailability factor, making it easy for your body to absorb and use.

That’s important, because you want the supplements you’re taking to actually work! It also features a nice calming and relaxing effect that many mothers love.

Magnesium Oxide

The oxide variation of magnesium isn’t usually used in a supplement form because it has very low bioavailability. Instead, it tends to pass right through the body and create a strong laxative effect.

Magnesium Chloride

Magnesium chloride is interesting in that it can actually be absorbed through the skin.

If you’re a fan of epsom salt baths, you’re already taking advantage of this! It’s found in the salt and dissolves in water.

Magnesium Taurate

Last but not least, magnesium taurate is “chelated” magnesium, a form of the nutrient that is the most easily absorbed and processed by the body.

This variation is useful for mamas who are low in the nutrient because it works quickly and creates noticeable benefits like calmness, healthy blood sugar, and even cardiovascular benefits.

Magnesium Sulfate

Magnesium sulfate is a magnesium salt having sulfate as the counterion. It has a role as an anticonvulsant, a cardiovascular drug, a calcium channel blocker, an anaesthetic, a tocolytic agent, an anti-arrhythmia drug, an analgesic and a fertilizer. It is a magnesium salt and a metal sulfate. (3)

Where Does Magnesium Come From?

Magnesium is found deep in the earth. There are also many foods that contain magnesium, like vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, oats, and more.

However, due to the increasingly processed nature of America’s food supply, magnesium isn’t seen in the levels that it used to be.

Processing changes the balance of food. Combine that with rapid soil depletion, and many foods once seen as magnesium-rich hold hardly any of the nutrient today.

To put it into perspective, Paleolithic humans consumed approximately 600mg of magnesium a day, whereas the current suggested daily requirement for women is only 320mg.

Even with an RDI nearly half of what humans once maintained, most women fall far below. This study showed that 75% of Americans are deficient!

Pregnant mamas should aim higher in order to supply an adequate amount for themselves and their baby.

Majka’s Digest & De-Stress- High Quality Magnesium Supplement

mom and baby magnesium supplement mixing

Majka’s Digest and De-Stress Magnesium Powder combines three types of magnesium: citrate, glycinate, and taurate, giving you the most benefits in one easy-to-use powder.

For pregnant mothers, this can also mean less indigestion, morning sickness, acid reflux, and lowering the risk of pregnancy complications.

Benefits like calmness, constipation and bloating relief, better sleep, lower stress, better mood, and sharper brain function begin to take shape after just one serving.

These three types of magnesium create a bioavailable blend that absorbs into your body rapidly and effectively in a gentle way.

Because the supplement is chelated, Digest and De-Stress makes it easier for the body to actually use the magnesium.

Above all, one of the sweetest benefits of giving your body the magnesium it needs is knowing that you’re in turn giving your baby what they need for healthy growth and development.

We won’t say magnesium does it all, but it comes pretty darn close!

From easing morning sickness and lowering your risk of pregnancy complications to giving your body what it needs to thrive and passing that along to your baby, magnesium supplementation gives you peace of mind throughout your pregnancy… and beyond.

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Cara Halber is passionate about nourishing new moms as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. She focuses on keeping foods delicious, simple and fast so that you can do more of what you love with more energy, clarity & peace of mind.

Sources:

1A: Zarean E, Tarjan A. Effect of Magnesium Supplement on Pregnancy Outcomes: A Randomized Control Trial. Adv Biomed Res. 2017;6:109. Published 2017 Aug 31. doi:10.4103/2277-9175.213879

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5590399/

2a: Bullarbo M, Mattson H, Broman AK, Ödman N, Nielsen TF. Magnesium Supplementation and Blood Pressure in Pregnancy: A Double-Blind Randomized Multicenter Study. J Pregnancy. 2018 May 29;2018:4843159. doi: 10.1155/2018/4843159. PMID: 30002931; PMCID: PMC5996415. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30002931/

3: Magnesium Salt and Metal Sulfate https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Magnesium-sulfate

4: Cleveland Clinic https://health.clevelandclinic.org/feeling-fatigued-could-it-be-magnesium-deficiency-and-if-so-what-to-do-about-it

Source from mg during pregnancy:

Dalton et al. Magnesium in Pregnancy. Nutrition Reviews. Published 2016 Jul 19. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuw018

https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article/74/9/549/1752003?login=true